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In this article, you’ll discover creative solutions on how to hide toys in your living room. With these ideas, you will maximize space and keep your home looking neat.
Take a moment and give your living room a look – is it easy to notice that you have kids? Are there games and toys all over the floor, and on the couch? While the living room does belong to the whole family and this is not necessarily a bad thing, it doesn’t compliment your beautiful decor.
So how to hide toys in the living room? Better yet, how to hide toys in any room? Dollhouses and trucks lay on the pavement, in the bathtub, or anywhere you didn’t look for a second. And yes, it gets annoying.
How to hide toys in the living room
For most homeowners, toy storage is not that much of an issue, until it becomes. When we have unannounced guests or last-minute company, the last thing we want is to invite them into a toy store.
To help you keep things under control, we’ve gathered some simple and efficient tricks for storing toys in the living room. Check them and see which one works the best for you.
Storage ideas for toys in the family area
Image source:Rachel Madden Interiors
Playrooms and nurseries are by default designed with toy storage space. This, however, is not the case with shared living rooms, which need to be clean and kid-friendly at the same time. This makes toy storage very challenging, but not impossible.
Who will benefit the most from our storage ideas? Let’s say that you don’t own a dedicated playing space, and your kids’ bedroom is just too small for the purpose. This makes living room toy storage pretty much the only option you have.
Image source:Divvy House
There are many living room toy storage ideas you can consider. Ideally, the storage solutions would be easy to access and just as easy to hide at night. It depends, of course, on your budget and the size of the living room, but you will surely find our ideas inspiring.
A dedicated cabinet for toys
Image source:Less Is More Organizing Services
The best way to hide toys in the family room is behind closed doors. To keep the clutter completely out of sight, get the largest cabinet you can, with as many shelves and drawers as possible.
Image source:Apartment 46 for the Home
There are many options to choose from, as long as they match your room decor. We recommend standalone buffets or dressers, or even built-in cabinets. You can then organize the toys in groups using a toy box or a basket. A couple of additional large drawers can accommodate other kid stuff, such as their drawing books or school items.
An ottoman toy box
Image source:Jamie McNeilis, Accredited Staging Professional
A very comfortable and stylish way to store kid toys is inside the ottoman. An ottoman will provide extra seating arrangements as well as secret storage, which makes it a favorite addition to every living room. It can even replace the coffee table or let you relax in the afternoon while watching a movie.
The best part about it is that no one will know there are toys inside. You can clean the mess up within minutes, which makes it perfect for surprising visits. We recommend it for families with toddlers, as there is a minimal risk they will hit some hard edges and get hurt.
Image source: Decorn
If you like this idea, make sure you get the largest ottoman possible with a hinged top. This way, you can stack items inside on the go, even if you don’t have time to organize them properly.
A similar item that can help you is a storage bench. In the same way, you will have additional seating for larger gatherings and a perfect toy storage gadget. Better yet – you will have a unique design item everyone will admire.
Decorative baskets in plain sight
Image source: Braswell Homes Inc
Regardless of what we tell our kids, they pick the most unexpected area at the house to play and they stick around. If this is the case, consider decorative baskets for these areas instead of closed storage. These baskets can store stuffed animals, toy cars, or any other toys, and they look adorable at the same time.
For example, you can get a wicker basket or a metal container, depending on the current room arrangements. This way, no baby toys will be left laying on the floor!
Coffee table toy storage ideas
Image source:Homary International Limited
If your kids have too many toys and you don’t want to invest in storage, think of the items you already have. For instance, some coffee tables can double up as playroom items.
Do your kids love to draw or play board games? With the coffee table, they will have the perfect flat space to do this. When they are done, you can collect and store all their items underneath the table. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
If you are looking to buy a coffee table for the purpose, check items with drawers or shelves underneath. You can even use your artsy side and repurpose an old chest for storing toys. Your guests will be amazed!
Storage cubes with boxes and baskets
Image source:Building Vision – Evanston, IL
Here is another great trick to keep toys hidden while leaving them in plain sight. Bookcases with storage cubes and baskets are more than welcome in the living space. They enable both easy cleaning and accessibility.
Image source:Enviable Designs Inc.
Make sure you purchase decorative items that work well with the room so that it doesn’t look too playful. You can place the cube organizer anywhere you want, and even create a designated play zone in an unused corner. We suggest a bookcase behind the sofa, or along the wall opposite your TV stand.
Built-in toy storage within a bay window seat
Image source: S.A.N Design Group, Inc.
We already discussed how great storage benches and ottomans are, but you can enclose toys even without buying these items. If you have a nice window seat that opens up like a chest or has doors, look no further! This is the perfect place for all kids toys.
Window seats are awesome for every living room, especially if you like to read and enjoy nature. You can install them as your relaxing areas that double up as storage. Better yet, you can decorate them with blankets and cushions to make them even more comfortable.
Image source: Universal Windows Direct
You will once again have an ‘on-the-go organizer’ for sudden gatherings. A built in window seat solves the storage problem quickly, but you may need to go through it once in a while to keep it organized.
An idea for improved storage would be to install shelves and gather items within small containers and labeled boxes. The toy organization will then be a breeze!
Store toys under the couch
Image source: Overstock
Yes, you read that right! The common problem of ‘Uups, I lost my toy under the couch’ can now be solved by deliberately placing items under the couch. Depending, of course, on how much room you have available.
You may not be able to hide all kids toys under the couch, but you can at least store the large and flat ones. Anything large and flat would be ideal to store underneath a sofa. Make sure the items are easy to reach so that the kids don’t hurt themselves looking for them.
Repeat the process with similar furniture. You can store decorative puzzles and board games under the armchair, for instance. How awesome is that?
Movable storage box
Image source: Jeff Schlarb Design Studio
Are you tired of dragging toys around the house each time your kids get bored? If so, consider toy storage you can move around with. A rolling chest or a box is just perfect for this so that you can keep an eye on your kids wherever they decide to play.
Designers take this into account and have provided us with many modern storage solutions on wheels. This will help you bring toys quickly out of sight when you have company. If you want to keep toys separate, do so with small containers.
Try a toy rotation system
If you wish to store toys in a modern and accessible way, consider creating a toy rotation system. Half of the kids’ toys can remain in the basement, and you can switch them from time to time. There are three main reasons to do this:
- There will be notable fewer toys lying around in the living room.
- Kids will appreciate their toys much more.
- They will be excited each time they get to play with the other toys.
This creative and inexpensive solution will be a game-changer for your toy organization.
Toys in plain sight
Image source: Witt Construction
How about not shoving toys in an empty closet and using them as decorative items? You can easily make toys work for you, as long as you carefully select those that match your decor.
Toys are quite perfect when it comes to styling shelves or filling in a storage cube. It might be a bright musical instrument or an expensive model plane – both will provide the perfect balance for your serious book collection.
Image source:Alexander Architecture, PLLC
Children’s books, for instance, are excellent shelf additions. You can select and color-code some of them, and display them artistically. A model train, on the other hand, can look just adorable on the desk, the same as a large stuffed teddy bear can fill in the empty corner of the living room. These ideas make the living space warm and inviting.
Smaller toys, on the other hand, can be stored in mason jars and glass containers. This will make it easy to keep marbles and legos safe and make the room more colorful. It will help you bring form and function together like never before.
If you liked this detailed article on how to hide toys in the living room, you should check out this article on how to arrange a narrow living room.
We also wrote about similar articles like how to style open shelves in the living room, how to cover the electrical panel in the living room, how to close off the kitchen from the living room, and how to hide speaker wires in the living room.
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