Playroom Chronicles Podcast
Where parents come to rethink play, and rediscover toy joy by learning to Think Outside The Toy Box® and Play Like It's 1979™.
Playroom Chronicles Podcast
Stylish Toy Organization: Where Chic Design Meets Children's Play
Ever found yourself stepping on a LEGO at midnight while wondering why your beautifully decorated home has been overtaken by plastic toys? You're not alone in this daily battle between adult aesthetics and childhood necessities.
Toy storage doesn't have to be an either/or scenario. Through some surprisingly simple strategies, you can maintain your home's style while actually improving your child's play experience. The secret lies in making toys visible and accessible without letting them dominate your space.
Consider board games—instead of stacking boxes in a closet, frame those gorgeously designed game boards as wall art. Store the pieces in labeled bags in a nearby drawer, and suddenly you've transformed forgotten games into conversation-starting decor that actually gets played with regularly. Those tiny collectibles that multiply overnight? Display them in clear decorative jars on console tables and bookshelves, mimicking high-end styling techniques while keeping toys where children can see and use them.
Perhaps most revolutionary is the idea of ditching toy-specific furniture altogether. That console table from the estate sale can become a craft station with supplies tucked in drawers. Your bookcase can intermingle adult reads with children's items, using toys as decorative objects rather than purchasing generic knick-knacks. This approach creates spaces that grow with your family—no more outgrowing expensive play furniture.
By treating toys as intentional elements of your home design rather than intruders to be hidden away, you create an environment that honors all family members. Your home stays stylish, kids play more independently with visible options, and the constant tidying battle diminishes. It's possible to have both peace and play, storage and style.
Ready to transform your approach to toy storage? Choose one idea from this episode to implement this week, then share your stylish toy solutions with me on Instagram @PlayroomChronicles. Subscribe to continue exploring how play and home design can harmoniously coexist in ways that benefit the entire family.
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Think toy storage can't be stylish and playful at the same time? Well, stick around for this episode, because I'm sharing toy storage secrets that'll keep your home looking chic while sparking your child's independent play. Welcome to the Playroom Chronicles podcast, where toys spark imagination, learning and independent play. I'm Sharnley Deloach, a toy and play expert, but a mom just like you, navigating building blocks, puzzle pieces and snack crumbs every day, ever wondered which toy will actually get played with? Or how do I keep my child engaged without a screen? You're in the right place. From ready-day rescues to skill-building superstars, this is your go-to for honest toy recommendations, real talk and play ideas that work, ready to turn chaos into creativity? One toy at a time, then. Welcome to the Playroom Chronicles podcast.
Charlene DeLoach:Hey everybody, welcome back to the Playroom Chronicles podcast, and today let's talk and tackle something we all deal with toy clutter. I get it. No matter how much you tidy, those toys seem to multiply, right. But here's the secret the way we store toys isn't just about neatness. It's about creating an environment that naturally invites your kids to play more often, more independently, in a way that keeps your home grown up and stylish. I think a lot of people think it's either one or the other, or that, in order to keep your home stylish, you have to get these really fancy play furniture things from places like Pottery Barn Kids. What I'm saying is that you can actually store toys throughout your home in stylish ways using everyday toy pieces and everyday furniture, without any specialty stores to create those solutions for you. So let me break it down.
Charlene DeLoach:Let's talk about board games. Board games, right, we have tons of them in our home. They're important to have in the play space because they offer cooperation, conversation, strategy, skill building, attending all these skills that are really important and it connects the family together. So we know how important board games are, but there are a lot of them aren't there, and usually what we do is we store them in the box that they came with, stacked on a shelf or shoved in a closet. Well, what if, instead, you took the games out of the box, you took that game board and you framed it and hung it on your wall? So, instead of going out and spending all this money on this decor, these generic art pieces that we shove on the wall and spending more and more money on, we in fact frame these board games, and a lot of them are actually gorgeous too. Monopoly has versions of Barbie and Harry Potter. It's fun, especially if you're a Harry Potter fan. So why not hang those on the wall? So not only now have you saved money from buying generic art pieces, but now you have these games on the wall to encourage. Oh hey, we haven't played this Harry Potter game in a while. So all you have to do is take that frame off the wall, put it down on the table and then go into a simple drawer where there's baggies of all the pieces for the different games. Just label the Ziploc bags and then pull that out, and now you can play the board game. So you reduce clutter, you've enhanced play, you have these gorgeous art pieces in your home win-win.
Charlene DeLoach:So also imagine all these tiny toys that we have, those little pieces, those little superheroes, those little fidgets, those little micro minis. We have so many of them. I am astonished at how much those add up in our homes. And what do we typically do? Well, we put them all into some sort of bin and shove it on a shelf or shove it in a closet. Well, instead, buy some clear jars, whether it's clear cookie jars or apothecary jars. A lot of them aren't really glass anymore. There's really nice high-end melamine and now you have clear boy storage. Now kids can see what they have. But you can artfully style those glass jars. We see it in the high-end home magazines all the time. On a console table there's some books stacked with beautiful glass jars with beads and faux flowers right, we see it all the time. Beads and faux flowers right, we see it all the time. So take that same concept and instead of the faux flowers and the glass bead fillers, we actually have a beautiful jar of Rubik's cubes and superheroes. So not only do you have now beautiful, stylish decor, but a stylish toy storage, and since it's clear, the kids can see what they have and they're encouraged to play.
Charlene DeLoach:Another tip is to ditch the toy-specific furniture. Typically, we say, okay, well, I want our home to be stylish, so I have to go buy the stylish play furniture, the stylish play table, the stylish play chair, the stylish play bookshelf. Many of us do that. What I'm saying is no use everyday furniture pieces and repurpose those so that way, when the kids do grow out of the play stage, let's face it, it changes. I always think play is a lifelong stage, but you know what I mean. They eventually stopped playing with them, little mini superheroes. So you basically just purposed regular pieces in your home and right now they serve an extra function of toy storage or play places that then can grow with your family.
Charlene DeLoach:So let me give you an example console tables. Usually they're at the front door or the side door, those tall console tables you see in all the high-end magazines. They typically have a little lamp on them and a stack of books and a fancy little, some sort of decoration, swirly, blah, blah, blah sitting on there, and then, as I said, there's little jars in the corner and a little bow plant and then underneath the console table there's a bench or two stools. You just open up a Serena and Lily catalog and you know what I'm talking about. Well, what if you went this weekend to a resale place or a estate sale and you got a console table? A lot of times they're in perfect condition and really cheap. Maybe you do want to paint it a fun color, like a beautiful blue or something like that.
Charlene DeLoach:If you want a particular area of your home, so take that console table, which is a great height, put the two stools underneath there, but now that becomes a craft station. So those drawers in the console table. You just open them up. Instead of storing the keys, now it stores some crafts, and those stools aren't just for sitting down and taking your shoes on and off, but now it's a place for kids to sit and play. Yep, there's a little lamp on the corner. Maybe instead of the stack of decor books that we all see in the magazines it's like you know, huskin Villa or something. Right now it's just a stack of coloring books or fun books for kids to read, and on top of that, or next door, are those glass jars of those minifigures. And now you have this beautiful entryway space that also serves as a play space too.
Charlene DeLoach:See where I'm going with here. You can keep your adult spaces looking grown up by still giving your kids easy, organized access to toys and to play opportunities. And that also leads me into the concept of bookcases. We typically go out and buy bookcases from Potter, rare, garden, kids or some big box store if we don't want to spend a lot of money, and that's where we put all those baskets, in bins. But typically we do have somewhere in our home where we store our adult books, and we see in catalogs these beautiful living rooms or family rooms and maybe there's a built-in bookshelf or some bookshelves, and again it's all styled with books going horizontal and the little figurines sitting on top of it, and there's a plant and there's a picture, and we see these gorgeous styled spaces, elegant spaces.
Charlene DeLoach:Well, take those same concepts. So now, instead of going to the local decor store, spending something from China for $29.99 that is like a faux golden poodle to sit on top of a stack of books Instead, go get the golden slinky and put it there. There are so many toys that I'm sure that you can think of right now that you'd be like well, actually, yeah, that's very similar to what I just saw at HomeSense or HomeGoods last week for $19.99. I can go take that out of my kid's playroom and plop it on the coffee table on the stack of books. I can go put that on the bookshelf. I can go put that on the consultorial on the four-year table.
Charlene DeLoach:Think about what we already have in terms of the kids' toys and those can be stylish decor for you and an opportunity for kids to spontaneously play when they walk around the home. So, yes, bookcases aren't just for books and generic decor. Mix toys alongside your books as the decor. It keeps the toys accessible without overwhelming your space. Homes stay stylish and your kids will naturally stop and play.
Charlene DeLoach:So why does all this matter? Well, because, as parents, we often have this internal battle right. We want our kids to play, we want them to have toys. We know that's an important part of their development. Now the other side. We also dislike the mess, we dislike how it takes over our home, and it's this battle of like oh, I want to do this for my kids, but gosh, it's taking over my life too.
Charlene DeLoach:What I'm saying is, with this little simple strategy, you can actually have harmony and you can have both. You can have the storage and you can have the style. You can have the peace and you can have the play. So here's your challenge this week Pick one idea that I've shared in this episode and put it into action, and then notice how it shifts play in your home and even sparks some really fun conversation communication. The next time another adult walks into your home, I guarantee you they're going to go hey, that's a great idea and implement it themselves. So don't forget to share how you style some of your toys with me on Instagram at Playroom Chronicles. I appreciate subscribing to this podcast or following me on social media. It's hard out there, so I appreciate your support, but, all in all, thanks for being here today. Keep it playful, keep it simple, keep playing.
