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Expert Q&A

	By Nancy Phillips LeRoy Interior Designer Allied Member ASID

My toddler has tons of toys. Can you tell me any clever ways to store them so they're not the focal point of the room?

Clutter arrives with babies – and lasts for the next 18 plus years while those babies are living with you and growing up. Let's focus for a moment on the lifestyle issue in regard to how your whole family will live in the same space together in peace and harmony.

It is good to begin your life together with everyone having a personal space to call their own and to keep their own belongings. This space needs to be respected as personal, and depending on the age of the "owner," private no matter how large or how small the space or which member of the family. Birth is the time to begin this concept.

There are also shared spaces where the entire family lives together. Determine how much area in that shared space will be devoted to each member's personal needs and belongings. In a shared space, each family member might have one shelf in a bookcase or one drawer in a cabinet to keep personal items (i.e. books, toys, papers etc.). Anything that doesn't fit on that shelf or in that drawer would be stored in the individual's personal space.

Train the entire family in regard to respecting these boundaries. Personal toy storage space for a baby can begin with a toy box, although these are outgrown very rapidly. Creative use of closets with a combination of shelving and hanging clothes space is easy to design and install. Any of the shelving systems sold in home supply centers are an excellent place to begin. Make sure the toy shelving is at a level that a toddler can reach, because it won't be long until your baby reaches that stage.

When designing children's rooms, think of storage and "desk-top" area instead of furniture. Consider having book, toy and clothes shelving, cabinets and drawers and desk-top area built on an entire wall or in an L shape in the child's room. This can be as elaborate as the budget will allow or as inexpensive as going to your local unfinished furniture store and purchasing units that can be used together.

Tie the base pieces together with a countertop of wood or laminate just as you would the base cabinets in a kitchen. The "desk-top" area, which should be 30 inches deep, can be used as a dressing/changing table for infants and babies and "grow" along with the child's needs through the hobbies, crafts and school project phase of their lives up to and including computer monitors later on. Not only can this plan help to solve your "clutter" problems, it can also solve your "furniture" needs for the life of the child in your home. As an added bonus, this approach will provide a large workspace for your child that will encourage the development of your child's creative talents and ultimately good self-esteem. Truly a win-win situation!"

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