And the shelves inside are perfect for storing lots of smaller toys. But best of all, by choosing a sideboard rather than a toy box, we can easily relocate this piece of furniture to another room of our house in the future.
This is not to suggest that you should never chose any kid-specific furniture, or course. In our family room play area, we wanted the kids to have their own table for puzzles, games, and art projects. But even then, we chose a table that would do double duty thanks to it’s large storage compartment on the bottom that corrals a large stack of wood puzzles. And we did our research to choose kid size chairs that are strong enough to hold adults as well so that mom and dad can get in on the play action.
To minimize the visual impact of all of this toy storage, I oriented these toy bins so that only the white side is visible from the majority of the family room.
Despite the business of the colors of the toys on the open shelving, choosing to display a few toys with orange accents helps to make the space feel more grounded and the color palette more defined.
Corey Willis says
So many of us face this exact dilemma! Super tips!
Tabatha Livingston says
Awesome tips!!! You've covered my questions…lol
Amberlyn Vazquez says
Your room is my goal. I love the colors, style, and flow of everything. Did you do this all yourself or with the help of a designer?
I just love it!
Angela, Blue i Style says
Thanks, Amberlyn! I did it all myself. The space isn't "done" yet… lots of things on the to do list, but we really enjoy spending family time down there.
Clayton S. Thomas says
If I was a kid again, this room would be the ultimate setup. It looks like that room was made for the pool table, and nice to change it up with the cover.
Angela, Blue i Style says
Thanks, Clayton! The long thin layout of the room really did lend nicely to the pool table, and I love that it now does double duty as a playhouse as well!
Unknown says
any suggestions on how to either make the tent cover for the pool table or buy something?
Jane says
Thank you for this, I love all of your tips! Would you be able to let me know where you got your tables and chairs? They would look great in my living/activity room!
blueistyle says
The play table came from the Land of Nod, but I don’t think they have the same one any more {we bought it back in 2012}, and the chairs came from Pottery Barn Kids {they still sell chairs of the same size and style}.