Don’t give up on a beautiful home just because you have kids!
It is no secret that keeping a pretty home is so much harder with kids. There is always more messes, questionable sticky marks on the floor, the never ending supply of Magic Erasers, and of course random leggos and doll shoes hanging around on stairways, bathroom sinks, and under couches. As parents we struggle harder to keep our houses clean and organized and sometimes want to give up on all of it. Love my kids, but hate their messes.
I find one of the hardest parts to keeping my house “pretty” is the organization of their toys and belongings. There is nothing like having a bright red ball sitting in a room when you have grey painted walls and white furniture. Lucky for the ones that have basements to hide all this non-appealing endless supply of TOYS in. For this lady…I have not one extra inch of space to keep the kids stuff after shoving most of it into their bedroom closets.
SO, I had to learn to live with it! And there is only one way to do that….use their belongings as part of the room and hide what is not appealing in decorative storage spaces that will work with your house. I promise, it is possible!
Here is what I’ve done in my home…this is the main area that I store their toys besides their bedrooms and I found smart ways to conceal their toys or use them as part of the decoration.
Above is a new/old table for the kids. The hubby found this Pottery Barn Kids Table on the side of the road last week. Eek can you believe it?! I know I was thrilled to see four legs pulling into the driveway on the roof of his care last week. He knows what woos me! I painted the top with chalk paint, and cleaned up the chairs…like brand new! The table matches our decor in this space and it is a great place the kids can play and do projects. By adding decorative accessories to the table it helps to keep the table sophisticated to fit within this space.
These boxes above are a RH Book Knock off that I created. I will post how I did this at another time, but these look fabulous on this grey top table.
 I love decorative pillows just because they add a cozy feeling to the room, but they are also great to use when you get that unwanted stain on your couch. My kids don’t hesitate to destroy the couches. I have stains no matter how many times I clean them. I have to say it is not their fault, I am the one that loves light colored fabric couches. So in this case when I do get a stain, I just add a pillow or throw blanket to cover it up the best I can. This couch is not too bad since the kids rarely watch TV in this room, mainly the couch and chair in our family room are usually being covered by throws and pillows.  Though they have slipcovers on, the stains still do not come out that well in the wash…and it does take a lot of work taking those covers off, washing, drying, and then putting them back on…phew!
The above photo you can see just about the entire room here. The color of the table matches so nicely with the rest of the decor in here. If I had bought a primary colored table and put in this same spot, this would definitely make the room clash. At first sight you may not even realize it is a kids table. I just love how it all blends together. The table may be temporary, but it still needs to fit within the space to keep it feeling my kind of pretty in here. 
Yep those drawers in our TV stand are filled with coloring books, puzzles, and activity books for the kids. Since it is so low for them, they can easily grab what they need.
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44 Responses
I so believe in stuff like this. We’re still getting it together here, but I like for things to have a place, while also being functional and not too obvious. Right now, in the living room, we have an old wooden storage basin that houses Baby Boy’s toys, right behind the couch. It’s such a great feeling when a room’s all put together and happy! 🙂
Absolutely! It makes you feel like you have it all together..right? lol
your room is so pretty! Love the big round clock table~ Baskets are my best friend, they are so attractive to look at and can hide a lot of ugly stuff!
Jenna
Thanks Jenna! Baskets are the perfect stylish storage solution to any room : )
I love your tips! I’m a SAHM of 2 boys (2 yrs and 5 yrs) and I babysit my sweet 4 year old neighbor during the week. I feel like my house is always a wreck no matter how much I clean, but you’ve given me some ideas for getting more creative with organizing and hiding the toys :).
Hi Amy! Sounds like you have your hands full : ) I am so glad that I could offer some hiding and organizing tips for you.
Very nice! I love the table and chairs… what a find. 🙂
Thank you! OMG it was quite the find. I am so impressed with the hubby for stopping on his way home from work to pick it up.
Your home is beautiful and you have some great hiding spots. You are so right – someday we will wish we still had toys all over the house!
Shelley
Thanks so much Shelley! Oh it is so true though isn’t it?! As much as we complain about having all the toys everywhere and the messes the kids can make, I know one day I will be wishing for these days back again.
Great tips! Your home is very beautiful.
Thanks Vanessa!
Great tips! I love your house!
Thanks Leslie, You are always so sweet!
Very Cute living space! Toys take over, don’t they?! It’s crazy. 🙂 Thanks for sharing at Craft Frenzy Friday , I pinned it!
Thanks Jamie for Pinning!
I love your home!! So beautiful and serene. Great times for containing the toys and clutter!
Thanks so much!
Love it! And that round clock table…I saw a similar one in a vintage store near my home and I’m always kicking myself that I never bought it…even more so, now that I see how cute it looks in your living room!
Thanks so much Laura! I made this from my old Kitchen table! Here’s how I did it…http://seekinglavenderlane.blogspot.com/2014/04/diy-clock-coffee-table.html You can for sure make one yourself!
Your house is so beautiful!
I love all of your tricks for hiding the toys!
Thanks for sharing at Talented Tuesday Link Party!
Thanks Kristina!
Great post. Pinned and tweeted. We love to party with you, so I hope to see you tonight at 7 pm.. Have an amazing day! Lou Lou Girls
Hi Kimberly! Thank you so much…for sharing and inviting me to link up again!
Great tips … I love baskets for a quick tidy up of the kids toys. Your decorative book boxes are great. I have some but not keen on the colour … please share a “how to” 🙂
Hi Jane thanks so much! Just shared today how I updated those book boxes. So easy and just a perfect way to hide those crayons!
awesome post and beautiful home!! I found one of those tables and chalk painted it as well! I think we are kindred spirits lol. Thank you for linking up to Pin Worthy Wednesday you will be featured this week!
Thanks so much Keitha! So excited to be featured : ) Oh I hope you shared your table, I would love to see how yours turned out too!
Your room looks amazing, you do an amazing jobs of storing everything. I will be using your tips!
OH I am so gad my tips are helpful for you Sarah! Thanks for stopping by and leaving me a comment.
Such great ideas! I’m struggling with the toys EVERYWHERE as my toddler grows. Especially when the little kiddos toys are totally primary colors! Yikes. I need to get cuter baskets with lids and storage bins for her toys. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Amanda, No way better than finding cute bins and baskets to hide all those toys. So gad this was helpful : )
Fantastic tips and ideas! Extra storage is so helpful for stashing anything out of sight! Thanks for linking up at Creative Spark; hope you’ll come party with us again today 🙂
Hi Emily! Thank you for your sweet comment. I most definitely stopped by and inked up again today.
Beautiful room – awesome storage ideas! I will be featuring your post in this week’s Home and Garden Thursday,
Kathy
Hi Kathy, Thank you so much for featuring my post!
All wonderful ideas for keeping the kiddos stuff hidden. Thanx for sharing at THT!
Thanks so much Pamela!
First off, your living room is gorgeous! Second, I don’t have kids, but yet I have a hard time keeping things tidy with pets–and a husband who has lots of toys 😉 Your tips are great! Thank you for sharing at Merry Monday!
Thanks so much Amanda! So sweet of you : )
Yes, hubbys are messy too lol. We do not have a pet yet, but I know once we do it will get messier. I’ll need baskets for pet toys too!
Another one here with a messy house. My boys are 9, 7, 5 and 2 and I love them to bits but they mess the place up faster than I can clean up! Your house is really beautiful. This is now my aim!
Wow Anna you definitely have your hands full. So glad this could be helpful.
Hi! Where did you purchase the stencils used for the clock on the table? Love yours so so much! I’m going to do my outdated country oak dining table like yours!
Thanks in advance!
Pamela Bennett
Southern California
Thanks Pam, that’s so exciting! I actually made the stencils myself by printing out the letters and tracing them on card stock. I am sure there are stencils out there though to make this easier. : )