If your child is anything like I was growing up, then they love anything that is arty, crafty and creative. Strictly no sports here, please.
On the one hand it is so great that your little one has more ideas on what to do with tin foil and cardboard than you ever thought possible, but on the other it probably means you have more stationery, crafts and random knickknacks than WHSmith and Hobbycraft put together…
Like I said, that’s if your children are anything like I was, but whilst we’re here I do just want to take this opportunity to thank my mum and grandma for the support you showed to my commitment to creating the best cardboard cars possible.
Back to the blog post: Just what do you do with all your kids’ stationery and crafty bits and how do you organise it all? Let’s see shall we…
Create a dedicated area
No matter the age of your child, first thing’s first: create a dedicated area for playing, learning and getting creative.
Depending on room sizes or the layout and size of your house, this might be in your childs bedroom, a dedicated playroom or somewhere in your living room.
Next, kit it out appropriately
We know the intention of this space is for getting creative and crafty, so we’ve already figured out how the space will be used, so next on the list is kitting it out with the appropriate furniture.
Storage
The chances are you’ll need plenty of storage space in your playroom area (must we remind you about the tin foil, paper, countless pens, pencils, paints and pom poms laying around?), and we have the perfect playroom storage for our Boori families to choose from.
Depending on whether you like exposed or enclosed storage will depend on the storage options available to you, but you’ll be pleased to know we’ve got you covered in either eventuality.
Our popular Tidy Toy Cabinets are available as a set of four enclosed storage boxes and will do most of the storage heavy lifting. They can be home to all those wonderful crafty elements we’ve mentioned above – plus the many others we haven’t – and can also store those kids’ toys, in the unlikely event you have storage space leftover.
Alternatively, our Tidy Modular Boxes are the perfect exposed storage solution for your child’s stationery and crafty items. Available in a square or rectangular shape, these boxes can be used on their own in a standing position (either one on its own or as a selection to create a bespoke modular storage solution) or as a moving box with the addition of our attachable wheels. With the wheels on, these storage boxes would be great to house all their stationery and crafty items to avoid heavy lifting, and, standing upright, could hold all the heavier and larger items.
Lastly in the storage department (just for this blog post, we have a lot more kids storage than this available) we have our Neat Stationery Cabinet which does what it says on the tin – just really well. This stationery cabinet has a total of three A4 sized drawers, with the top two being perfect for pens, pencils and crayons, whilst the bottom drawer leaves room for bulkier items. It also comes with a seat on top, perfect for your little ones to immerse themselves in the middle of their genius and creative ideas, and wheels for easy manoeuvrability in the house.
A kids’ desk to unleash creativity
Your little artist-to-be needs somewhere to unleash their creativity (unless they’re building a cardboard car, in which case they need to be in the thick of it – talking from experience…) and, naturally, we think this should be at a dedicated kids’ desk.
But not just any desk – it should be the desk that is perfect for those creative souls; our Ergonomic Desk! Let’s tell you why it must be this one:
- It’s not just a kids’ desk. Oh no! It’s a kids’ desk with storage (yay)! Our Ergonomic Desk has an internal storage drawer (in case storage is still needed, which it probably will be because… well… what child thinks they have too much arty-crafty stuff? My point made).
- It features a tiltable desk, which will allow your budding artist to look at their artwork head on, and, as they get older, read their homework easier.
- It’s also got a detachable wind-up crank so they can create their masterpieces at the perfect height for them and sit ergonomically when using the desk for those less exciting study times.
- And finally, this kids’ desk has a magnetic panel which will allow them to attach any information or inspiration they need to see in front of them.
This Ergonomic Kids Desk also comes with the optional kids desk accessories of Pegboard Bookshelf Hutch and Pegboard Accessory Pack, which will provide a place for even more playroom storage and places to hang sources of inspiration.
A comfy kids’ desk chair
Sitting at a desk will require a kids desk chair, and the one we recommend with our Ergonomic Desk is our height adjustable Oslo Study Chair, which comprises of colour finishes to match our Ergonomic Desk and four height settings.
See also: playroom tables and chairs
If a kids desk feels too ‘grown up’ right now, or you feel your little one isn’t quite big enough for a kids desk, then our Thetis Rectangular Table and matching Thetis Chair and Stools are also the perfect place for getting creative.
Now, get organised
Now you’ve got the appropriate playroom furniture, it’s time for the biggest task of getting all those bits and bobs organised.
We recently wrote a Boori Nest post on How to Marie Kondo Your Toy Storage and, in this post, we touched upon organising arts and crafts using this same method. This is the best approach for families to follow when it comes to getting organised with your toy storage, so please do take a read if you need help in this area.
Interested in learning more about play and the importance of it? Read all about how to encourage independent play here. To shop our complete range of play and learn furniture, click here.