Living Room Tour Part 1: Toy Area

We live in a one bedroom apartment on Nob Hill in San Francisco with 1.5 kids. The living room is the most used room in the house. It is Moses' play area, the TV area, it is where we host guests, and it is my home office. That is a lot of use for one room. The key to keeping it organized and clean (most of the time) is for everything to have a place. I put a lot of thought into Moses' toy area. I was inspired after I read this article about Lisa Mahar, the owner of Kid O. Then I did some research and went through and made a list of all the types of toys and activities that two-year-olds like to do. (I did a big post about it last December right here.) I tried to choose good quality toys that were beautiful and interesting.

Some sources: For toys etc refer to this post here. The plastic bins are from Container Store. The shelf I got off Craigslist and was ugly but I liked the shape. Jenny (my decorator) suggested I paint it Benjamin Moore's Celery Salt. The little table is from IKEA. And my sister in law Liz told me about the little Bertoia kid chairs. The painting was one I recreated after I saw it in a Kate Spade store a few years ago. Then I put my collection of mini globes on top.

The system has worked out perfectly since I set it up a few months ago. Moses can see his toys and plays with them all the time (instead of being buried in a toy basket like before.) The best part is that it is easy for him to clean up his toys after plays with them, because everything has a place.





42 comments:

  1. Looks great. I love wooden toys, so much nicer than plastic.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love what you did and how Annabelle's eyes lit up when she saw all the toys laid out like that when she played at your place. We're working on doing the same thing in the nursery now.

    ReplyDelete
  3. your organization is super motivating

    ReplyDelete
  4. i love the organization! where did you get the shelving box for the puzzles? i could really use something like that!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very nice. I love clear containers so parent and child can see where everything goes at cleanup time

    ReplyDelete
  6. The puzzle organizer has a link on this post here

    ReplyDelete
  7. Looks really great, Jordan. Your toy collection is so inspiring. I hate how plastic crap so easily accumulates in homes with kids.
    ...getting out the garbage bags now to edit our toy room!

    ReplyDelete
  8. cute. great use of small space.
    but...he really, really needs some legos. I promise, it is $ well spent. HOURS of entertainment await!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Really lovely. Can't wait to see the rest. I love your philosophy on toys!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the thought you took to create this! I really hate houses exploding with toys that kids don't even care about. Love, love, love what you've done. Very inspiring.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Darling Jordan. Love your idea of recreating artwork...you've given me the courage to be a little more crafty in that way!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jordan,

    I love your site but I wish it had a search button to find older items. I'd like to recreate the wall map you made & don't know where to look. Any ideas?

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nicole,

    the search box is in the right hand column. The fourth item down.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks Jordan. Boy do I feel silly.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Looks great Jordan. We have almost all of those same toys. Problem is, I have about ten times more. I thin them out all of the time and my daughter immediately asks, "what happened to sister whale?". Need to work on it some more. Thankfully we have enough space to house all of her many toys. I try to rotate them since getting rid of them doesn't go well.

    ReplyDelete
  16. So organized! Where did you find that little accordion?

    ReplyDelete
  17. This is just the kind of help I've been needing! Thank you thank you! My boy's toys could really use some order. Great photo...makes me attack this project with much more ease.

    ReplyDelete
  18. That really is a beautiful display

    ReplyDelete
  19. Great collection of toys, thanks for sharing with us. I like only plastic toys...

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks for the peek into your home. This room looks so organised and beautiful. And thanks for the tip on the puzzle organiser - so, so practical!

    ReplyDelete
  21. so great! thanks for sharing! can't wait to see more..

    ReplyDelete
  22. love this! great job!

    adding {declutter our toy collection} to this weekend's to do list!

    ReplyDelete
  23. The baby Bertoias are too cute and I love the Plan toys, we're big fans at our house!

    ReplyDelete
  24. I ran out and bought those chairs too as soon as your sis-in-law mentioned them on her blog. I'm so glad she did because it was just what I was looking for. Looks great in your space also.

    ReplyDelete
  25. your blog is simply delightful!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Ooooh, I would have loved that as a kid...probably wouldn't even mind it now!

    ReplyDelete
  27. i love the globes! xo

    ReplyDelete
  28. lovely smart toys! you came out with a great solution to organize them. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Your photos are aMAYzing!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous9:20 PM

    this looks great! i have a similar setup for our 2 year old - my problem with it is that he can't reach everything. i am thinking to re-do our setup with a different furniture piece - all low shelves - , so he can access everything himself.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I love the way everything seems so easy to find, and that the little table is so close. I'm still searching for the perfect toddler table and chair set on craigslist.

    ReplyDelete
  32. love the globes..just redoing my sons room {from baby to toddler&up!} I am going with maps/globes...love the colors!

    ReplyDelete
  33. I love that all the toys fit on one bookcase. How do you keep your home from overflowing with mail, magazines, art projects, books, clothes the kids have outgrown and all that? I feel like I have it coming out my eyeballs and I am constantly dejunking and thinning things out.

    ReplyDelete
  34. @Jenny I'm not the poster child for organization but we do have a mail system where whoever gets the mail has to sort it immediately and throw away/recycle junk mail. At this point I only have one kid so its pretty easy to keep toys under control. And I'm not sentimental so unless the art is something I really like I throw it out. I only buy clothes for Moses once every 6 months and when I restock I clean out the old stuff and put it in storage.

    ReplyDelete
  35. This is really great, I am inspired to re-organize the play area for our 2 year old and 6 month old. We have lots of boxes, but the organization of the clear containers makes so much sense. I do have one question - what will you do with these toys when he outgrows them and moves on to the next stage of playthings? I find I am hanging on to things for the second child, while still getting new things for the older child...and am starting to drown in toys despite my best intentions! Thanks for sharing your great ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Love the setup! We have a lot of similar toys for our 2 year old. I just love the guitar and big fire truck - can you tell me where they're from?

    ReplyDelete
  37. So lovely! I plan to implement a system like this for my own little one.

    ReplyDelete
  38. This is so inspiring! We have toys in pails and baskets now, and most of the time she only notices what's already out and scattered around. I much prefer your thoughtful and focused approach.

    ReplyDelete
  39. toooooys :)

    how fun!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Fabulous Job Jordan. I've read through all your posts and enjoy your blog. Where did you find the adorable spiny top toy? Would love to have one for my daughter. :) Thanks, from Bali!

    http://annaelizabethpoole.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  41. I love your toys area. It looks organized. I have a similar area in our living room for my 2 years old son, but it doesn't look so nice.

    ReplyDelete