Build this rustic toy storage unit for the perfect place to store all your kid’s toys.
One thing I always think about as Christmas gets closer, how can we possibly add more toys to our house without driving me crazy? Please tell me I am not the only one. So this year I partnered with Kreg Tools and their project plan site, buildsomething.com, to build the perfect toy storage solution.
The thought of more toys to fight my kids to pick up makes me crazy. So this year we are trying to get things organized before adding more to the mess. I started with my son’s room. His toy organization was non-existent so I made him this rustic toy storage unit and am sharing the build plans with you.
My son is starting to get older and so his toys are getting smaller. Sometimes I miss the days of large, easy to pick up wood blocks, but instead our house if full of Legos.
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Everyone that has stepped on Legos with bare feet or heard the plink-plink-plink of those darn things getting sucked into the vacuum again, knows how hard it is to keep the Legos contained. If they weren’t such a great toy, I think we all would have boycotted Legos many years ago.
Instead we just need to find a way to contain them.
We have tried organizing them in plastic bins, I have even tried to keep them separated so they are easier to find what you want. That just didn’t work for us.
We found a few large bins to hold all the little Legos, that are open and easy to toss the Legos into as we clean up, works best for us. The open bins at a comfortable standing height also make it easier to dig through and play with.
That was the starting point for the build plans for this rustic toy storage unit.
Now that the Legos were taken care of, we needed to address the rest of my son’s toys. We also had bins of action figures, cars, and assorted super hero paraphernalia and weaponry. So I also created large rolling bins to help corral all these toys too.
He loves that the bins can be rolled around to where he is playing. I love that he can easily throw the toys back in the rolling bins and when they are pushed under the storage unit everything looks so neat and clean.
Our rustic toy storage unit is also the perfect organization console to grow with my son. It will hold all his toys now, but as he grows, we can use these bins to hold whatever he decides to entertain himself with.
The storage console is not juvenile looking, heck it doesn’t even look like a toy storage unit. The top shelf on the console can hold his creations, as well as a lamp and alarm clock.
I stained the console top and bins so they matched the industrial wall-mounted desk I built for him a couple months ago. The dark stain is very forgiving when the kids beat up the furniture too (sadly, I have to plan for my kids to beat up everything).
And the white console helps brighten up what could end up being a dark basement boy’s room. It also makes it easier to find the little Legos in the bins.
My son is super happy with his new toy storage console. He’s already been playing with his Legos and action figures much more because they are easy to find.
And there is even some room for growing, since it is almost Christmas.
Toy Console Build Plans
If you are ready to build your own rustic toy storage unit, you can find the free build plans over at Kreg Tool’s new DIY project plan site BuildSomething. Click here for the free build plans for this console.
Doesn’t everything just look so clean and organized? It’s like an early Christmas present for me. Now if my son can keep everything clean and organized it will also be a Christmas miracle 🙂
UPDATE: We have now moved this toy storage unit to Texas. It has help up soo well! The only challenge is my now 11 year old tends to pile books and papers on the shelf.
It made moving pretty easy too, we just plastic wrapped the top with the Legos in it, and wrapped the rolling baskets too.
This post is sponsored by Kreg Tools and their DIY project plan site BuildSomething. All opinions are 100% my own. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
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Hi, I can’t find the build plans, could you reply with a link please 🙂
I looked through the comments and you said it was near the bottom of the post, but I can’t seem to find it. This toy storage is beautiful!😍
https://learn.kregtool.com/plans/toy-storage-console-with-rolling-bins/
where did the bins for the legos come from?
I built them. They are included in the build plans. The link to the build plans is toward the bottom of the post.
What paint and stain did you use? I plan on building this, and those exact colors match my house perfectly
I too will be building this toy box for my 3 daughters using same colors. Thank you for sharing this great idea and build.
The stain was either Minwax Jacobean or Dark Walnut. I can’t remember exactly. The paint was Behr ultra pure white. That is my go-to for a true white paint.
How did you fill in the pocket holes on the side panels? Looks like you drilled them on the inside of the panels but those would be exposed to the inside bins that are created with the final construction.
I used the pocket hole plugs. A bit of wood glue, then you just stick them in there. After the glue is dry, sand them smooth.
My son will love this but I think I might try to make a table that will open up so he can play on it. Thanks for the idea
That is a great idea Tonya! My son does use the top to help build his Legos on, but a larger top that opened up would be even better. Have fun building.
does anybody know an estimated price for the material?
Just go to a hardware stores website and add each item that you need into the shopping cart and it’ll give you your total. YMMV depending on the region you live in, store,quality of wood, paint, etc.
This is a great idea! I never think about putting it in my cart online because I always go to the store to pick up.
Justin, it’s hard to give an estimate because it depends on the type of wood you buy. I believe I spent around $140 on the trip to the hardware store when I bought the wood for this but I also got a few things for other projects. Check online for the price of wood in your area to get a good estimate.
Hello Kati, I saw this and want to give it a try. I am a newbie at DIY, so this may be a dumb question but what kind of wood should I get for this project? I am purchasing online for pick up because it is Covid-19 era and the idea of lingering at a store for wood seems unsafe. So any help in selecting the wood online would be super helpful. also what size castor’s did you use? does it matter? I have 4 kids under 6 and a ton of toys and this just looks perfect for them to grow into.
I wouldn’t recommend ordering wood online to pick-up. You could get wood with big knots or twists that will make your project fail. You can see all my tips for buying wood here: Beginners Guide to Buying Lumber. I would suggest buying whitewood boards for a budget friendly option to build this.
Love this Kati!! I’ll be featuring it at the Creative Gallery tonight 🙂 LOVE it!
Thanks so much Lindi!
Gorgeous!!! I love the rustic/farmhouse look of it and that it’s so functional for storing all those kids toys that seem to take over!
Thanks Sara! I love how it turned out, but it works for the kids so we are both happy 🙂
This is gorgeous!! It is so timely that you’re sharing this because I need to make some toy storage for my kiddos (although I kind of want one for me instead, lol). Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday this week!
You’ll love this one. It’s been so perfect for my son!
This is great – I love a piece of furniture that’s practical AND good looking.
Thanks so much Kate. I agree, practical and good looking is the best 🙂
I need something like this for all the baby toys we have lying around!
The toys never end!
What a genius idea! It looks great and I bet it’s SO functional!
Thanks Amanda! I can’t believe how functional it’s been.
Putting a pin in this idea for when we have kids! Also pinning, because I like it 🙂
Thanks Ariel! It will be very handy when you have kids.