There are so manycreative ideas for decorating a child’s space, and storage is an essential part of it. From tweaking IKEA standbys to building your own shelving from scratch, these storage ideas help control clutter and have enough personality to match the little sprites living amongst them.

RAST and BEKVAM: Hacked IKEA Basics

The famously cheap RAST dresser from IKEA has inspired many, many hacks. Its easy assembly and unfinishedpine panels lead to easy customisation in colour, pattern and detailing. This geometric-patterned iteration of the RAST comes from Petite Vintage Interiors, who also sells this set of removable triangle decalsonline. Perfect for your own quick-and-easy makeover project.

Another cleverIKEA hack is usingBEKVAM spice racks to display books on the wall. You can add as many as you need, and I like that they’ve been hung at a low height to allow kids to reach the books!{found on Flickr}.

A Wooden Crate, Imagined Three Ways

Whether you buy a readymade crate or make one new, wooden crates are versatile enough to work in multiple areas. You can find inexpensive crates at craft stores or on Amazon, but these examples also give you plans for building your own if you have a specific purpose in mind. No offense to the handy plastic tub, but these wooden boxes look mighty spiffy.

1. Simple, affordable crates from Michaels are given a light-hearted new look by A Bubbly Life, inspired by the Scandinavian-themed decor at Ferm Living. These sweet crates look lovely in a child’s play space.

2. Using atrundle box that’s lowenough to slide under a bed or a crib. Shallow storage allows you to usethat dead space under the bed for storing extra clothes, baby gear or toys. Ana White, our queen of woodworking, has a step-by-step tutorial for building a trundle box out of plywood – which she used for a stowaway train set!

3. You could also builda customtoy chest with padded seating on top, courtesy of Oh Everything Handmade. She provides full instructions for assembling your own, plus a printable copy of the adorable painted design.

Playroom Organisation

Are your kids old enough to need their own space to get crazy and creative? Hanging a pegboard in the playroom may not guarantee order, but it can help. Beckham +Belle started with a few inexpensive materials from Home Depot and craft stores – their post about playroom organisation has even more ideas!

And for helping corral some of the tiny bits-and-bobs like buttons and erasers, Crafts Unleashed had this super cute idea for DIY dinosaur storage jars.

For storing soft toys, these decorated paper bags from Wonderwood (formerly Miss Monday) are simple, cheap and easy on the eye. You could make your own with waxed paper, or break out a sewing machine and make bags out of laminated cloth.

Fancy Building A Shelving Unit?

Now we’re getting into some real DIY! The Merrythoughtfeatures a modular, minimalist set of toy cubbies that are suitablefor kids to organise their own toys. The cubbies are small enough that toys don’t get lost, but the lip on the front of each one keeps the toys secure.

Farm Fresh Therapy has instructions for how to build your own custom shelving unit around the baskets you already own, using whichever legs you fancy. She’s using a cool set of turquoise mid-century stems for hers.

Hopefully these projects give you some ideas for your own space!