I am a mother of two and toys are taking over my house. I really need to find some furniture that also has big drawers for storage. I am also wondering if anyone knows of any place that will make a trunk that can sit at end of my bed in any color material I like. I am also looking for cubes that you can sit on, but open up so you can store things inside of them. For the cubes, I woudl prefer leather or something that can be easily washed if food is splattered on it.
Of course, reasonable prices woudl also be great too, but for the right piece I am willing to pay a little bit (as long as it does not completely break the bank).
Try Home decorators collectiion. They are on line. there;'s also a store in Arlington heights. They are reasonable and have an online outlet where stuff can be marked super cheap.
You have gotten the suggestion of Ikea but be forewarned that their stuff looks as cheap as it is, in my opinion. Basically if you are OK with dorm furniture it is great. They do have "naked" pieces though, which is nice if you want to finish it yourself in a color you choose. I have bought a couple of pieces from Home Decorators and I think that it is a step up from Ikea and you can get stuff in their outlet section at great prices. It is assemble yourself, like Ikea, but the pieces I have purchased were very easy to put together. You can check some of their stuff out at Home Depot (call ahead of time because it isn't at all Home Depots).
If you want the trunk at the end of your bed to be made of wood, my husband does custom wood working and could probably build you what you are looking for. Let me know if you would like his contact information.
Good Luck,
D.
We got nice storage furniture at Northern Home Furnishings in Lincoln Square. They specialize in "small space living" so much of their furniture has storage built in. They definitely have the leather cubes you are talking about.
Bed, Bath, & Beyond has a leather cube with storage, a inner cube to sit on and a reversible top that has a tray on the other side. You can also use their 20% off coupon!
Also, I thought I saw something on ebay about a trunk that can be custom made when I was searching for train tables for my sons.
IKEA has a lot of good stuff and reasonable prices..
Also, if you want to get rid of some of your stuff, you can try freecycle.
Sign up for freecycle, freesources and dupagecountyparent swap. It's a recycling site where people give stuff away, and you can get rid of stuff. You can also get a lot of good stuff for free. I've received some winter boots for my kids, halloween costumes for 2 years for both of them, christmas tree, toys, sleeping bag, etc. I've seen people give away a car, computers, furniture and a lot more stuff.
Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/, then search for freecycle, freesources groups in towns in your area. Just type in your town, sign up and have fun. It's an awesome site! You get a lot for free and by recycling you help save the environment!
Hi D.-
I would say first you should go through all the toys and see what you can get rid of. It's a perfect time of year to donate toys that the kids aren't interested in anymore. You can even involve them (if they're old enough) and give them a lesson about sharing and giving to those less fortunate.
As for storage, I'd say look at Ikea, CB2, The Container Store, and Design Within Reach for cool ideas. I would stear away from leather, it doesn't clean up if it's real, and fake leather (vinyl) is terrible for the environment. Look at wood, resin, plastic, metal, or fabric instead. Many of these products will last a long time and may even contain post-consumer content. (recycled materials). Good luck!!
