As Graham gets older, we started to acquire more and more toys. Now with 2 babes in the house, even more toys will fill the house. We DIY’d a built in bookcase in Graham’s room to help organize toys in his room but we quickly started needing more organization for things in the living room.
When you don’t have a play room or spare room, you have to get creative! We originally had toys in our front closet but I felt like we needed a better way (and more space) to organize some go-to and smaller toys for Graham to grab and play with. He knows where his toys are and loves to go into whatever closet and get things to play with so I knew setting them up in a useful way in the living room would benefit him. We still have some bigger toys in our front closet but these new cabinets had great new ‘real estate’ to be used and become functional yet aesthetically pleasing!
Before
After
I searched for a lot of different type of cabinets but ultimately narrowed my search down to sideboard cabinets because I wanted something taller than a typical short, tv console. I knew I’d focus on two options: one full sideboard or two, 2-door cabinets and push them together. I really didn’t want to spend a lot of money on this either because I knew toys would be going in and out regularly and constant opening and closing (not always gently) would happen every day.
There are some absolutely beautiful looking sideboards out there and it was very hard to decide but many were nixed truly just because of the price. I decided that the ones I saw on Amazon were the best options cost wise and bit the bullet on this white sideboard cabinet. I decided on two white and rattan 2-door cabinets which were sold as a set for only $175 at the time! I bought 2 but you could even buy 3 to make the ultimate console!
After Steve assembled them (he LOVES assembling things the millisecond they get delivered LOL) we noticed that the doors do not align properly. That is one negative I read in many reviews but the rest of it works very well for what we need (and the price!) and looks great! We had to just adjust one of the back legs for the doors to align better but they still aren’t perfect…not to user error, it’s just definitely a manufacturing error.
I went to HomeGoods (because we had a gift card) to find some baskets to help organize different toys and items that would go in the cabinets. We currently have two baskets full of cars and smaller trucks and I’m sure that will grow!
He absolutely loves going into these cabinets everyday and pulling out different toys to play with and we love having a dedicated spot for everything to live nicely and organized. We now have some Lovevery toys for Sonny in a box in these cabinets so we can just grab new toys while he’s playing on his playmat while we’re hanging around. It’s great to already see the cabinets grow with us!
Again, I found a lot of other great options online and it was hard to decide from an aesthetic point but I decided to go with white instead of wood. If you are looking for different sideboard cabinets these are beautiful options and perfect if you are also looking for ones that give coastal vibes.
Save this post for future inspiration for toy storage, a new tv console, or a new sideboard cabinet!
