Cheap, Cute and Easy Toy Storage

I have no problem having toys in my living room...as long as they're hidden. But unfortunately, most of the toy storage solutions you see in the stores are bright, primary colors or are plastered with super heroes or blue train engines. Mmm, yeah, not gonna work in my living room!

Instead, I bought this plain pine toy box off of craigslist.

The End.

Just kidding. There was no way I could leave it like that! Unfortunately, it had a very think coat of poly on it, so I decided to paint rather than stain. It got 2 coats of my beloved Lucky Bamboo by Behr (say that 5 times fast!), but still needed more, so I decided to slap a compass on the front. Oh, if only it was that easy. As I've mentioned before, I despise math and figuring out angles and all that oh-so fun stuff, but I started by finding the center and then worked from the outer ring in. My set of glass mixing bowls worked like a charm as my circle templates. Super handy that you can see through them.

 

I painted the background white (and in case you were wondering, yes it was a pain in the booty getting paint in the grooves). 

Next, I painted the points in 2 contrasting browns.

I then hand painted the letters, which turned out a little wonky, but it adds charm...ahem.

And that thing in the center? Yeah, that's supposed to be a globe. But once again, wonky = charm. One trick I've learned to cover up wonkiness is a little bit of sanding. You'll thank me for this tip someday.

So, at this point it was lookin' pretty cute, but those feet just had to go.

They were made from blocks of wood and had some poly drippage goin' on.

My solution? Outdoor fence finials (found in the lumber section of Home Depot). Pretty cute for being less than $3 bucks a pop.

A little paint and stain later and I had myself a toy storage solution that actually doesn't look like a toy storage solution.

I love the feet!! They make it look a little more like a piece of furniture than just a plain ol' box.

The ugly original handles got the boot and were replaced with some rope from Lowe's. I paid around $3 bucks for 5'.

So folks, I am here to tell you that it is possible to have a house that doesn't look like it's run by a bunch of crazy kids who have waaaaay too many toys. Although I can't guarantee the toys will stay in the toy box that you slaved over for days trying to make it look super cute to match the rest of your decor.