302 Playroom Progress: A Bunch of Baskets!

I have some really exciting playroom news!

I found baskets!  Can you hear the birds chirping?  The choir singing?  The sounds of my super excited squeals?

I just may be a little in love with baskets.  It's a sickness....

When it comes to the Expedit bookcases, each cube has a fantastic large opening, which makes the furniture super amazing for storage in just about any room you can imagine.  Especially toys.  The openings measure approximately 13" square.

To really maximize all of that space, I was on the hunt for baskets that happily fit majority of the large opening.  Here are all of the options I considered:

{ 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 }

First, lets talk about what I wanted.  I wanted number three.  Like really really wanted.  I loved the natural feeling.  I loved the color {especially with our floors}.  I loved that it fit.  I didn't love the $35 price tag which would make the total cost of filling the cubbies, $350!!!  No thank you.  So, I looked at number one as an alternative.  Coming in at $13 per basket, I would still be able to fill the cubbies and get that natural texture and feeling I was going for.  But again, $130 total and I wasn't quite sure that woven baskets would be the best option for a play space.  I love the look and natural feeling, but I just wasn't convinced that for $130 they would stand the test of playroom time.  Next option was also IKEA, number two.  They are made for the Expedit, so I know they hold boatloads of toys.  In fact, in our past playroom, we had some of these.  But, they were large, clunky, heavy and ultimately cracked and chipped quite easily.  Total for number two would be an even $100.  I almost pulled the trigger on number four.  We have some of these in Expedits in the boy's shared closet and LOVE them.  Canvas, durable, fit the Expedit perfectly.... I was sold.  I even almost paid the $100 price tag for ten of these babies.  But, they were completely sold out {and still are}.  Boo.  Leaving us with number five.  I have used this type of basket around the house a few times, and we really really love them.  I love the texture and the durability.  They are really super fantastic baskets.  I had been eying them up for awhile, but at $12 per basket, I was having a hard time taking the $120 plunge.  But then last week I spied a pretty little clearance sticker on the bottom of those bad boys.  $6 for the giant size that I needed?  Heck YES!  My Target store only had two in stock.  So this crazy lady may have driven to multiple Target stores to snag all ten clearance baskets....

Is $60 a bit pricey and crazy for ten super sized baskets?  Yes and no.  They were the cheapest option for the Expedits, but absolutely not inexpensive.  Although, I felt like I won the lottery when I found them for 50% off and I am positive they will hold up for the long haul.  Not to mention that someday when my boys are too big to want and need a playroom, these babies can be recycled to the garage, laundry room, bedroom or even sold in a yard sale...

But do they hold a lot of toys?  Do they ever!

We have now removed almost every single toy from every single room in our home, and they all live happily in one friendly playroom!

It feels so good to finally have adequate storage and to no longer stash giant rubbermaid bins of toys under our stairs.  We still have oodles to do before we can call this playroom update complete.  Here is my current list:

• Paint entertainment center
• Update light fixture
• Window treatment
• Seating
• Additional toy storage
• A fun wall treatment
• Photographs/Artwork 
• Book storage 
• Basket Labels

You may have noticed that I haven't crossed off seating yet.  Bench is done, but I am still pondering adding a pouf or two or floor pillows or something around the table.  We also have a lot of blank walls to fill and a giant bare window to tackle.  Oooh, and I can't WAIT to get started on making labels for the baskets... 

Wondering how the bench was made?  You can find part one here and part two here.