Help me furniture shop - homeschool storage

[HeyChelle]

Your help appreciated. I've been shopping and stressing over this b/c I really *need* to be more organized this year. This year I have a 4 yr old, first grader, 4th grader, and possibly also an 8th grader. Not sure if she will be homeschooled or not.

 

We homeschool in the dining room - a tiny dining room, sadly enough. Can you even call it a dining room? It's open to the kitchen - also very small. So it's not like it's a separate room and we do eat at the same table 3x a day. Last year I bought plastic storage drawers to house are materials and it worked, but it always looks messy. I'm on the hunt for ideal furniture for our storage needs. Solid wood kinds of real furniture.

 

1) We live in a front to back split:willy_nilly: Not an ideal home for homeschooling in the dining room. So anything tall - you will see the back of the furniture when you walk in the front door. Therefore it needs to be somewhat decent looking. No particle board backs.

 

2)I need shelves and drawers and I want hidden storage. No glass drawers. I want to be able to close up the books and eat in the dining room in peace.

 

 

So... I've found some armoires that I like, but dh is worried about having to look at the back of furniture from the front door. Also worried about the open floor plan view now being ubstructed.

 

So perhaps a buffet?

 

Help a momma out. What would you buy for this space?

Here is the space where I would put the furniture (the table is not there anymore). Our table is to the left of this space.

 

 

Oh good grief. Sorry about all the typos and errors.

Edited July 27, 2011 by HeyChelle
Insane typos and grammatical errors. yeah - I'm a teacher.

[Samiam]

Have you looked at Ikea?

First, it is nicely priced but also has good engineering and quality for the price.

But secondly, it is SOO veristale (or is that versitale?)....anyhoo, you can change it around.

 

I am thinking specifically of the Expedit line. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/search/?query=expedit

 

It is book case type things but with cubbies which are open on both sides, but you can add doors, drawers, baskets, mirrored doors, etc for each little cubby. So for some of the cubbies, you could get the doors, for both sides, but for the other cubbies, leave them open and put "decor" there.

 

That will solve two problems. One, give you storage and hide your stuff, and two, not completely block off the open floor plan, since you will have the open cubbies that leave some of the "open" feel.

[HeyChelle]

Thanks Samian. Funny you mentioned that. I have been planning to put in Expedit shelving from IKEA, but changed my mind. I would much rather have something solid wood. I'm also shopping for a new dining set and I want the woods to match, or at least coordinate.

[coralloyd]

How about this:http://www.homedecorators.com/P/Martha_Stewart_Living_Craft_Space_Storage_Cabinet/400/

[Brenda in FL]

So the dining area is the front part in the picture and it follows back, open to the kitchen? what about putting the dining table at the front (would be seen when you enter the front room and then use a buffet to between the dining and kitchen? Using it as a sort of divider. Maybe even get two narrow ones and place back to back so it can be used from both the dining and kitchen and be somewhat like an island?

 

We do use a server in our dining room/school room. It is not very wide but it fits all three kids' books and binders. We have an armoire in an adjoining room that holds most of our other supplies. I much prefer being able to close all the doors and hide all the school stuff. I had open book shelves in our old house lining the dining room. I always felt like we were entertaining in our schoolroom instead of our dining room! I don't feel that way anymore.

[campmom]

When you are shopping for a new table maybe you could find one that has a buffet that matches it. OR figure out what your perfect piece would be a buffet style piece but with exactly the cabinets, drawers, etc the sizes you would want arranged like you would want and have someone build it for you out of the same wood as the table you end up buying. You would end up with a nice piece of furniture that would be exactly what you want and need.

[Qcaller]

We recently got some shelves at Costco that might work for your situation. I can't find them on the Costco website but found these that look almost identical.

 

 

They are called a room divider and have open shelves that are finished on both the front and the back. You can place them horizontally or vertically. The bins are nice and roomy. The cream color gives a really unified look when they are all in place. I have books and supporting materials for each subject in a separate bin. I can quickly pull out just what I need for the week's workboxes.

 

BTW, this is what I use for workboxes.

 

 

Hope you find a solution that works for you.

 

Pam

[Forget-Me-Not]

I have these:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20087525

 

They have plastic tubs in varying depths and colors that slide in. I have two of the cabinets stacked on top of each other (DH bracketed them together and anchored them to the wall). I have a total of 18 boxes (because I used the shallow green ones) and a nice surface on top to keep things. Currently it has several books, a 24" skeleton, a pencil cup and sharpener, etc. I'd intended them as a workbox system, but meh. . . we are not workbox type people here, so it just became storage. It's nice to have a separate cubby for each subject and a few on the bottom to keep things to occupy my toddler :)

[ehommel]

Have you looked at Ikea?

First, it is nicely priced but also has good engineering and quality for the price.

But secondly, it is SOO veristale (or is that versitale?)....anyhoo, you can change it around.

 

I am thinking specifically of the Expedit line. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/search/?query=expedit

 

It is book case type things but with cubbies which are open on both sides, but you can add doors, drawers, baskets, mirrored doors, etc for each little cubby. So for some of the cubbies, you could get the doors, for both sides, but for the other cubbies, leave them open and put "decor" there.

 

That will solve two problems. One, give you storage and hide your stuff, and two, not completely block off the open floor plan, since you will have the open cubbies that leave some of the "open" feel.

 

This is exactly what I was thinking. You could find one that would match the wood on your railings and it would almost blend in.