staceyobu Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 My two girls (age 8 and 3) share a very small bedroom. One wall has built in bookshelves. One wall has the bunk beds. One wall has the door and dresser. One wall has the closet. I feel like the wall of bookshelves has become a catch all for everything. I've tried purchasing some bins to hold stuff and make it look neater, but it still looks constantly junky to me. I am going to attach pictures of the current set up to see if anyone has any help. I didn't clean up before taking these pictures, so I could get it a little better looking... but this should give the general idea of what it looks like day in and day out. I'm considering getting some of those Hobby Lobby words to go in the top of the shelves. I wanted some that said "sisters", but I've only found "family". The closet is small and holds a plastic drawer unit with the younger DD's clothes. It also has a bin of dress up clothes and a laundry basket. There is a hall closet that could hold some overflow of toys. DH has suggested ripping out the shelves to add a little bit of room square footage and then just buying bookshelves to hold the books. I'm not sure if I want to rip out built in shelves, though. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarkd Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Can you put curtain on the bookshelves? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Um_2_4 Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 curtains over the top shelves? The baskets are cute, maybe find another way to store the stuffed animals: hammock or one of those chains with clips (like this) or under the bottom bunk in a plastic storage box (those long thin ones for under beds, depends how much room you have under there)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnIslandGirl Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 I'd do full length mirrors on rollers over the bookshelves to add brightness. And honestly, what little girl doesn't love a great mirrored wall! Unless you really utilize the dresser, could you move it out to open up more floor space? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureMoms Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Can you use bigger bins on the built-in to hold whatever is in that dresser? I love the idea of curtains or doors over the shelves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted February 23, 2013 Author Share Posted February 23, 2013 The dresser has all of older DD's clothes in it. I might be able to hang more of her stuff and put some of the rest on the shelves. I also like the idea of moving the stuffed animals off of the shelves. Those things drive me crazy, but they really love them and play with them quite a bit. I'm constantly trying to purge the least loved ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted February 23, 2013 Author Share Posted February 23, 2013 Can you use bigger bins on the built-in to hold whatever is in that dresser? I love the idea of curtains or doors over the shelves. The shelves are not very deep at all. I have a hard time finding bins that will fit width wise and not hang way over. If I wanted to hang curtains over the shelves, how would you go about hanging them? Just tack them onto the shelves? Do just the lower half or just the top half? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureMoms Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 The shelves are not very deep at all. I have a hard time finding bins that will fit width wise and not hang way over. If I wanted to hang curtains over the shelves, how would you go about hanging them? Just tack them onto the shelves? Do just the lower half or just the top half? How long is the wall? And just how deep are the shelves? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 http://mykoalastudio.com/2011/05/sandra-s/wall-of-fabric/ I've seen bookshelves that have curtains using tension rods all over Pinterest, something like above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted February 23, 2013 Author Share Posted February 23, 2013 How long is the wall? And just how deep are the shelves? The wall is 135 inches total (or about 11 feet). The shelves are 9 inches wide and about 10 inches height. The bottom two shelves are slightly taller. PS - You guys are awesome. I don't really have a knack for this sort of thing! What color curtains? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Um_2_4 Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Maybe white with a little ballet print to keep in theme with the room, but the white background would keep it from looking dark. And tensions rods are cheap. Moving the stuffed animals would help a lot. Even one of those collapsible laundry bins like target has to throw them in and then put in the closet or corner out of sight. (like this) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 If you wish to use curtain rods I would find cafe rods and use light weight curtains. Cafe rods mount to the tops or fronts of bookcases quite easily. They do use smaller mounting hardware. I have found them in white to match the trim of the bookcases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalm0m Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Get a bean bag cover and stuff the stuffed animal dolls in it and then it won't look so cluttery on the shelves. Plus it will offer some fun seating for them to sit and lounge on while reading a book. We got a tremendous bean bag cover and stuffed them with all of my girls stuffed animals and it works GREAT and gets used a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarkd Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Not sure because I can't see the windowed wall or determine how long the room is but could the bunk beds come into the middle of the room (turned 90*) to allow more access to the shelves? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarkd Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 A closet organizer might also help reduce shelf clutter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petrichor Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 OR, move either the bed or the dresser to cover some of the shelves? If you move the bed to cover some of the shelves, the girls could store their favorite books or toys right next to their sleeping area and even use that shelf to hold a glass of water for night time. The hidden shelves could hold off-season clothing or toys that are rarely used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K&Rs Mom Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 OR, move either the bed or the dresser to cover some of the shelves? If you move the bed to cover some of the shelves, the girls could store their favorite books or toys right next to their sleeping area and even use that shelf to hold a glass of water for night time. The hidden shelves could hold off-season clothing or toys that are rarely used. :iagree: I had a loft bed next to some built-in bookshelves when I was in highschool & college, and it was perfect for just these reasons. A top-bunk won't have a nightstand any other way. You can even screw a reading light to the shelf, or put a clock on the shelf that's even with the bed. You and also put folded clothes on the shelves (especially ones that are covered by curtains), to free up some dresser/closet space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 I might be tempted to remove the shelves in the corner bookshelf so you could push the bunk beds flush to the wall and leave a bit more space between the beds & closets. It seems like removing the stuffed animals from the other shelves would allow consolidation of everything else in the two remaining sections. I once saw a hammock like net hung from the ceiling opin a corner to hold all stuffed animals which seemed like a cute idea. I have no idea where I saw it but it is a space saver. Eta: obviously I didn't read all the posts because someone else posted a picture to the hammock idea..that is exactly what I was talking about. I thought I would also add that the shelves don't look particularly messy to me. I think just moving the animals would make a big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 have you looked at rubbermaid configurations closet organizers? (amazon generally has good prices. the main diffrence between their "classic" and "deluxe" is the number of extra shelves) they hang from a main rail that is screwed into studs. I have them in two children's bedrooms. they are easy to move around so you can have the configuration you want. both hang and shelves. you could even put some plastric drawers in the closet (along with an organization system) and possibly eat up all the clothes in the dresser so it can be moved out of the room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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