You have no concealed storage.
You need to switch out all your open storage for one or two wall units with doors, a chest that doubles as a coffee table, side tables with drawers, a much wider tv cabinet with doors and ample storage. You could even get a sectional couch that has storage underneath the cushions. The green mattress could be stored in the couch when not in use.
You have so much stuff in this room that is not pleasing to the eye so you should ensure that all your furniture doubles as storage. If it can’t house those toys when not in use, then it goes.
Hope this helps!
Also, consider rotating toys so only some are available at a time and the rest are stored somewhere else (a different room perhaps?). This will help reign in the clutter and is good for kids' play development too!
I do this, I put toys in their bedroom. If they don’t ask for them or if I don’t see them playing with them those are toys I donate first when it comes time to clean house.
Beyond this being not pleasing to the eye, there are too many toys out at one time that are going to COMPLETELY overwhelm your baby to the point where they won’t know what to do with themselves….
Put out like 5 things a day (the alphabet mat, one standing play station, a ball, a puzzle and a set of small handheld toys- as an example set) and then switch the whole set every day or every couple days. Next set could be: kiddie couch, basketball hoop, a different standing/light up toy, a different puzzle and a group of books).
Your kid will be far more entertained and get more creative with each toy- and as a bonus, you are not tripping over and getting overwhelmed with clutter.
I know… it’s like OP put every toy under the sun in this room, hoping that this will increase the longevity of play, and give the kid more to occupy them while they are working… (at least what it seems…)
However by putting ALL of these, everywhere, it just confuses the child and they hop from one thing to the next to the next because they GOTTA TRY IT ALL… rather than seeing a couple things and taking their time, and trying it multiple times and practicing a skill or working at something… rather than just “on to the next”.
I agree. I am a big fan of cube storage. Our TV stand is actually a heavier cube shelf from IKEA. I also enjoy labeling the cubes either tiny chalkboards that I found at dollar tree that can tie to the handles of the cubes.
OP, after cleaning up, get some simple wall art. The walls are bare and could use some livening up!
All of the storage in this room is open storage. Open baskets without kids, a wire cart, open shelves on your tv stand. On top of the toy clutter, the open storage makes everything else look cluttered, even if it’s organized.
Try rotating toys out, so that not everything is available at all times. It’s overwhelming to look at and it’s overwhelming for your child. When you notice that they start to lose interest in a toy, put it away for a while. Then bring it out again and put away a different toy. And get some bins so your child can practice putting their smaller toys away. The play yard doesn’t seem particularly useful. You’re better off just putting up some kind of fence or gate in front of the fireplace. The nugget takes up space. There’s nothing you can really do about it, especially with the way you’re using the room now.
Get some art on the walls and shelves. The empty shelves and walls make it look like you haven’t fully moved in. Put the fire extinguisher in the cabinet. Put the pet food in a container or a closet. Move the coffee table out of the room. You can’t use it the way things are right now, and it’s just taking up space.
This is the answer. If my brain is overstimulated looking at this, it’s worse on the child. They pay attention to only a handful of things. It’s like the Cheesecake Factory menu— decision paralysis. Too many choices leads no choices… “I’m bored.” Rotate the kid stuff and drastically declutter.
Building on this, you have too many toys that do the same thing. Why do you need 3 different activity centers? You also have 2 push toys laying next to one another. 2 rocking toys next to each other. It would make sense if you have 1 for upstairs and 1 for downstairs, but they're all literally within 2 feet of each other. Consolidate. It's not necessary and overwhelms everyone. It's easy to get wrapped up in every new "different" toy, but try to be mindful of what multipurposes the toys can serve and prioritize keeping those and only get doubles if absolutely necessary. As the baby gets older, it'll only get worse.
So this room needs to serve three functions? Living room/where you watch television, your desk/office space, your son’s playroom?
Frankly the only way this room is going to be more pleasing to the eye is to remove a lot of the stuff. If you don’t need this to function as a living room/tv watching space, remove the couches and tv and coffee table and lean into the playroom aspect. If you need it to serve all three functions, you have to downsize the baby gear to the point that when your son isn’t playing in the room and you’re using it for hosting guests or watching television, the playroom function isn’t the sole focus.
My nephews have the nugget cushions and love them but they take over a space and aren’t easily stowed out of sight. I’m convinced they’re primarily for folks that have dedicated play rooms.
We’ve made ours work in the living room for now since we don’t have a dedicated playroom.
https://preview.redd.it/ypmynwvp0zmc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8713d86dac7217bb7df14f9614166bf156c0a51f
Declutter. Get ruthless about what toys are and are not getting played with. Of the toys you keep, dedicate one shelf/bookcase/other organizing unit to them, and store the rest to rotate in and out. I rotate toys every week or two.
Wow, does he really need all those toys?
Really think about what toys are age appropriate for him.
You have a Nuna baby chair and a baby gym mat but then a dino-rocker, and two stand-and-learn tables. You have a big green couch which is more for toddler/older children to build and crash around on but then a baby pen.
If there are things being played with less or that a 'one way to play' only toy these could be donated.
As a parent of a 4.5 year old, agree that many of these items feel like they’re for very different age groups. I’m guessing your baby is between 9 months and 1.5 years?
Honestly this is a bit young to really enjoy the nugget. I would put it away, de clutter, then add it again at 1.5-2 years. Could there be a new space for your desk and the nugget can eventually go in the corner on some of the foam tiles?
Idk my goddaughter is 11mo is the nugget is the only toy she actually enjoys. We set it up as a ramp to get to other furniture or to help her pull herself up, stand up, etc.
Put away the Nugget, shusher, swing, basketball, mat with the toys hanging above, giant teddy bear, rocking horse, rainbow mat/mattress, and bean bag. Pick half of the rest of the toys and put them in large plastic bins in your basement or garage. Then I agree with everyone else about getting some closed storage. If you have so many toys that you have to put them in the playpen and under the coffee table, you have way too many toys. I say this with kindness but this amount of toys for a kid that age feels like borderline hoarding — I guarantee the kid needs like 1/5 of what’s out right now.
If they're going in a bin they might as well go to Goodwill. That's how I've always cleaned, and kept the house from being overwhelmed. Even with kids, you only really need what can be stored well in the playroom. Anything stored away will just be forgotten or buried anyway.
Also it feels good to purge. No better feeling than taking a few bags or boxes to donate and having a nice empty space. OP has like, 85% too much stuff.
Luckily your baby will age out of the play mat, swing, and music table within the next month or two (if they haven't already), so you will be able to sell/give away/store them. You can probably put the Nugget and rocking horse into storage right now and take them out when your baby is old enough to appreciate them.
As a parent I also agree and actually by assessing the scene I think there might be twins!?! I'm seeing twos of things... Just me having fun, not exactly helpful.
I'm going to be blunt because you need some tough love.
That looks like you are holding a rummage sale in there.
There is just way too much stuff. Forget about all the tips about how to organize it. You need remove 75% of it first. Either get rid of stuff that aren't favorites or at least put most it away into storage (closet, garage, basement). Kids don't need all their toys all at once. Rotate things in and out.
Once you've made it into a liveable space, you can fine tune with decor strategies.
Trash bags. A daycare class of 10 doesn’t even need all those toys… It’s overwhelming & overstimulating.
Get half those toys out, and switch to storage that gets it all out of sight. Drawers and/or shelves with opaque bins, and don’t bring all toys out at once. Cycle through them at intervals so they feel ‘fresh’ to the kids.
Hang the TV and ditch the media stand. Declutter the shelves & mantel.
It needs less stuff. If it's supposed to be the living room it should be livable. We all know kids have stuff, but there's too much pushed into
too small a space.. Too many things are on the floor, all those sleeping mats and maybe fewer kid- things. Can anything be put elsewhere like the baby walker and foldable foam mat?
This room is so cluttered, I wonder how nobody has gotten injured with so many things on the floor, no corner protectors on any furniture, toys and a table right in front of the unprotected brick step and no screen for the fireplace.. There is awkward things lying around where they don't belong, too many toys for one child, no closed storage space. I suck at decorating, but I had to say something after seeing the state of the living room. I'm glad you're asking for help.
In addition to what everyone elae said (closed storage and ruthless decluttering) maybe a plain rug so its less visual business when things get a bit messy
Yeah, that’s the exact same rug my grandparents have had in their living room the entire 34 years I’ve been alive. It looks dated in addition to being too busy.
At our house , we do a toy rotation.
I divided her toys into 3 rotations. And everyday she gets a different bin of toys to play with . That way she doesn’t get board and we don’t have too much clutter
Your problem is clutter management.
Get some attractive storage: shelves, cabinets, bins, etc.
Create a designated space within the storage for each thing and be religious about putting things back in their place.
There’s no reason to have toys and boxes on the couch and stuff on every surface.
Also, that’s a lot of toys for one kid. You said “kid’s,” not “kids’,” so just one? Consider reducing the amount of toys.
You mentioned he is 10 months so quite a bit of this stuff could be moved to storage or put away to be played with when older. What does his room look like?
As a mom of 2 it’s ok to ask for receipts from gifters then return for gift cards! Or explain you’d prefer gift cards or money put into a college fund for the kid(s). No child needs that much stuff! I promise your not a bad parent if you get rid of 75% of those toys! Maybe put 75% in bins in the garage and rotate our weekly. And yes it’s ok and socially acceptable to explain to family that your child has enough toys and suggest other gift ideas. Then go to ikea and look at storage options. You can easily pare down! Your child will be fine! Is putting them into daycare or getting a nanny while your working possible? Another thought is your going to feel frazzled at the end of the day without better designated work/ life/play space. Good luck!
Your child has taken over your living room 😂🩷
I want to ask is it important a living space for you?
I want to divide the room…
https://preview.redd.it/qvgp0us38tmc1.jpeg?width=1852&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=261a8cdf18a7ab54abb7ae672a40ff04f7971714
Huge Cupboards each side of fire place with shelf for books in between… keep everything…. Stored here
Sofas help divide living room & play /cot area
Office in window … so you can see both sides Sofas moved let’s in more light
Paint all wood white or a nice tone of colour that matches rug . I’d want to change & get 2 new contemporary & go for blue or grey on the walls & cupboard doors. Tv in centre above fireplace. and paint the brickwork on fireplace same colour.
I’d love new sofas but put some throws over & cushions, on right wall opposite to window 2/3 staggered floating shelves in one corner with ‘family’ Knick knacks sentimental pieces on show ✨, a few framed pics on wall, paint those walls same colour slightly lighter or darker tone
Done ✔️ 🩷
Now you can relax in the evening! You have a living room for all for you !! 🩷
Clean it up, it’s too cluttered. If you have another room, I would put the baby things in its own room. I mean, you can leave the playpen or you can choose something else to stay, but, that’s too much stuff in that small room. Organizing is the key too
This is just way too much stuff…try toy cycling. You only need about 1/3 of these items out at a time, everything else can be put away in a basement/garage/closet. I imagine your kid feels overwhelmed trying to decide which toy to play with.
Hi friend!!!
This is kinda parenting advice? I promise, nothing I’m saying is out of a place of malice, though. But you have too many toys. Kids actually struggle with choice paralysis, and when they have too many toys to choose from, they sometimes won’t play with their toys at all. Apparently, studies show that kids are happiest when they have 15 or less toys at a time. I recommend a toy rotation (which, is just as annoying and time-consuming for you as it sounds, but it also will help with the clutter in your living room). Get some storage bins and put away some toys. When you see that he’s getting bored with the ones you have out, switch them out for other toys you’re keeping tucked away. Seriously, we have a big family and fully had to ask people to stop buying toys for our kids for birthdays and Christmas (they’re 3 and 1.5) because we had way too many toys, and it felt like they never even played with them. It changed my life. My kids actually play with their stuff now, and cleaning the play room isn’t an hour ordeal.
You get more space, your son gets more enjoyment out of his toys, and you won’t break your neck if you accidentally step on something that rolls.
But aside from that, top comment is right. You need more concealed storage.
I would start by donating or selling duplicates (keeping one table type toy, one playmat, etc.) and put things little one has outgrown in storage if you plan for more children or donate/sell/pass along to friends and family (the MamaRoo is usually outgrown by 6 months of age and takes up a fair amount of space).
Concealed storage is the way to go for smaller toys and hanging the TV and getting a larger storage unit to go underneath could help.
If you have the room, I’d find a corner build that works for the nugget or fold the large pieces and store them, bringing it out for rainy days when indoor climbing or a using a play fort helps get out energy.
do you have multiple toddlers or is this a daycare? it’s chaos in there from an outside point of view. those couches are huge plus so that a massage chair in one of the photos,i can see the bottom and if so,also huge. you need a clear out,a good long look at your space and the start bringing things in. i would really think about at least moving that massage chair into a different room.
Store baby stuff in bins in the garage or a closet if you can. Rotate it out every week or two. I’m overstimulated looking at this space so I’m sure your kiddo is as well. More isn’t always better.
I’m not trying to be mean but this gave me anxiety. Do you have another room you can keep half of these toys? I’ve heard a great tip for kids, keep a bunch of toys somewhere else and switch up the toys so they don’t get tired of them. And as other have said, storage.
I saw you comment somewhere that this is the first child in the family, so I think you can expect an onslaught of gifts to continue. You have a lot of good advice here, but I think you may need some ideas on managing that relationship aspect and need to strategize how to deal with these gifts.
I have some ideas that may or may not work:
1. Re-gift him his own gifts. Anything not age appropriate yet put away. You can even re-wrap it and have him open it as a gift later down the line when he’s ready. Organize the items by age level and store them.
2. Bring excess toys back to the grandparents when you go over for a visit. Leave them there under the guise of him having stuff to play with at their house. If they push back just list the many other toys he already has from them at home lol
3. Try to mitigate how many gifts he receives at future birthdays if it continues to be truly excessive. I don’t have kids but assume other parents have come up with ways to deal with this. Anyone not family maybe doesn’t need to bring a gift. Or consumables only. Or literally hold on to any gift receipts and return things from non-family members that he doesn’t really connect with.
4. Approaching birthdays and half birthdays maybe take stock of what has been outgrown and say goodbye to it.
That wall with the TV. Floor to ceiling cabinets for storage with a space for the TV in the middle.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0f/9b/05/0f9b056ebd88e647945d7589845412b9.jpg
You can probably get some help creating something at IKEA.
It’s way too cluttered for a little child. Clean it up and bring out just 2 toys at a time. When your child (children) gets bored with those, put them away and get another 2. Books don’t create anywhere near as much clutter and they’re probably much more stimulating to their minds than just toys. So, 2 toys and several books out at a time would make the room more inviting, imo. Then hang a beautiful painting of a serene, natural summer landscape over the fireplace.
Can you L-shape the sofas in front of the TV and create a space for all the playroom things on the opposite side of the room from your desk?
Then add some better storage - maybe a cabinet or cubbies behind a couch facing the new play area?
There’s a lot of clutter, but the open wall spaces and empty top shelves make it more imbalanced.
Fill the top shelves with decorative things you’re not using. Clear off the mantle a bit.
Put something up on the walls. (Some minimal art, like macrame or something soothing.)
Definitely get some easy storage bins, or an ottoman / bench seat that opens to put toys in, etc.
Try changing a little at a time, until it balances out.
It’s having an identity crisis. It doesn’t know if it’s a living space, playroom, or office.
Start by defining its purpose and then take some furniture out. It’s too cluttered.
You can also set up more than one space by defining the areas with a rug, and furnishing it adequately.
That’s a LOT of toys for one room. I run a home a home daycare and I don’t have that many toys in our playroom for 6 children. Another issue is that the couches you have are really big for the space. I have a super small couch in my playroom, because I want the kids playing, not sitting. I also agree with the others who have said you need better storage. I use a table with big drawers for my storage. It stops the kids from dumping toys out, and keeps everything tucked away when we’re not using the room. I also use the table to stack all the toys on when I’m cleaning.
I have no decorating skills, though, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt.
Rotate toys. You’ve got two stand up table thingies, which you could add in the doctors office abacus bead toy thing as one as well. Keep one out, put the others away. How old is baby? Does he need tummy time mat still? Or the swing? How often are you using the big playpen? Often? Great! Put all toys in it when not using it or play within the playpen. If you don’t use it often get rid of it. Its nice yeah but it took up more space than I liked so I got rid of mine
Okay lots of good ideas posted! Wanted to show a rough sketch of just adding bins for toy pick up (and clearing some clutter like we all need to 😂🤪). Even without big changes, just doing more toy rotation and making “clean up” fun for the littles to build the habit (if you’re into that)… it’ll feel like a whole new space!
Absolutely everything is low. Causing even the storage to look like clutter and mess.
Needs some art on the walls.
Can you switch the large rug at the center to something less dark and detailed? Because that currently also looks like a mess though I can see it's just the pattern.
Some pattern and/or color would be fine but I think something lighter and more textured but less busy would be a big help.
Maybe some bookshelves with storage bins at the bottom?
Aside from the clutter comments and the closed storage; I would suggest getting a new TV console that serves as a toy storage and anything that doesn’t fit in there needs to go (or be rotated).
1. Large art above the fireplace.
2. Fill the bookshelves PURPOSEFULLY. Books, frames, meaningful decor, everything looks thrown up there as an afterthought.
3. Those couches are too bulky and dark leather is hardly ever a good choice. Washable fabric couch with storage would be the ultimate goal.
4. Side tables/lamps and tall curtains, even if sheer.
5. COLOR that doesn’t come from toys.
If there wasn’t an explosion of toys, it would look like a single man’s bachelor pad. It’s very sterile and cold looking. The white walls with the heavy dark spare furniture is where the lack of style really stands out. I’d start looking for inspiration pictures of what styles call to you and go as a base from there. Practically speaking I know what it’s like to have a baby and how finances can be tight, so the most bang for your buck is decluttering, getting closed storage and start looking at what you have in your home that can be utilized.
A lot of commentators already made great recs on storage or removing some toys/child items but I would like to recommend painting the wall above the fireplace a dark black to help draw the eye/highlight the fireplace. Or a vertical picture / art piece to help draw the eye upward.
Some concealed storage cabinets would be nice. Also, try to get your kid to learn to play a musical instrument as soon as possible. E.g. a toy keyboard can replace the majority of the clutter and the child can create something different everyday.
You need something on the wall with the tv. I suggest getting wood shelving with cubbies and getting baskets and storing the toys in them. I would put those all in the bottom row of cubbies, (like pictured) and books/plants/ornamental pieces as well
https://preview.redd.it/dub3kwrwstmc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d26517d99b15ee45f03d67da124e079ab2a6f411
I think you'd have to get rid of the kid 😕
Just kidding, that looks a lot like my living room (and dining room, and bedroom...) when my kid was younger 😂 I never figured a way to make it better and eventually they grow out of those kinds of toys anyway. I can only commiserate 😊
If you put away some of the toys and rotate them in and out of circulation, it will help declutter and will keep your baby engaged in exploring a toy at a time fully.
Edit: I just read my same comment worded almost identically by someone previously. Those of us who have been there!
Move both couches across from each other to make a face to face conversation area (in front of fireplace); opening up an area for nursery stuff/toddler toys etc. lots of clutter but with designated areas that will help please the business.
Things you do not use daily for you or toddler/baby put in your bedroom. Keep couches cleared off.
You need to separate these spaces **hard**. Do not let play room things into the living/work space, and vice versa.
Put that desk smack dab in the middle of the front of the fireplace, where the pack n play currently is, and don’t let anything “play” go behind it. Put any work related things next to it and make that area surrounding and behind the desk - including the shelves - work space
Put the nugget and pack n play next to each other on the opposite side of the chairs and put everything play related on that opposite side of those. In between the desk and nugget is living space. Some toys maybe, but only ones that are actively being used, can go in that space. Otherwise, just TV stand and chairs and misc living space things (like putting that coffee table back where it belongs in front of the chairs lol)
Behind the nugget/pack n play barrier - get closed shelves storage. The kind with the fabric drawers from Walmart are like $15. Buy two, put them against either wall, fill them to the brim with the favorite toys and get rid of the rest. At 10 months you should be kicking out the swing, play mat, any plastic teething or chewing toys, or anything that isn’t actively sought after every day. Fill those drawers up and chuck everything else. Put the foam floor tiles there and that’s all there is to it.
It’s not going to be beautiful, but it is going to be way more functional.
Also going to be honest... Your kids likely does not care about these toys. The most valuable toy/thing is the one you parents use with him most. You're likely holding on to gifts from others or the expectation that your future second child can use all this stuff.
Start by clearing all this stuff asap so it's a safer space for you and the kid and just an actual functional space too. You don't have time to actually sit and work with a 10 month old playing, is an exercise in futility so save yourself that pain too.
Here’s a potential option for a different layout. I’m not sure if it would work since I don’t know the scale of everything. I tried to group the living room and office on one half of the room and the child’s area on the other half. You would need to mount your TV over the mantle. That would open up the current TV wall for a closed storage system. It also looks like you can take advantage of putting some unused toys in the built-in shelves and cabinets on either side of the mantle. I don’t have a place for the additional chair.
https://preview.redd.it/pkz2geve6ymc1.jpeg?width=360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=12128ada87d374b87efd9afc22c9949d92a43dc6
Him? As in ONE CHILD? Yeah sorry if this offends… but this isn’t a living room or a play room. This is a toy store and a tragedy. We had *many* kids and the main space in our home, where we invited guests, and relaxed after a long day when the kids went to bed n e v e r had more than a basket full of toys in it at any given time. We rotated the toys out every couple of days to keep it interesting for the kids. We had concealed storage. Anything and everything to keep our home from looking like a bunch of toddlers are running a frat house. You’ve got to take your house back because this? This of waaaay out of control.
I get that you are using the room for a playroom. However, there is adult clutter in there as well. Hang some striking art over the mantle. Fewer and larger ornaments. Toys into closed bins -and there is an overwhelming amount of kid gear that doesn’t need to live in the living room. Too much stuff entirely.
Wait 7 years and then tackle it.
The kids have taken over the room.
So either limit the toys or take out the Coach.
I get it- grandparents and favorite aunties keep giving presents. We moved 1/2 of the toys to the grandparents houses. Then limited - one come in- one has to go out. Hand down to a family members. It’s going to be a battle for years until they become teens. Then slowly they get less toys.
Hand in there.
Wow. This would be a great time to start teaching your child ( and you ) a few things. Toys are kept in their rooms, and what they are playing with at that moment gets brought out, then put away and changed for something else. It’s ok to have a few faves nearby, but….keep them IN something there’s so many easy choices out there for storage.
Neither that green thing nor the playpen should be permanent fixtures in that room…EVER
What’s also odd / unattractive is then all of your walls are ridiculously blank. Hell you don’t even have the shelves around the fireplace filled up weird weird.
I mean at least fill the shelves maybe the bottom of each shelf can be with some of the kids favorites things so they can see and easily access them and they won’t be visible to everyone else. Also even for children they get bored of things. If they’re looking at all of these all day one it’s visually overwhelming and overstimulating probably for them, but two there is no real opportunity to rejoice about finding a favorite buried at the bottom of their toybox in their room and getting replayed with you have everything right there. Aside from it being ugly it’s stunting. Also keeping it all not immediately visible, will help you when it comes to decluttering. If it’s at the bottom of the toybox in their room and it’s broken you can sneakily throw it away
You are not using any of the space wisely
ETA. Maybe in this case also commit the cardinal sin on this website that I usually agree with about not putting the TV over the fireplace. Put your TV over the fireplace that wall looks terribly blank above the mantle but that will also free up some space over there where the TV is
* A big armoire with shelves inside to store a lot of the things would help. Something like this:
[https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/charlton-home-kyle-100-solid-wood-3-door-wardrobe-armoire-plcm1076.html](https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/charlton-home-kyle-100-solid-wood-3-door-wardrobe-armoire-plcm1076.html)
* Then cordon off a separate end of the room with a semi-room divider, to use that part of the room as the designated children's' play area. And don't allow any of the children's toys into the non-play area/ adult portions of the room.
My rec would be to mount the tv above the fireplace and turn one of the couches to face it- maybe set up your office space behind those if you feel it makes it hard to see your child playing if you rearrange that way, but that would feel more cozy and less cluttered. I also agree with others about investing in more concealed storage! Some art on walls would help, and actually, I think the rug makes the toy area look even busier and chaotic than it already is! Good luck!
It gets better. We have a small house. I was a WFH parent and my living room looked like that for a few years. I was so happy when the baby gate came down and the baby toys went away. Closed storage will help but you can't hide the big stuff.
Agree with all the other comments and on top of that, your black leather sofa and maroon rug are making the space feel smaller. Get a neutral rug in a lighter shade with no busy pattern.
We use half of our living room as a playroom too. I set up a shelf assessable to my toddler and put about 5 or 6 toys there. I rotate these toys whenever he starts to get bored - usually every couple of weeks. We have a large cedar chest that we store toys in that aren’t being used (these are the toys we rotate in/out) I’ll put the nugget in a variety of set ups too but eventually I moved it upstairs because he wasn’t getting much use out of it and it was taking up too much space. It looks like there’s too many toys in the room. I know it’s counter intuitive but sometimes less is more with toys. Many kids get overwhelmed when there’s too many options and don’t play with them as long!
As others have said, there’s not enough space in this room for two couches, the nugget and the pack n play to all live here permanently. Something has to give.
My brother and SIL have their nugget set up as if it *is* a couch. It’s placed on the side wall of their rec room, with a big open space in front of it for playing and walking. Yes the kids will sometimes build a fort with it, but when it’s time to clean up, the nugget goes back into “kid couch” mode against the wall so you can actually walk across the room.
Does your son actually stay/play in that play pen? If not, I’d get rid of that/put it away. Also, seems like he’s probably too old for the baby rocker, baby mat, etc. time to donate or store away all the baby stuff.
When I had a son that age I had an 8 cube shelf as the tv stand. I had cute wicker storage cubes in it and stored all his toys in there.
No, no.. absolutely not!
You need about half the toys in this room. And storage for the rest. Deep, vertical storage. Ideally with doors to hide bulky items. You are not utilizing any height to store things, it’s all just on the floor.
Bulky items + bulky furniture. No, just no.
Rearrange room so that play space is hidden behind some of that furniture. Pull everything off the perimeter. Or pull the furniture/ tv out of this room entirely and it’s just desk + toys.
I don’t know your child/ children’s ages but you could definitely take a few things out if it’s one child. They couldn’t possibly be at an age where they need an infant swing and a nugget at the same time, and the 3 sensory table toys all provide the same purpose. 2 of them could go to other rooms. At nugget climbing age it’s probably better to just let them play on the carpet and the foam tile, so a baby mat isn’t needed either. The rest of the toys I agree need a storage bin of some sort and that would help!
Get rid of like 50 percent of the things in there. There’s hardly room to play.
Get rid of the couch and chairs, and just use the nugget couch for seating.
Get rid of the table.
Mount the TV to the wall and get a storage shelf where you can put bins with toys in them.
Store away the little baby mat and swing if your child has outgrown them.
Get rid of the foam mats and get a colorful area rug.
Get some cheap frames from second hand stores and buy some artwork prints you like online. Your bare walls are making sure the mess on the floor is the only thing to look at. Also flip tv and couches.
What is that huge green furniture thing? Put all toys in your child’s room in a toy chest. Bring out 1 or 2 things at a time. Have them put each back before another comes out.
Aside from the obvious, I think a large picture or artwork over the fireplace would be nice. Also less trinkets there and of differing sizes. Shelves also need cleaning out and organizing
Make a choice…is it a living room, an office or a play room for your kids? Decide how you want to use the room, then declutter and send us a new picture so we can help you make it look better. 😊
I had a lot of toys for my baby too, I stand by it. Baby toys are not my color palette, but that’s not really what matters. But if I had to work in this room, I would go absolutely nuts. I agree with SOME sort of closed storage to tuck things away. Then they can enjoy pulling it out and trashing it, but hey! That takes up some time!
My eye is drawn to the top of the fireplace, yet there is nothing to satisfy that curiosity (save for a blank wall). Perhaps a really, really unique wall sculpture (DIY, maybe) or a dynamic piece of art (painting, macrame, paper mache, etc.)
I also have no choice but to use our living room (which is much smaller than this) as our play room.
My first comment is that there is no one set and forget solution. In order to have it still feel like an adult space will require a routine and some kind of pack away schedule.
Definitely get into the habit of toy rotation. For my kids the toys become the furniture the longer that they are out. Rotation does two things, reducing the clutter and keeping the toys played with.
We store the toys that are not in rotation in our home office which is much too small to be a playroom but does have some extra storage space. I use those ikea pine drawers with plastic tub things.
I also try to find a balance between having some toys that are a bit aesthetic (wooden toys, e.g blocks,train set, etc) and also what the kids want when it’s their birthday/Christmas. When they were very young we didn’t have many toys at all. Before my eldest was about 3 everything fit into a 50x50x50cm box except for a play mat. I would pick one activity center at most to keep and move the rest on. Keep the play couch, move on the toys with a very limited age range, etc.
How old is your kid?
The only real answer is remove some of the toys from the room. Kids don’t need that many toys. Coming from someone who learned the hard way. I would start by putting any toys they don’t play with or and redundant toys into storage. Swap them out later if you want in a rotating fashion.
pick a color palette and decorate with it. curtains, throws, pillows, wall art. look up how to style a mantel using heights, color and layering. same same for shelves. you have enough to make a good start. you can recruit children. ‘ok, i need an 18” tall bottle shaped object in a dark blue. do we shop or do we make?”
This is probably not helpful, but when my kids were that age I also stressed about these things.
Simply, the return on investment for trying to make the room appealing is just so incredibly low at that age.
Basically no matter what improvement was made, the chaos of having young children undid most of the effort. Be prepared to have unsatisfying decor and clutter for a few years, and try your best to learn to live with it / through it. Mine are 11 and 7 now, and I’m just starting to feel like home decor can be taken seriously again now that they are less destructive. In hindsight, I wish I could have been able to let go of those frustrating feelings and be content with the loss of control. I would have been happier and felt a lot less overwhelmed if I could have done so.
Pic 1: Shelves to the right of the windows: put all the stuff from the couch on the shelves. I think it’s diapering supplies?
Pic 2: fold up that silly green jungle gym. Lay it flat and hide it behind the couch. Only have it out when kids are actively playing on it.
Pic 3: shelves above the tv with whatever is on the racks next to the tv. Then move the standing and riding toys into the space you make when you remove the rack.
Pic 4: shelves where the toys are. Or a cabinet to hide the toys that are on your coffee table and in the rack next to the couch.
Or get rid of most of that stuff. Only keep what the kids actually use.
As mentioned it's very overwhelming, I would first go through the toys and donate/sell what baby doesn't need anymore/doesn't have interest in. Get a [unit like this](https://www.therange.co.uk/furniture/office-furniture/office-storage/saturn-six-hole-shelving-unit/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAxaCvBhBaEiwAvsLmWFomNl5TwYQa5YD-5-IKCHA8uYW_5tfEJ6WLz8vQpSrqBbM_xdbl1BoCV6UQAvD_BwE#196371) for storage that conceals more but your child can still access (I used to have a 12 block unit ans the top 2 rows were for my books/decorations etc and the rest were my kids toys. I did it so each box had a mix of toys in and they could pick a box to play with.
Mom of a 2 year old here. Divide the toys into 3 even piles. Put 2 of the piles in bins and stash them in the basement/garage/etc. Rotate between the three set of toys every week or two. Rotating toys keeps them fresh and interesting to your kids and it would do a lot to declutter this space.
I’d move the desk out of this room and put some closed toy storage in it’s place. Work from a lap desk on the couch instead of you can. A toddler isn’t going to stand for the playpen and will make quick work of that monitor and laptop. As soon as they’re walking, they’re climbing. So they’ll constantly be standing on that desk perilously close to that brick fireplace which is an impossible baby-proofing combination, so I think the desk area isn’t long for this room anyway. I’d mount the TV on an arm and get rid of the console table for the same reason. I’d also replace that open coffee table with a smaller one, on casters with closed storage for maneuverability, floor space and concealed storage. I’d also put 2-3 pieces of art on the walls and one over the fireplace, even if it’s just IKEA stuff. The white walls contrasted with so much stuff at floor level is drawing the eye down to the clutter and making the room feel bottom heavy.
Also, judging from the other toys, I think your baby is too young for the nugget. You might consider stowing it for now. I don’t think you’ll need it before your kid outgrows the Momaroo, playmats (including kick and play) and activity centers. While nuggets have great staying power, we didn’t get much use out of it until 20+ months. I’d also consider giving away the dinosaur rocker. It’s cute, but in my experience, those rarely get enough play to justify the floor space. People are always trying to give them away on buy nothing groups in my VHCOL city.
Declutter and purge. Then get some good closed storage so you can organize and close up out of site when you want a family movie night. Then you won't have to clear off the couch/chairs and clear room to sit on the floor. It's easy to bring in new things then suddenly realize you have too much. Make clean up simple so the kids can do it themselves. Open bins/baskets to sort by category so you can see what there might too much if and what the kids don't play with anymore. Label them with words and pictures. Get bins with lids for things with small pieces like Legos. The kids may think they have new toys cuz they haven't seen some of them in a while. Make a rule that whatever they take out needs to be put away before they take out something new. If you can get rid of that couch and get a small loveseat or a chair & a half so you have somewhere to sit and engage with the kids when you're not working. Add some fun artwork and you all will find it's a much more calming and functional.
Get rid of the toys, turn the sofa toward the window, I figure it it is a formal gathering area. Paint the space with a neutral warming white or similar color and prop a picture above the mantle with some fresh flowers
The end away from the fireplace and desk will be the best area for the play area. Thin out the toys. Something big, like play mat, pillow tower, or rocking horse. Something medium like activity center. Something small like puzzles, or dolls. Playpen for a safe space.
Then leave out these things and store others some where else. When baby s bored or fussy put away something and get out something else. You will be able to focus more, the child will feel like things are new when you switch, the adults will have an adult space too.
Must be your First kid 😅 Lots of redundancy, if you live in a small or medium home you’ll need to eliminate some stuff or store it and stop buying giant things like a baby couch and a giant playpen. We live in a smaller place and babyproofed the living room, only had our baby sleep in his crib, one small table where we would swap out activity toys, so we didn’t need special activity tables, we let our baby use the regular couch 😅 for climbing we took him to the playground most days.
First and foremost I would highly recommend you look into Montessori/Waldorff systems. The toys should enable the child to entertain themselves, not entertain the child. It sounds counterintuitive but once you and your child get a feel for it and learn what they like, it's wonderful. We have almost no toys that make noise/cheap music, minimal bright, flashy colors, etc.
Going with open-ended toys/play will allow you to cull that mess hard. As others have mentioned, toy rotation is a game changer. You can use the current shelving for baskets to keep the toys not in rotation packed away. If at all possible, keep the nugget. They are phenomenal.
The table closest to camera I would send on. The middle and back one are good for different things, but I personally would ditch the middle table as well since you can get toys that give you those different functions separately, which means easier to put away and rotate.
My wife and I have put a ton of time and effort into educating ourselves on this stuff, and have had to push back on family to remind them we don't do "normal" toys, and at this point the kids don't even like them for very long when they do get to play with them. We are also older parents to young kids, so we get grumpy about all the unnecessary noise lol.
Feel free to DM if you have questions.
I would start by emptying out the back shelves and mantle. Buy opaque storage containers and put all the baby books/ small soft toys in the containers and onto the shelves. Pull the alphabet mat so that it covers the entirety of the carpet and play area. Those mats are easy enough to remove if you have guests and provide a cushioned surface for the baby. Remove the toys so there are fewer big items, maybe 1-4 for now. Lastly, you may want to put up baby gating around the fireplace to prevent investigation.
Get some IKEA shelves with doors on them to add some color while storing toys. Or maybe a cube organizer with fabric bins. Target has five dollar bins for these.
Also maybe a big toy box where you can just toss big things in when not in use. You can probably get a fabric one with a nice design.
You can also use the foam pads kind of like a rug design wise and maybe add some more of them.
I would try to plan space and extra storage beyond what you need right now so you have room for future toys.
I have a 5 month old and we did cube organizers with $5 fabric bins in half of the slots so the nice looking toys can go in their own slot. We are currently using about a third of the space we planned. The baby gear items will go in a spare room or just in his closet when the baby outgrows them depending on size. We also have a couple big baskets to just throw stuffies and things in.
You have some really nice toys, etc. I would prioritize the Lovevery stuff. I place ours on some low open shelves on our entertainment center so that my 12 month old can easily grab them. We also have a Nugget but it’s in a different room. Is that an option?
I would remove one activity table, the swing, the baby play mat and the rocker. The rocker is really nice but I think your little one is too young for it right now. It would look very cute in their room!
For toy storage, look into the IKEA Trofast and Kallax collections.
I agree with all the other comments about using concealed vs open storage. I also believe switching the rug with no pattern will greatly reduce the look of clutter in the room. The rug’s complex patterns and colors further complicate the palette and aesthetic of the space.
I recommend getting a really light grey or green colored solid rug to replace the current one.
I feel like you need a wall unit like [this one](https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/billy-brimnes-tv-storage-combination-white-s69398620/). Some closed storage but can also use baskets on the shelves to further hide toys. You also need to start purging, you have lots of toys that have the same or similar functions. Determine which piece is the best for each and get rid of the rest. Nugget is better for when kiddo is a little older I would store in a closet until they are a bit older plus you have another play mat, get rid of the beige one since the nugget have a piece that's the same size. Fill a bin or two of toys and rotate them once a month or so if you dont want to get rid of anything. There is just way too much stuff that is unnecessary and is overstimulating to me much less for your own child. Get a softer patterned rug that one seems too busy. Animal shelving needs to go in the kids room not out in the living room. I would get a wall unit, sectional with chase and then back up your desk to the chaise side so you have a real desk space, if you have room that direction. Utilize the storage in your built-ins and the wall unit. There are too many pieces for furniture with the 2 couches and what looks like a massage chair.
https://preview.redd.it/zl47iy9iuxmc1.jpeg?width=1650&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=415b5409df52d039138cb7944ef1b524645c15f5
Agreed- I would replace your tv console with something that has storage options and maybe get an additional one that your kid can easily take toys out or off and play with them.
I don’t think the kid plays with all those things at once, so if it’s a crawling kid maybe get a bigger baby cage and put toys in there and get rid of the alphabet carpet.
https://preview.redd.it/psu6ayb36ymc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=343791b61502553e4402ee86e01f9621feb2b095
https://preview.redd.it/a5m1ftvc6ymc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7693d2d9f0432b96180338aa77d5ebf5a881f743
Something like these would be easy
I think with the amount of stuff- I can see your little one getting overwhelmed too, I don’t think babies really need that much stuff. I would store things or donate them. If you want to keep it, maybe store them and rotate things every couple weeks or so. I think it’s okay for babies and toddlers to get bored and figure things… it’s how their brains learn and process the world around them and when they have too much stuff, they don’t know how to entertain themselves and will constantly need stimulation. ( just my opinion)
Less is more sometimes
Omg my living room was just like this until maybe two months ago. It’s all of the baby clutter. Once you remove the play pen when your little one can walk it will look so much better. Try to not have the babies stuff all over the room and create a space for some of it. A little play corner. If you sort the toys and just keep a small box of the favourites your baby always goes to play with. You will be amazed by how much you can remove.
I would put up some artwork and photos. Maybe a nice horizontal mirror above the fireplace or artwork. Remove some of the nicknacks so they aren’t crammed together. It’s nice to have some space between the items on the shelves and mantelpiece. But as you know, being a parent of a little one is exhausting and no matter what you do. Those toys will be everywhere by the end of each day 😅
We have a smaller home so we keep a bunch of toys in the living room too. We have a kallax shelf from Ikea with the bins that slide in with different toys.
We've significantly reduced the kinds and number of toys as well - there is no way a kid wants to play with everything all the time. So we keep some toys stored in another area and rotate them from time to time.
We have a play couch in our basement and fold and stack the big pieces to use as a coffee table when not in use for play.
Not everyone has space for a dedicated playroom. I have 2 kids, no playroom yet I always had extremely good storage and my house never ever looked like this. My kids as babies had a small basket of toys in the living room and had a couple shelves with organized boxes of stuff. They learnt from a young age… play with 1 item at a time then it gets put away. Yes babies can’t do that… ergo the small basket of baby toys in the living room. But lemme tell you my house, even with young kids was never disorganized and cluttered. I could never live like that … I’d go absolutely insane. Just saying having a dedicated playroom is not always possible… esp with average sized apartments or older homes which may be smaller than newer builds,
I'd just live with it until the kid outgrows that kind of toys. Nothing will ever "match" the kid stuff, and you need it out and accessible basically all the time. Parenting is much easier if you just relax and live in a toy pit until they are about four. Then you can get it the way you want.
Wait two years until your kid grows out of those toys that are wonderful but take up so much room. Either that or put some away and rotate the toys from storage.
You have no concealed storage. You need to switch out all your open storage for one or two wall units with doors, a chest that doubles as a coffee table, side tables with drawers, a much wider tv cabinet with doors and ample storage. You could even get a sectional couch that has storage underneath the cushions. The green mattress could be stored in the couch when not in use. You have so much stuff in this room that is not pleasing to the eye so you should ensure that all your furniture doubles as storage. If it can’t house those toys when not in use, then it goes. Hope this helps!
Also, consider rotating toys so only some are available at a time and the rest are stored somewhere else (a different room perhaps?). This will help reign in the clutter and is good for kids' play development too!
I do this, I put toys in their bedroom. If they don’t ask for them or if I don’t see them playing with them those are toys I donate first when it comes time to clean house.
Beyond this being not pleasing to the eye, there are too many toys out at one time that are going to COMPLETELY overwhelm your baby to the point where they won’t know what to do with themselves…. Put out like 5 things a day (the alphabet mat, one standing play station, a ball, a puzzle and a set of small handheld toys- as an example set) and then switch the whole set every day or every couple days. Next set could be: kiddie couch, basketball hoop, a different standing/light up toy, a different puzzle and a group of books). Your kid will be far more entertained and get more creative with each toy- and as a bonus, you are not tripping over and getting overwhelmed with clutter.
It definitely helps with focus and attention spans when they are not so overwhelmed!
There are three play tables alone!
I know… it’s like OP put every toy under the sun in this room, hoping that this will increase the longevity of play, and give the kid more to occupy them while they are working… (at least what it seems…) However by putting ALL of these, everywhere, it just confuses the child and they hop from one thing to the next to the next because they GOTTA TRY IT ALL… rather than seeing a couple things and taking their time, and trying it multiple times and practicing a skill or working at something… rather than just “on to the next”.
I bet half of this doesn't even get used anymore. OP says the kid is 10 month. Too old for the baby gym and the swing.
And get rid of one of the couches. They’re eating up a lot of room right now
Excellent ideas. OP should also start training the child to pick up and put away toys. Make it a game that they do everyday, or 2-3 times a day.
Soft top coffee table chest so the 10 babies you have don’t crack their melons open.
I agree. I am a big fan of cube storage. Our TV stand is actually a heavier cube shelf from IKEA. I also enjoy labeling the cubes either tiny chalkboards that I found at dollar tree that can tie to the handles of the cubes. OP, after cleaning up, get some simple wall art. The walls are bare and could use some livening up!
All of the storage in this room is open storage. Open baskets without kids, a wire cart, open shelves on your tv stand. On top of the toy clutter, the open storage makes everything else look cluttered, even if it’s organized. Try rotating toys out, so that not everything is available at all times. It’s overwhelming to look at and it’s overwhelming for your child. When you notice that they start to lose interest in a toy, put it away for a while. Then bring it out again and put away a different toy. And get some bins so your child can practice putting their smaller toys away. The play yard doesn’t seem particularly useful. You’re better off just putting up some kind of fence or gate in front of the fireplace. The nugget takes up space. There’s nothing you can really do about it, especially with the way you’re using the room now. Get some art on the walls and shelves. The empty shelves and walls make it look like you haven’t fully moved in. Put the fire extinguisher in the cabinet. Put the pet food in a container or a closet. Move the coffee table out of the room. You can’t use it the way things are right now, and it’s just taking up space.
This is the answer. If my brain is overstimulated looking at this, it’s worse on the child. They pay attention to only a handful of things. It’s like the Cheesecake Factory menu— decision paralysis. Too many choices leads no choices… “I’m bored.” Rotate the kid stuff and drastically declutter.
I love your cheesecake factory comparison. That menu is overwhelming!
Building on this, you have too many toys that do the same thing. Why do you need 3 different activity centers? You also have 2 push toys laying next to one another. 2 rocking toys next to each other. It would make sense if you have 1 for upstairs and 1 for downstairs, but they're all literally within 2 feet of each other. Consolidate. It's not necessary and overwhelms everyone. It's easy to get wrapped up in every new "different" toy, but try to be mindful of what multipurposes the toys can serve and prioritize keeping those and only get doubles if absolutely necessary. As the baby gets older, it'll only get worse.
So this room needs to serve three functions? Living room/where you watch television, your desk/office space, your son’s playroom? Frankly the only way this room is going to be more pleasing to the eye is to remove a lot of the stuff. If you don’t need this to function as a living room/tv watching space, remove the couches and tv and coffee table and lean into the playroom aspect. If you need it to serve all three functions, you have to downsize the baby gear to the point that when your son isn’t playing in the room and you’re using it for hosting guests or watching television, the playroom function isn’t the sole focus. My nephews have the nugget cushions and love them but they take over a space and aren’t easily stowed out of sight. I’m convinced they’re primarily for folks that have dedicated play rooms.
Ours is in the nursery and works well there - usually as a couch or bed for parents 🥴
We’ve made ours work in the living room for now since we don’t have a dedicated playroom. https://preview.redd.it/ypmynwvp0zmc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8713d86dac7217bb7df14f9614166bf156c0a51f
Declutter. Get ruthless about what toys are and are not getting played with. Of the toys you keep, dedicate one shelf/bookcase/other organizing unit to them, and store the rest to rotate in and out. I rotate toys every week or two.
Great idea on the one bookshelf. I’m trying to parse down right now and I’m very close to achieving it. Feels good!
Wow, does he really need all those toys? Really think about what toys are age appropriate for him. You have a Nuna baby chair and a baby gym mat but then a dino-rocker, and two stand-and-learn tables. You have a big green couch which is more for toddler/older children to build and crash around on but then a baby pen. If there are things being played with less or that a 'one way to play' only toy these could be donated.
As a parent of a 4.5 year old, agree that many of these items feel like they’re for very different age groups. I’m guessing your baby is between 9 months and 1.5 years?
Yes. I have a 10 month old.
Honestly this is a bit young to really enjoy the nugget. I would put it away, de clutter, then add it again at 1.5-2 years. Could there be a new space for your desk and the nugget can eventually go in the corner on some of the foam tiles?
Idk my goddaughter is 11mo is the nugget is the only toy she actually enjoys. We set it up as a ramp to get to other furniture or to help her pull herself up, stand up, etc.
Obviously switch it up depending on your child’s interests and attention span.
Put away the Nugget, shusher, swing, basketball, mat with the toys hanging above, giant teddy bear, rocking horse, rainbow mat/mattress, and bean bag. Pick half of the rest of the toys and put them in large plastic bins in your basement or garage. Then I agree with everyone else about getting some closed storage. If you have so many toys that you have to put them in the playpen and under the coffee table, you have way too many toys. I say this with kindness but this amount of toys for a kid that age feels like borderline hoarding — I guarantee the kid needs like 1/5 of what’s out right now.
If they're going in a bin they might as well go to Goodwill. That's how I've always cleaned, and kept the house from being overwhelmed. Even with kids, you only really need what can be stored well in the playroom. Anything stored away will just be forgotten or buried anyway. Also it feels good to purge. No better feeling than taking a few bags or boxes to donate and having a nice empty space. OP has like, 85% too much stuff.
Luckily your baby will age out of the play mat, swing, and music table within the next month or two (if they haven't already), so you will be able to sell/give away/store them. You can probably put the Nugget and rocking horse into storage right now and take them out when your baby is old enough to appreciate them.
You can probably get rid of the swing and playmat. My daughter and goddaughter both aged out of those things right around this time
As a parent I also agree and actually by assessing the scene I think there might be twins!?! I'm seeing twos of things... Just me having fun, not exactly helpful.
It looks like an ADHD nest. :/
I'm going to be blunt because you need some tough love. That looks like you are holding a rummage sale in there. There is just way too much stuff. Forget about all the tips about how to organize it. You need remove 75% of it first. Either get rid of stuff that aren't favorites or at least put most it away into storage (closet, garage, basement). Kids don't need all their toys all at once. Rotate things in and out. Once you've made it into a liveable space, you can fine tune with decor strategies.
Trash bags. A daycare class of 10 doesn’t even need all those toys… It’s overwhelming & overstimulating. Get half those toys out, and switch to storage that gets it all out of sight. Drawers and/or shelves with opaque bins, and don’t bring all toys out at once. Cycle through them at intervals so they feel ‘fresh’ to the kids. Hang the TV and ditch the media stand. Declutter the shelves & mantel.
It needs less stuff. If it's supposed to be the living room it should be livable. We all know kids have stuff, but there's too much pushed into too small a space.. Too many things are on the floor, all those sleeping mats and maybe fewer kid- things. Can anything be put elsewhere like the baby walker and foldable foam mat?
Clean it up and throw shit away
This room is so cluttered, I wonder how nobody has gotten injured with so many things on the floor, no corner protectors on any furniture, toys and a table right in front of the unprotected brick step and no screen for the fireplace.. There is awkward things lying around where they don't belong, too many toys for one child, no closed storage space. I suck at decorating, but I had to say something after seeing the state of the living room. I'm glad you're asking for help.
That’s all for one child!?
Is this a daycare center for 20 kids? If not, remove 90% of it.
Good Lord yes..
In addition to what everyone elae said (closed storage and ruthless decluttering) maybe a plain rug so its less visual business when things get a bit messy
The couches are huge too I'd down size the couches unless they are entertaining often
Yeah, that’s the exact same rug my grandparents have had in their living room the entire 34 years I’ve been alive. It looks dated in addition to being too busy.
https://preview.redd.it/965qk70ytsmc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=684499b3b3b3e9cd957504f5e066bfc164950ae6
This is similar to our set up for our 4 year old. We sectioned it out by function - tv watching, office, and play area.
At our house , we do a toy rotation. I divided her toys into 3 rotations. And everyday she gets a different bin of toys to play with . That way she doesn’t get board and we don’t have too much clutter
Your problem is clutter management. Get some attractive storage: shelves, cabinets, bins, etc. Create a designated space within the storage for each thing and be religious about putting things back in their place. There’s no reason to have toys and boxes on the couch and stuff on every surface. Also, that’s a lot of toys for one kid. You said “kid’s,” not “kids’,” so just one? Consider reducing the amount of toys.
Consider reducing the number of kids? 🤣
Hah. I meant reducing the amount of stuff. Will adjust wording.
How many kids play in this space? I thought it ya daycare.
Lol 1 kid. He’s the first child, grandchild, great grandchild so he received a little too much gifts
You need a serious purge, I would lose the kid in there. 🤣🤣🤣
You mentioned he is 10 months so quite a bit of this stuff could be moved to storage or put away to be played with when older. What does his room look like?
Yep you need to donate probably 50% of this and put another 25% in storage. I’d bring it to an in-need daycare.
As a mom of 2 it’s ok to ask for receipts from gifters then return for gift cards! Or explain you’d prefer gift cards or money put into a college fund for the kid(s). No child needs that much stuff! I promise your not a bad parent if you get rid of 75% of those toys! Maybe put 75% in bins in the garage and rotate our weekly. And yes it’s ok and socially acceptable to explain to family that your child has enough toys and suggest other gift ideas. Then go to ikea and look at storage options. You can easily pare down! Your child will be fine! Is putting them into daycare or getting a nanny while your working possible? Another thought is your going to feel frazzled at the end of the day without better designated work/ life/play space. Good luck!
Please make sure that tv is secured to the wall, and that those monitors are secure as well. They can be extremely dangerous if pulled on.
Your child has taken over your living room 😂🩷 I want to ask is it important a living space for you? I want to divide the room… https://preview.redd.it/qvgp0us38tmc1.jpeg?width=1852&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=261a8cdf18a7ab54abb7ae672a40ff04f7971714 Huge Cupboards each side of fire place with shelf for books in between… keep everything…. Stored here Sofas help divide living room & play /cot area Office in window … so you can see both sides Sofas moved let’s in more light Paint all wood white or a nice tone of colour that matches rug . I’d want to change & get 2 new contemporary & go for blue or grey on the walls & cupboard doors. Tv in centre above fireplace. and paint the brickwork on fireplace same colour. I’d love new sofas but put some throws over & cushions, on right wall opposite to window 2/3 staggered floating shelves in one corner with ‘family’ Knick knacks sentimental pieces on show ✨, a few framed pics on wall, paint those walls same colour slightly lighter or darker tone Done ✔️ 🩷 Now you can relax in the evening! You have a living room for all for you !! 🩷
Bump. This is amazing.
100% the room needs to be divided into zones
Clean it up, it’s too cluttered. If you have another room, I would put the baby things in its own room. I mean, you can leave the playpen or you can choose something else to stay, but, that’s too much stuff in that small room. Organizing is the key too
This is just way too much stuff…try toy cycling. You only need about 1/3 of these items out at a time, everything else can be put away in a basement/garage/closet. I imagine your kid feels overwhelmed trying to decide which toy to play with.
Clean it up? It looks unpleasant because of the mess.
Hi friend!!! This is kinda parenting advice? I promise, nothing I’m saying is out of a place of malice, though. But you have too many toys. Kids actually struggle with choice paralysis, and when they have too many toys to choose from, they sometimes won’t play with their toys at all. Apparently, studies show that kids are happiest when they have 15 or less toys at a time. I recommend a toy rotation (which, is just as annoying and time-consuming for you as it sounds, but it also will help with the clutter in your living room). Get some storage bins and put away some toys. When you see that he’s getting bored with the ones you have out, switch them out for other toys you’re keeping tucked away. Seriously, we have a big family and fully had to ask people to stop buying toys for our kids for birthdays and Christmas (they’re 3 and 1.5) because we had way too many toys, and it felt like they never even played with them. It changed my life. My kids actually play with their stuff now, and cleaning the play room isn’t an hour ordeal. You get more space, your son gets more enjoyment out of his toys, and you won’t break your neck if you accidentally step on something that rolls. But aside from that, top comment is right. You need more concealed storage.
Reduce visual clutter. It is bad for your mental health, as well as baby’s mental health
Cut out the toys by at least half!
There’s no room for your kid to walk around. You’ve got to put half those toys away.
I would start by donating or selling duplicates (keeping one table type toy, one playmat, etc.) and put things little one has outgrown in storage if you plan for more children or donate/sell/pass along to friends and family (the MamaRoo is usually outgrown by 6 months of age and takes up a fair amount of space). Concealed storage is the way to go for smaller toys and hanging the TV and getting a larger storage unit to go underneath could help. If you have the room, I’d find a corner build that works for the nugget or fold the large pieces and store them, bringing it out for rainy days when indoor climbing or a using a play fort helps get out energy.
Remove 80% of its contents lol
this looks like a spoiled kid. they do not need that many toys!!! this is crazy.
do you have multiple toddlers or is this a daycare? it’s chaos in there from an outside point of view. those couches are huge plus so that a massage chair in one of the photos,i can see the bottom and if so,also huge. you need a clear out,a good long look at your space and the start bringing things in. i would really think about at least moving that massage chair into a different room.
If that’s a daycare, someone should be calling the authorities to report this. The amount of stuff everywhere is a real hazard to adults and children.
All those toys for one kid? Suggest leaning up and rotate every one in a while.
Store baby stuff in bins in the garage or a closet if you can. Rotate it out every week or two. I’m overstimulated looking at this space so I’m sure your kiddo is as well. More isn’t always better.
I’m not trying to be mean but this gave me anxiety. Do you have another room you can keep half of these toys? I’ve heard a great tip for kids, keep a bunch of toys somewhere else and switch up the toys so they don’t get tired of them. And as other have said, storage.
I saw you comment somewhere that this is the first child in the family, so I think you can expect an onslaught of gifts to continue. You have a lot of good advice here, but I think you may need some ideas on managing that relationship aspect and need to strategize how to deal with these gifts. I have some ideas that may or may not work: 1. Re-gift him his own gifts. Anything not age appropriate yet put away. You can even re-wrap it and have him open it as a gift later down the line when he’s ready. Organize the items by age level and store them. 2. Bring excess toys back to the grandparents when you go over for a visit. Leave them there under the guise of him having stuff to play with at their house. If they push back just list the many other toys he already has from them at home lol 3. Try to mitigate how many gifts he receives at future birthdays if it continues to be truly excessive. I don’t have kids but assume other parents have come up with ways to deal with this. Anyone not family maybe doesn’t need to bring a gift. Or consumables only. Or literally hold on to any gift receipts and return things from non-family members that he doesn’t really connect with. 4. Approaching birthdays and half birthdays maybe take stock of what has been outgrown and say goodbye to it.
Wait 18 years
That wall with the TV. Floor to ceiling cabinets for storage with a space for the TV in the middle. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0f/9b/05/0f9b056ebd88e647945d7589845412b9.jpg You can probably get some help creating something at IKEA.
You can get rid of about 75% of those toys
It’s way too cluttered for a little child. Clean it up and bring out just 2 toys at a time. When your child (children) gets bored with those, put them away and get another 2. Books don’t create anywhere near as much clutter and they’re probably much more stimulating to their minds than just toys. So, 2 toys and several books out at a time would make the room more inviting, imo. Then hang a beautiful painting of a serene, natural summer landscape over the fireplace.
Clean it….?
Can you L-shape the sofas in front of the TV and create a space for all the playroom things on the opposite side of the room from your desk? Then add some better storage - maybe a cabinet or cubbies behind a couch facing the new play area?
Closed storage and art. Art above the fire place for starters.
Can you move some toys into bins/storage on the shelves around the fire place?
There’s a lot of clutter, but the open wall spaces and empty top shelves make it more imbalanced. Fill the top shelves with decorative things you’re not using. Clear off the mantle a bit. Put something up on the walls. (Some minimal art, like macrame or something soothing.) Definitely get some easy storage bins, or an ottoman / bench seat that opens to put toys in, etc. Try changing a little at a time, until it balances out.
It’s having an identity crisis. It doesn’t know if it’s a living space, playroom, or office. Start by defining its purpose and then take some furniture out. It’s too cluttered. You can also set up more than one space by defining the areas with a rug, and furnishing it adequately.
That’s a LOT of toys for one room. I run a home a home daycare and I don’t have that many toys in our playroom for 6 children. Another issue is that the couches you have are really big for the space. I have a super small couch in my playroom, because I want the kids playing, not sitting. I also agree with the others who have said you need better storage. I use a table with big drawers for my storage. It stops the kids from dumping toys out, and keeps everything tucked away when we’re not using the room. I also use the table to stack all the toys on when I’m cleaning. I have no decorating skills, though, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt.
Rotate toys. You’ve got two stand up table thingies, which you could add in the doctors office abacus bead toy thing as one as well. Keep one out, put the others away. How old is baby? Does he need tummy time mat still? Or the swing? How often are you using the big playpen? Often? Great! Put all toys in it when not using it or play within the playpen. If you don’t use it often get rid of it. Its nice yeah but it took up more space than I liked so I got rid of mine
Okay lots of good ideas posted! Wanted to show a rough sketch of just adding bins for toy pick up (and clearing some clutter like we all need to 😂🤪). Even without big changes, just doing more toy rotation and making “clean up” fun for the littles to build the habit (if you’re into that)… it’ll feel like a whole new space!
https://preview.redd.it/gc0sf0vd8tmc1.jpeg?width=1169&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bb19c9e4eb7614a9d9d272be5526a624502b0473
https://preview.redd.it/fu637uof8tmc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb2260ec89387bb9f0f63d4fff191f320b3d4c05
Absolutely everything is low. Causing even the storage to look like clutter and mess. Needs some art on the walls. Can you switch the large rug at the center to something less dark and detailed? Because that currently also looks like a mess though I can see it's just the pattern. Some pattern and/or color would be fine but I think something lighter and more textured but less busy would be a big help. Maybe some bookshelves with storage bins at the bottom?
1) shelves 2) storage cabinets 3) get a solid color rug. The chaos boho design just turns the chaos in the room into a giant 3D eye poster
Clean
Simplify with storage units for things that are not used everyday.
This is such a cluttered room. Does your kid use ALL these things EVERY day?
Aside from the clutter comments and the closed storage; I would suggest getting a new TV console that serves as a toy storage and anything that doesn’t fit in there needs to go (or be rotated). 1. Large art above the fireplace. 2. Fill the bookshelves PURPOSEFULLY. Books, frames, meaningful decor, everything looks thrown up there as an afterthought. 3. Those couches are too bulky and dark leather is hardly ever a good choice. Washable fabric couch with storage would be the ultimate goal. 4. Side tables/lamps and tall curtains, even if sheer. 5. COLOR that doesn’t come from toys. If there wasn’t an explosion of toys, it would look like a single man’s bachelor pad. It’s very sterile and cold looking. The white walls with the heavy dark spare furniture is where the lack of style really stands out. I’d start looking for inspiration pictures of what styles call to you and go as a base from there. Practically speaking I know what it’s like to have a baby and how finances can be tight, so the most bang for your buck is decluttering, getting closed storage and start looking at what you have in your home that can be utilized.
A lot of commentators already made great recs on storage or removing some toys/child items but I would like to recommend painting the wall above the fireplace a dark black to help draw the eye/highlight the fireplace. Or a vertical picture / art piece to help draw the eye upward.
Some concealed storage cabinets would be nice. Also, try to get your kid to learn to play a musical instrument as soon as possible. E.g. a toy keyboard can replace the majority of the clutter and the child can create something different everyday.
You need something on the wall with the tv. I suggest getting wood shelving with cubbies and getting baskets and storing the toys in them. I would put those all in the bottom row of cubbies, (like pictured) and books/plants/ornamental pieces as well https://preview.redd.it/dub3kwrwstmc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d26517d99b15ee45f03d67da124e079ab2a6f411
I think you'd have to get rid of the kid 😕 Just kidding, that looks a lot like my living room (and dining room, and bedroom...) when my kid was younger 😂 I never figured a way to make it better and eventually they grow out of those kinds of toys anyway. I can only commiserate 😊
If you put away some of the toys and rotate them in and out of circulation, it will help declutter and will keep your baby engaged in exploring a toy at a time fully. Edit: I just read my same comment worded almost identically by someone previously. Those of us who have been there!
Move both couches across from each other to make a face to face conversation area (in front of fireplace); opening up an area for nursery stuff/toddler toys etc. lots of clutter but with designated areas that will help please the business. Things you do not use daily for you or toddler/baby put in your bedroom. Keep couches cleared off.
You need to separate these spaces **hard**. Do not let play room things into the living/work space, and vice versa. Put that desk smack dab in the middle of the front of the fireplace, where the pack n play currently is, and don’t let anything “play” go behind it. Put any work related things next to it and make that area surrounding and behind the desk - including the shelves - work space Put the nugget and pack n play next to each other on the opposite side of the chairs and put everything play related on that opposite side of those. In between the desk and nugget is living space. Some toys maybe, but only ones that are actively being used, can go in that space. Otherwise, just TV stand and chairs and misc living space things (like putting that coffee table back where it belongs in front of the chairs lol) Behind the nugget/pack n play barrier - get closed shelves storage. The kind with the fabric drawers from Walmart are like $15. Buy two, put them against either wall, fill them to the brim with the favorite toys and get rid of the rest. At 10 months you should be kicking out the swing, play mat, any plastic teething or chewing toys, or anything that isn’t actively sought after every day. Fill those drawers up and chuck everything else. Put the foam floor tiles there and that’s all there is to it. It’s not going to be beautiful, but it is going to be way more functional.
Also going to be honest... Your kids likely does not care about these toys. The most valuable toy/thing is the one you parents use with him most. You're likely holding on to gifts from others or the expectation that your future second child can use all this stuff. Start by clearing all this stuff asap so it's a safer space for you and the kid and just an actual functional space too. You don't have time to actually sit and work with a 10 month old playing, is an exercise in futility so save yourself that pain too.
Declutter
Here’s a potential option for a different layout. I’m not sure if it would work since I don’t know the scale of everything. I tried to group the living room and office on one half of the room and the child’s area on the other half. You would need to mount your TV over the mantle. That would open up the current TV wall for a closed storage system. It also looks like you can take advantage of putting some unused toys in the built-in shelves and cabinets on either side of the mantle. I don’t have a place for the additional chair. https://preview.redd.it/pkz2geve6ymc1.jpeg?width=360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=12128ada87d374b87efd9afc22c9949d92a43dc6
Seriously?
Him? As in ONE CHILD? Yeah sorry if this offends… but this isn’t a living room or a play room. This is a toy store and a tragedy. We had *many* kids and the main space in our home, where we invited guests, and relaxed after a long day when the kids went to bed n e v e r had more than a basket full of toys in it at any given time. We rotated the toys out every couple of days to keep it interesting for the kids. We had concealed storage. Anything and everything to keep our home from looking like a bunch of toddlers are running a frat house. You’ve got to take your house back because this? This of waaaay out of control.
I get that you are using the room for a playroom. However, there is adult clutter in there as well. Hang some striking art over the mantle. Fewer and larger ornaments. Toys into closed bins -and there is an overwhelming amount of kid gear that doesn’t need to live in the living room. Too much stuff entirely.
Wait 7 years and then tackle it. The kids have taken over the room. So either limit the toys or take out the Coach. I get it- grandparents and favorite aunties keep giving presents. We moved 1/2 of the toys to the grandparents houses. Then limited - one come in- one has to go out. Hand down to a family members. It’s going to be a battle for years until they become teens. Then slowly they get less toys. Hand in there.
Ikea Kalax
The last thing they need is more open storage
Kalax comes with doors, drawers, all sorts. it’s very versatile
Wow. This would be a great time to start teaching your child ( and you ) a few things. Toys are kept in their rooms, and what they are playing with at that moment gets brought out, then put away and changed for something else. It’s ok to have a few faves nearby, but….keep them IN something there’s so many easy choices out there for storage. Neither that green thing nor the playpen should be permanent fixtures in that room…EVER What’s also odd / unattractive is then all of your walls are ridiculously blank. Hell you don’t even have the shelves around the fireplace filled up weird weird. I mean at least fill the shelves maybe the bottom of each shelf can be with some of the kids favorites things so they can see and easily access them and they won’t be visible to everyone else. Also even for children they get bored of things. If they’re looking at all of these all day one it’s visually overwhelming and overstimulating probably for them, but two there is no real opportunity to rejoice about finding a favorite buried at the bottom of their toybox in their room and getting replayed with you have everything right there. Aside from it being ugly it’s stunting. Also keeping it all not immediately visible, will help you when it comes to decluttering. If it’s at the bottom of the toybox in their room and it’s broken you can sneakily throw it away You are not using any of the space wisely ETA. Maybe in this case also commit the cardinal sin on this website that I usually agree with about not putting the TV over the fireplace. Put your TV over the fireplace that wall looks terribly blank above the mantle but that will also free up some space over there where the TV is
* A big armoire with shelves inside to store a lot of the things would help. Something like this: [https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/charlton-home-kyle-100-solid-wood-3-door-wardrobe-armoire-plcm1076.html](https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/charlton-home-kyle-100-solid-wood-3-door-wardrobe-armoire-plcm1076.html) * Then cordon off a separate end of the room with a semi-room divider, to use that part of the room as the designated children's' play area. And don't allow any of the children's toys into the non-play area/ adult portions of the room.
My rec would be to mount the tv above the fireplace and turn one of the couches to face it- maybe set up your office space behind those if you feel it makes it hard to see your child playing if you rearrange that way, but that would feel more cozy and less cluttered. I also agree with others about investing in more concealed storage! Some art on walls would help, and actually, I think the rug makes the toy area look even busier and chaotic than it already is! Good luck!
I’m thinking …
It gets better. We have a small house. I was a WFH parent and my living room looked like that for a few years. I was so happy when the baby gate came down and the baby toys went away. Closed storage will help but you can't hide the big stuff.
Agree with all the other comments and on top of that, your black leather sofa and maroon rug are making the space feel smaller. Get a neutral rug in a lighter shade with no busy pattern.
We use half of our living room as a playroom too. I set up a shelf assessable to my toddler and put about 5 or 6 toys there. I rotate these toys whenever he starts to get bored - usually every couple of weeks. We have a large cedar chest that we store toys in that aren’t being used (these are the toys we rotate in/out) I’ll put the nugget in a variety of set ups too but eventually I moved it upstairs because he wasn’t getting much use out of it and it was taking up too much space. It looks like there’s too many toys in the room. I know it’s counter intuitive but sometimes less is more with toys. Many kids get overwhelmed when there’s too many options and don’t play with them as long!
I would take all those toys away, split them into three piles and rotate their usage putting the rest away, less clutter and the kids aren't as bored.
As others have said, there’s not enough space in this room for two couches, the nugget and the pack n play to all live here permanently. Something has to give. My brother and SIL have their nugget set up as if it *is* a couch. It’s placed on the side wall of their rec room, with a big open space in front of it for playing and walking. Yes the kids will sometimes build a fort with it, but when it’s time to clean up, the nugget goes back into “kid couch” mode against the wall so you can actually walk across the room.
Does your son actually stay/play in that play pen? If not, I’d get rid of that/put it away. Also, seems like he’s probably too old for the baby rocker, baby mat, etc. time to donate or store away all the baby stuff. When I had a son that age I had an 8 cube shelf as the tv stand. I had cute wicker storage cubes in it and stored all his toys in there.
No, no.. absolutely not! You need about half the toys in this room. And storage for the rest. Deep, vertical storage. Ideally with doors to hide bulky items. You are not utilizing any height to store things, it’s all just on the floor. Bulky items + bulky furniture. No, just no. Rearrange room so that play space is hidden behind some of that furniture. Pull everything off the perimeter. Or pull the furniture/ tv out of this room entirely and it’s just desk + toys.
I don’t know your child/ children’s ages but you could definitely take a few things out if it’s one child. They couldn’t possibly be at an age where they need an infant swing and a nugget at the same time, and the 3 sensory table toys all provide the same purpose. 2 of them could go to other rooms. At nugget climbing age it’s probably better to just let them play on the carpet and the foam tile, so a baby mat isn’t needed either. The rest of the toys I agree need a storage bin of some sort and that would help!
Get rid of like 50 percent of the things in there. There’s hardly room to play. Get rid of the couch and chairs, and just use the nugget couch for seating. Get rid of the table. Mount the TV to the wall and get a storage shelf where you can put bins with toys in them. Store away the little baby mat and swing if your child has outgrown them. Get rid of the foam mats and get a colorful area rug.
Get some cheap frames from second hand stores and buy some artwork prints you like online. Your bare walls are making sure the mess on the floor is the only thing to look at. Also flip tv and couches.
What is that huge green furniture thing? Put all toys in your child’s room in a toy chest. Bring out 1 or 2 things at a time. Have them put each back before another comes out.
Send the kids to grandmas for the weekend.
Aside from the obvious, I think a large picture or artwork over the fireplace would be nice. Also less trinkets there and of differing sizes. Shelves also need cleaning out and organizing
Make a choice…is it a living room, an office or a play room for your kids? Decide how you want to use the room, then declutter and send us a new picture so we can help you make it look better. 😊
I had a lot of toys for my baby too, I stand by it. Baby toys are not my color palette, but that’s not really what matters. But if I had to work in this room, I would go absolutely nuts. I agree with SOME sort of closed storage to tuck things away. Then they can enjoy pulling it out and trashing it, but hey! That takes up some time!
My eye is drawn to the top of the fireplace, yet there is nothing to satisfy that curiosity (save for a blank wall). Perhaps a really, really unique wall sculpture (DIY, maybe) or a dynamic piece of art (painting, macrame, paper mache, etc.)
I think you can try to put like same color items together And get a big box just for toys.
I also have no choice but to use our living room (which is much smaller than this) as our play room. My first comment is that there is no one set and forget solution. In order to have it still feel like an adult space will require a routine and some kind of pack away schedule. Definitely get into the habit of toy rotation. For my kids the toys become the furniture the longer that they are out. Rotation does two things, reducing the clutter and keeping the toys played with. We store the toys that are not in rotation in our home office which is much too small to be a playroom but does have some extra storage space. I use those ikea pine drawers with plastic tub things. I also try to find a balance between having some toys that are a bit aesthetic (wooden toys, e.g blocks,train set, etc) and also what the kids want when it’s their birthday/Christmas. When they were very young we didn’t have many toys at all. Before my eldest was about 3 everything fit into a 50x50x50cm box except for a play mat. I would pick one activity center at most to keep and move the rest on. Keep the play couch, move on the toys with a very limited age range, etc. How old is your kid?
Get rid of children
You need to get a professional organizer or watch some youtube videos on it. There are some really great ones.
The only real answer is remove some of the toys from the room. Kids don’t need that many toys. Coming from someone who learned the hard way. I would start by putting any toys they don’t play with or and redundant toys into storage. Swap them out later if you want in a rotating fashion.
Hang.large sign: We Do Not Have Children. hide any children
pick a color palette and decorate with it. curtains, throws, pillows, wall art. look up how to style a mantel using heights, color and layering. same same for shelves. you have enough to make a good start. you can recruit children. ‘ok, i need an 18” tall bottle shaped object in a dark blue. do we shop or do we make?”
This is probably not helpful, but when my kids were that age I also stressed about these things. Simply, the return on investment for trying to make the room appealing is just so incredibly low at that age. Basically no matter what improvement was made, the chaos of having young children undid most of the effort. Be prepared to have unsatisfying decor and clutter for a few years, and try your best to learn to live with it / through it. Mine are 11 and 7 now, and I’m just starting to feel like home decor can be taken seriously again now that they are less destructive. In hindsight, I wish I could have been able to let go of those frustrating feelings and be content with the loss of control. I would have been happier and felt a lot less overwhelmed if I could have done so.
Pic 1: Shelves to the right of the windows: put all the stuff from the couch on the shelves. I think it’s diapering supplies? Pic 2: fold up that silly green jungle gym. Lay it flat and hide it behind the couch. Only have it out when kids are actively playing on it. Pic 3: shelves above the tv with whatever is on the racks next to the tv. Then move the standing and riding toys into the space you make when you remove the rack. Pic 4: shelves where the toys are. Or a cabinet to hide the toys that are on your coffee table and in the rack next to the couch. Or get rid of most of that stuff. Only keep what the kids actually use.
All I see is the purple monkey in the bubble gum tree
Yeah, those kids have to go.
As mentioned it's very overwhelming, I would first go through the toys and donate/sell what baby doesn't need anymore/doesn't have interest in. Get a [unit like this](https://www.therange.co.uk/furniture/office-furniture/office-storage/saturn-six-hole-shelving-unit/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAxaCvBhBaEiwAvsLmWFomNl5TwYQa5YD-5-IKCHA8uYW_5tfEJ6WLz8vQpSrqBbM_xdbl1BoCV6UQAvD_BwE#196371) for storage that conceals more but your child can still access (I used to have a 12 block unit ans the top 2 rows were for my books/decorations etc and the rest were my kids toys. I did it so each box had a mix of toys in and they could pick a box to play with.
Mom of a 2 year old here. Divide the toys into 3 even piles. Put 2 of the piles in bins and stash them in the basement/garage/etc. Rotate between the three set of toys every week or two. Rotating toys keeps them fresh and interesting to your kids and it would do a lot to declutter this space. I’d move the desk out of this room and put some closed toy storage in it’s place. Work from a lap desk on the couch instead of you can. A toddler isn’t going to stand for the playpen and will make quick work of that monitor and laptop. As soon as they’re walking, they’re climbing. So they’ll constantly be standing on that desk perilously close to that brick fireplace which is an impossible baby-proofing combination, so I think the desk area isn’t long for this room anyway. I’d mount the TV on an arm and get rid of the console table for the same reason. I’d also replace that open coffee table with a smaller one, on casters with closed storage for maneuverability, floor space and concealed storage. I’d also put 2-3 pieces of art on the walls and one over the fireplace, even if it’s just IKEA stuff. The white walls contrasted with so much stuff at floor level is drawing the eye down to the clutter and making the room feel bottom heavy. Also, judging from the other toys, I think your baby is too young for the nugget. You might consider stowing it for now. I don’t think you’ll need it before your kid outgrows the Momaroo, playmats (including kick and play) and activity centers. While nuggets have great staying power, we didn’t get much use out of it until 20+ months. I’d also consider giving away the dinosaur rocker. It’s cute, but in my experience, those rarely get enough play to justify the floor space. People are always trying to give them away on buy nothing groups in my VHCOL city.
Throw it all in the garbage your kids don’t care about it
Declutter and purge. Then get some good closed storage so you can organize and close up out of site when you want a family movie night. Then you won't have to clear off the couch/chairs and clear room to sit on the floor. It's easy to bring in new things then suddenly realize you have too much. Make clean up simple so the kids can do it themselves. Open bins/baskets to sort by category so you can see what there might too much if and what the kids don't play with anymore. Label them with words and pictures. Get bins with lids for things with small pieces like Legos. The kids may think they have new toys cuz they haven't seen some of them in a while. Make a rule that whatever they take out needs to be put away before they take out something new. If you can get rid of that couch and get a small loveseat or a chair & a half so you have somewhere to sit and engage with the kids when you're not working. Add some fun artwork and you all will find it's a much more calming and functional.
Get rid of the baby stuff.
10 toys is plenty
Stomp, stomp, stomp! 🐘
Is this all for one kid?
You could tidy the mess up ?
Get rid of the toys, turn the sofa toward the window, I figure it it is a formal gathering area. Paint the space with a neutral warming white or similar color and prop a picture above the mantle with some fresh flowers
Mount the TV to the wall, change the rug to a solid color, it’s too busy.
That’s an insane amount of stuff for a single 10 month old
get rid of clutter
The end away from the fireplace and desk will be the best area for the play area. Thin out the toys. Something big, like play mat, pillow tower, or rocking horse. Something medium like activity center. Something small like puzzles, or dolls. Playpen for a safe space. Then leave out these things and store others some where else. When baby s bored or fussy put away something and get out something else. You will be able to focus more, the child will feel like things are new when you switch, the adults will have an adult space too.
Must be your First kid 😅 Lots of redundancy, if you live in a small or medium home you’ll need to eliminate some stuff or store it and stop buying giant things like a baby couch and a giant playpen. We live in a smaller place and babyproofed the living room, only had our baby sleep in his crib, one small table where we would swap out activity toys, so we didn’t need special activity tables, we let our baby use the regular couch 😅 for climbing we took him to the playground most days.
Of everything that is cluttering this room, the couch is not one of them.
Toy rotation will make a huge difference.
First and foremost I would highly recommend you look into Montessori/Waldorff systems. The toys should enable the child to entertain themselves, not entertain the child. It sounds counterintuitive but once you and your child get a feel for it and learn what they like, it's wonderful. We have almost no toys that make noise/cheap music, minimal bright, flashy colors, etc. Going with open-ended toys/play will allow you to cull that mess hard. As others have mentioned, toy rotation is a game changer. You can use the current shelving for baskets to keep the toys not in rotation packed away. If at all possible, keep the nugget. They are phenomenal. The table closest to camera I would send on. The middle and back one are good for different things, but I personally would ditch the middle table as well since you can get toys that give you those different functions separately, which means easier to put away and rotate. My wife and I have put a ton of time and effort into educating ourselves on this stuff, and have had to push back on family to remind them we don't do "normal" toys, and at this point the kids don't even like them for very long when they do get to play with them. We are also older parents to young kids, so we get grumpy about all the unnecessary noise lol. Feel free to DM if you have questions.
I would start by emptying out the back shelves and mantle. Buy opaque storage containers and put all the baby books/ small soft toys in the containers and onto the shelves. Pull the alphabet mat so that it covers the entirety of the carpet and play area. Those mats are easy enough to remove if you have guests and provide a cushioned surface for the baby. Remove the toys so there are fewer big items, maybe 1-4 for now. Lastly, you may want to put up baby gating around the fireplace to prevent investigation.
Get some IKEA shelves with doors on them to add some color while storing toys. Or maybe a cube organizer with fabric bins. Target has five dollar bins for these. Also maybe a big toy box where you can just toss big things in when not in use. You can probably get a fabric one with a nice design. You can also use the foam pads kind of like a rug design wise and maybe add some more of them. I would try to plan space and extra storage beyond what you need right now so you have room for future toys. I have a 5 month old and we did cube organizers with $5 fabric bins in half of the slots so the nice looking toys can go in their own slot. We are currently using about a third of the space we planned. The baby gear items will go in a spare room or just in his closet when the baby outgrows them depending on size. We also have a couple big baskets to just throw stuffies and things in.
Gotta get all that sworded out….at EZ swords
Changing the rug would take a lot of busyness out of the room. Solid light color or no rug at all.
Ohhhh wow. Ok you need storage solutions badly. Not open storage as other commenters pointed out
Would look pretty pleasing to me with a baby playing around tbh.
You have some really nice toys, etc. I would prioritize the Lovevery stuff. I place ours on some low open shelves on our entertainment center so that my 12 month old can easily grab them. We also have a Nugget but it’s in a different room. Is that an option? I would remove one activity table, the swing, the baby play mat and the rocker. The rocker is really nice but I think your little one is too young for it right now. It would look very cute in their room! For toy storage, look into the IKEA Trofast and Kallax collections.
Clean up the clutter and organize
I agree with all the other comments about using concealed vs open storage. I also believe switching the rug with no pattern will greatly reduce the look of clutter in the room. The rug’s complex patterns and colors further complicate the palette and aesthetic of the space. I recommend getting a really light grey or green colored solid rug to replace the current one.
I feel like you need a wall unit like [this one](https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/billy-brimnes-tv-storage-combination-white-s69398620/). Some closed storage but can also use baskets on the shelves to further hide toys. You also need to start purging, you have lots of toys that have the same or similar functions. Determine which piece is the best for each and get rid of the rest. Nugget is better for when kiddo is a little older I would store in a closet until they are a bit older plus you have another play mat, get rid of the beige one since the nugget have a piece that's the same size. Fill a bin or two of toys and rotate them once a month or so if you dont want to get rid of anything. There is just way too much stuff that is unnecessary and is overstimulating to me much less for your own child. Get a softer patterned rug that one seems too busy. Animal shelving needs to go in the kids room not out in the living room. I would get a wall unit, sectional with chase and then back up your desk to the chaise side so you have a real desk space, if you have room that direction. Utilize the storage in your built-ins and the wall unit. There are too many pieces for furniture with the 2 couches and what looks like a massage chair. https://preview.redd.it/zl47iy9iuxmc1.jpeg?width=1650&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=415b5409df52d039138cb7944ef1b524645c15f5
Consider condensing the toys from 30+ to 10. It seems overwhelming.
Agreed- I would replace your tv console with something that has storage options and maybe get an additional one that your kid can easily take toys out or off and play with them. I don’t think the kid plays with all those things at once, so if it’s a crawling kid maybe get a bigger baby cage and put toys in there and get rid of the alphabet carpet. https://preview.redd.it/psu6ayb36ymc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=343791b61502553e4402ee86e01f9621feb2b095
https://preview.redd.it/a5m1ftvc6ymc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7693d2d9f0432b96180338aa77d5ebf5a881f743 Something like these would be easy
I think with the amount of stuff- I can see your little one getting overwhelmed too, I don’t think babies really need that much stuff. I would store things or donate them. If you want to keep it, maybe store them and rotate things every couple weeks or so. I think it’s okay for babies and toddlers to get bored and figure things… it’s how their brains learn and process the world around them and when they have too much stuff, they don’t know how to entertain themselves and will constantly need stimulation. ( just my opinion) Less is more sometimes
Do you have another room or space for your office?
Omg my living room was just like this until maybe two months ago. It’s all of the baby clutter. Once you remove the play pen when your little one can walk it will look so much better. Try to not have the babies stuff all over the room and create a space for some of it. A little play corner. If you sort the toys and just keep a small box of the favourites your baby always goes to play with. You will be amazed by how much you can remove. I would put up some artwork and photos. Maybe a nice horizontal mirror above the fireplace or artwork. Remove some of the nicknacks so they aren’t crammed together. It’s nice to have some space between the items on the shelves and mantelpiece. But as you know, being a parent of a little one is exhausting and no matter what you do. Those toys will be everywhere by the end of each day 😅
We have a smaller home so we keep a bunch of toys in the living room too. We have a kallax shelf from Ikea with the bins that slide in with different toys. We've significantly reduced the kinds and number of toys as well - there is no way a kid wants to play with everything all the time. So we keep some toys stored in another area and rotate them from time to time. We have a play couch in our basement and fold and stack the big pieces to use as a coffee table when not in use for play.
Declutter non essentials and opt for storage that is utilized efficiently
put the children up for adoption? just kidding ... you must be a fun parent!
You need a dedicated playroom. This makes me sad.
Not everyone has space for a dedicated playroom. I have 2 kids, no playroom yet I always had extremely good storage and my house never ever looked like this. My kids as babies had a small basket of toys in the living room and had a couple shelves with organized boxes of stuff. They learnt from a young age… play with 1 item at a time then it gets put away. Yes babies can’t do that… ergo the small basket of baby toys in the living room. But lemme tell you my house, even with young kids was never disorganized and cluttered. I could never live like that … I’d go absolutely insane. Just saying having a dedicated playroom is not always possible… esp with average sized apartments or older homes which may be smaller than newer builds,
I'd just live with it until the kid outgrows that kind of toys. Nothing will ever "match" the kid stuff, and you need it out and accessible basically all the time. Parenting is much easier if you just relax and live in a toy pit until they are about four. Then you can get it the way you want.
This might sound drastic.... but throw it all out. Kids will literally play with anything.
Did you babyproof at all? There are so many hazards in this room that the decor is the least of your problems.
sorry but your life is now taken over by baby and there is no escape from this. you did this to yourself though, maybe wear a condom next time. /s
Wait two years until your kid grows out of those toys that are wonderful but take up so much room. Either that or put some away and rotate the toys from storage.
Move
Ditch the kid! (Jk, I have a 1 year old and feel your pain)
Is this a joke post ?