These Parents Put a Garage Tool in Their Kid’s Room, and the Result Is Storage Magic
As parents of young kids are aware, especially those of us who live in space-strapped cities, smart storage is basically gold. The sheer number of items (clothing, toys, bedding, gear, and more) that the modern kiddo seems to require is staggering, and each item in each category needs its own special place, or else chaos ensues. I, for one, have bought enough IKEA KALLAX bins and storage ottomans to last a lifetime, but still struggle with knowing what to display, what to hide, and what to incorporate into my kids’ bedroom decor.
I know I’m not alone in the storage struggle, and so I’ve been on the hunt for easy, helpful kids’ storage ideas. That’s when I came across one of the smartest — and most surprising — solutions in a 2024 Cubby’s room tour.
When Christene Barberich, who runs the weekly newsletter A Tiny Apt., which spotlights small spaces, and her architect husband of Baxter Projects moved into their two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, they converted an 80-square-foot room into a guest bedroom, complete with a new storage wall to hide the laundry area. After Christene found out she was expecting her daughter, Raffi, the room had to work even harder. She swapped in customized pieces, like a compact rocker, and added built-in storage tailored to the space, which — despite its “cathedral-feeling” ceilings — still had a tiny footprint. But one of the smartest solutions turned out to be the simplest, and you can find it in an unexpected place: the garage.
Installing a pegboard — yes, that hole-punched board designed for hooks and accessories that you likely best know from its place in the garage or basement, or even your kitchen or home office — in the otherwise-untouched space behind the door turned into one of the project’s most creative solutions. “What’s fun about it is she can move the hooks around, and she can get her step stool, and she can move things around. So she can participate and play around with that,” Christene told Cubby at the time. “And it’s such an easy, cost-effective way to create space, but also to create this sort of visual point of interest in a small room.” In her case, a collection of dress-up clothing hung with pegs on the pegboard became a focal point in the room.
Want to try it yourself? You can start small, panel by panel, with IKEA’s SKADIS pegboard, adding one, two, or more to a wall depending on the size you’re aiming for (don’t forget the hooks!). IKEA offers three sizes of their fiberboard version: 14 1/4 x 22; 22×22; and 30×22. It’s easy to customize, and the look is more design-forward than toolbelt-ready. If you prefer a more utilitarian look (IKEA’s is finished with acrylic paint, and the resulting vibe is slightly polished), head to the hardware store for the good stuff, where you’ll find a selection of hardboard and metal options designed for doing heavy-duty organizing, whether in the garage or, unexpectedly, your kid’s bedroom.