Shelving Ideas for Kids

Dollhouse

• If your daughter likes dolls, give her a dollhouse shelf. The unit should be wider than it is tall and have three or four horizontal shelves. Each shelf should have one or two vertical partitions. Stagger the partitions to create "rooms" on every floor. Arrange additional boards at the top to make a roof. A few cutouts in the sides and back of the house create windows and doors. Add shutters, window boxes and other details. Paint it in her favorite colors.

Firefighter

• Set up a shelving tower that is taller than it is wide. Paint it bright red. Top the shelves with a fireman's helmet securely fastened to the top of the unit. Decorate with dalmatian and fire engine stickers. Attach ladders going up the outside of the shelves. Use sections of shiny pipe inside the sections of shelves as dividers, stacking them one above the other so that the overall appearance is of one continuous firehouse pole.

Nature

• For your astronomer, paint a standard shelving unit black or deep blue. Using either paint or cutouts, decorate it with stars and planets in bright colors such as red and yellow. Try glow-in-the dark paint for some extra fun. A little entomologist's room is the perfect place for shelves of a rich, grass-green. Paint on ladybugs, butterflies and other insects in different places on both the inside and the outside of the shelves. White shelves decorated with sunflowers and daisies brighten up any room. Add a touch of the ocean by painting shelves blue and covering with drawings of whales, fish, sea turtles and seals.

Cubby

• A cubby is kid-friendly shelving with plenty of room for books and toys. Each cubbyhole should be at least 12 to 15 inches square. Paint them in bright colors, using several different primary colors or a white base trimmed with one bright color, such as red or yellow. For young children, decorate the shelves with bright blocky alphabet letters or choose a theme that suits your child such as dinosaurs, robots or jungle animals and decorate accordingly.