How to Make a Small Kid's Room Functional

Plan storage on two levels, the first being child-level storage for items and equipment used every day. A second level of storage will require adult assistance but keeps accessible clothing, toys or other items that are used seasonably or occasionally. Look at furniture and shelving in terms of how both children and adults can access the storage they provide.

Make it a goal to put away everything in the room, even as children grow. A cupboard that is taller than the child can hold games or floor puzzles on the top shelf for adults to get down when wanted. A wooden or wire puzzle rack holds puzzles for little children on a lower shelf, then the rack can be disposed of and the space reused when the child grows. A storage unit that is perfectly child-sized is easily outgrown.

Provide equipment that helps children sort their possessions and use their storage. Separate bins that hold little building blocks, toy cars, doll clothes and play sets make it easier for a child to clean up than large toy chests or open shelves. Speed the process even further by labeling the bins with the items that go in them; tape pictures from magazines or toy catalogs for quick "go-with" sorting.

Regard empty spaces as storage opportunities. An increasing number of children's beds come with underbed storage drawers, and covered plastic storage bins fit in this space as well. Seasonal toys, extra bedding and equipment like swim fins or snow pants can wait quietly under the bed or at the top of a tall closet until needed.

Use walls for vertical storage. A pegboard with hooks or a row of larger hooks can hold caps, bags, beads, dress-up clothes and anything with a shoulder strap, from a canteen to binoculars. Shoe bags save floor space, one for shoes and one for all those little things that seem to accumulate in a child's life: rubber balls, a toy snake, cool printed shoelaces and the hairbands that evade all other attempts to contain them.

Maximize closet use, often underutilized in a child's room. Except for party clothes, most children have more clothes that fold in drawers rather than hang on hangers. Hang both low and high closet rods, giving your child access to the bottom rod, while storing seasonal adult clothes or hangable bedding like quilts on the top rod. An alternative is to save floor space by placing a chest of drawers for everyday clothes inside the closet and reserving the closet rod for occasionally worn clothing.

Think architecturally as your child grows. Bunk beds may outlive their usefulness, but replacing them could involve a loft bed with a study desk underneath, rather than just a bed on the floor. Replace a hanging ceiling fixture or several lamps with recessed lights for a cleaner, more teen look, or consider track lighting for the space.