ORC Week 5 | DIY | Homework Station & Pegboard Toy Storage

There’s only one more week till the One Room Challenge reveal! I’m giving my kids’ shared bedroom a makeover with a bright, modern design. This week, I finished tackling one of the biggest projects in the kids’ room: a DIY pegboard toy storage wall and a small-space homework station.

If you remember the floor plan, you’ll also remember that the room isn’t terribly large. But, once I’d planned out the space, it became clear that there was this big blank hunk of wall that we weren’t using…

I could’ve just stuck some art up there, but I felt like we could do better. My little guy is super into toy weapons, and we were keeping them all in a big under-bed box. It was a bit of a mess, and we both thought it would be cool to have some of them out on display for easier access.

DIY Homework Station & Pegboard Toy Storage “Design Plan”

Pegboard seemed the obvious way to go. I tasked the little guy to help design it, and we used some mad MS Paint skillz to come up with this…

Mid-way through the process, we realized the space could play double-duty as a homework station if we hung a drop-leaf desk under the pegboard, so we added that in there too.

Building the Homework Station/Storage Wall

Then we hit a snag. Pegboard was not easy to find. I spent ages searching online until I finally spotted some on a daily deals site (Monoqi, if you’re curious).

Two sheets of pegboard and some extra pegs came to about £120. It pushed my budget but I was convinced it was the best solution for the space. It’s since popped up all over the place (like on Amazon, although there are more options/accessories on the Block Design website). It comes in a range of cute colors, but I wanted more natural tones in the room, so I went with the unpainted version.

Small Space Solutions

We picked up a drop-leaf desk from Ikea, and it fits perfectly under the pegboard. After testing the set-up, we realized we needed a light over there, and this little clip on guy solves that one.

I added a little wall planter with the intention of using it as pen storage for the homework station. It was too small for pens, so now it’s holding magnetic darts. The dart board hangs behind one of the closet doors. We keep all the pens in a bucket that lives on the bookcase, so the kids just pull it out when they’re using the desk.

Sebastian can just reach everything on the pegboard toy storage wall, with the exception of the top left corner, so I hung the button initial I made him up in that space. He does have to hop on the bed to get his pickaxe down, but it’s not one of his favorites so he’s okay with that.

So far, we’ve been using one of the poofs from the living room as temporary seating for the homework station, but it’s way too short. I’m still not quite decided about the best fix for that. It’s a toss up between a folding chair (which could hang in the closet when we weren’t using it, but might not be very sturdy) or an adjustable stool (which would take up floor space but could grow with the kids). I’m leaving it pretty last minute…the poof might still be here next week!

I love how the homework station and pegboard toy storage turned out! Now it’s just finishing details and styling before next week’s reveal.

I can’t wait to see how everyone else’s spaces turn out – check out the featured designers via this link and the other guest participants here.

MORE SPRING 2016 ONE ROOM CHALLENGE POSTS

Design & Floor Plan | Week One
Wall Decals & Shelves | Week Two
DIY Upholstered Beds | Week Three
Fixing & Organizing | Week Four
Space Saving Homework Station & Pegboard Toy Storage | Week 5
Kids Room Reveal | Week Six