My husband and I took a while considering our options for toy storage as we transformed the playroom into a little boy’s room. Deep down I really wanted to finally try the Ikea Trofast storage products. However, Hubby did have some valid concerns.
- Concern #1 Would the bins be large enough to actually hold the toys we had? You have 3 size options, what if everything wouldn’t fit in the allotted sizes?
- Concern #2 How long will we use the storage and what happens when we are done with it?
Hubby measured out the largest bin in the Trofast unit and it was about the size of a small trash can. The middle size was about the same size as the containers I had previously been using. I told him once my son has outgrown the unit we could buy pink and white bins and move it to my daughter’s room. He still wasn’t completely convinced and I think I might have whined a little bit at this point. I really wanted to try the Trofast and I knew this was the only time we could really use it how I was envisioning. The next logical step in my mind was to ask Ikea of they would provide a unit so I could review it here on the blog. To my delight they said yes, so you can consider this post an official review as well.
My lovely delivery made it and then I quickly scurried all the pieces upstairs to my sons room and then had a 1 hour affair with an allen wrench. Then 5, 632 torques and 1 callous later it was all assembled and ready for toys. I must say when this unit is assembled it’s not going anywhere. It is sturdy!
I quickly put the toys in and my son was ecstatic. He thought it was the coolest thing ever. When Hubby got home he saw the joyous look on my face and I said we could definitely use another storage unit. So, he gave me the go ahead to buy one more.
So here we are. Blue, green, and red. I love the step design of the units because it adds that little extra design element to the room.
I had to top the bins off with labels. I took pictures of my son’s toys and included the name of the toy so he could start trying to read them as well. I laminated them and attached them to the front with velcro. When we need to move toys around we can move the label with them.
My son’s final thoughts…. “This is a miracle!” He loves it. He knows where things are, they have a home, all labeled and snug in their bins. While I can’t say that it is always perfectly clean it has been tremendously easier to clean up. If he does let it get a little crazy it takes 15 minutes max to put it all away. We are delighted with the Trofast storage. I can now recommend it to clients with ultimate confidence that it is a great option for toy storage.
Now that you had a little peek at some of the colors incorporated into the room, stay tuned for the next step in this boy room transformation. We had to make some decisions on furniture and pick out one key piece, a bed…
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This unit looks great but the website gives the overall measurements not the height and width (width can be guessed i think from other items in the line) of the components. I have a particular space to fit it into and want to know the height at least of the middle and smallest unit. I would appreciate it if you could provide those. Thanks
Wonderful storage unit and the vibrant colors are well-suited for a boy’s room. Kudos to you for stepping “out of the box” and working with Ikea to review their merchandise. I love your enthusiasm!
Wow! Looks great! Love your creative labeling! @juliebavi
Okay, I officially have bin envy! Looks great!
I have container envy. Beautiful!
Hi Tanna,
Delurking here. Meant to reply yesterday and recommend this option but glad to see there’s no need. We have two of these, in white, for our 6yo b/g twins. Clean up is done in mere minutes! We’ve been using them for 3 years now, we’ve even had to buy additional bins and put them on top of the “step” parts and they still work beautifully! The big ones are big enough for swords and dolly umbrella strollers with only a small portion hanging over. We only have one shallow green bin in each of their units for card games.
So after 3 years of rigorous double team action ours are holding up extremely well and consider them a great investment.
Rhonda
Rhonda, Thank you so much for delurking! So glad to hear the storage is still holding up after 3 years with twins! Good to know a doll stroller will fit in there if this ends up in my daughter’s room in a couple of years. Stop by and comment again sometime. I love hearing form my readers!
Tanna, I love it! I have been considering something like this for my son’s room. Now that I see it in action, I am sure that is what we need! Right now, his toys are in plastic bins stacked on the wire shelves in his closet. Its hard for him to get them down and hard for him to open them. This seems like a great alternative!
Thanks Marci, It really is awesome! I am quite impressed. We have had them up for at least 2 months now so I really put them to use before I wrote about them. I envy people that actually have an Ikea in their city! We are lucky enough that we have a local company that drives to the Ikea in Atlanta to pick up your order. Sometimes you can’t order everything online and it would have been more expensive for us to go there ourselves. Because, of course I would have bought more! ;)