In my quest to convert a corner of the dining room into a play nook for the Trikester, I’m on the hunt for a Montessori style shelving unit. Kylie from How We Montessori wrote a great post on storing toys on low shelving units. To summarize, children create order in their own minds by playing in orderly environments. Eye level shelving with specific spots for each toy helps children see which things are available to play with and it makes it easier for them to pick-up and put-away their things.
My shelf needs to be sturdy and less than 36” tall. All wood materials with natural finishes would be a great bonus. There are many beautiful options available. Here’s what I’ve rounded up at a variety of price points:
Honestly, after looking at some of these, it’d be a really easy DIY project. I like to build furniture (if you’ve never checked out the Ana White site, it’s awesome — she’s kind of my idol), so I’m sure I could put together something simple. I’m thinking I’d do a simple two shelf bookcase with a hand-rubbed natural oil finish, and paint or “upholster” the back panel so the rear of each shelf has a fun pop (kind of like #8 – the TrueModern option).
Have you ever built furniture? Do you have a favorite Montesorri style bookshelf that I’ve missed?
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I have the Ikea Expedit on casters and I love it, because it’s not specifically just a bookshelf. It can be customized with bins, doors and even drawers, so it can be infinite things!
The only thing that could be a challenge with that piece is that if you ever move on to doing work trays, it might be a bit difficult to get a tray that fits in cubby and holds all the materials needed.
nectarine / 2667 posts
I have a wooden cubby shelf that I got from a fellow teacher (I got 2 & brought one home when we had the baby). But, in the living room, we just use the side shelves of our TV stand for his toys
blogger / persimmon / 1398 posts
Whoa. Hold up. You *build* furniture?!!? I think we need to hear more about this. Building something is on my bucket list so you just got even cooler in my book. As if that was possible.
And, for the record… we have oodles of Expedits in this house. We love them.
blogger / pear / 1964 posts
@Mrs. Paintbrush: I do build furniture. I LOVE it. It’s so empowering, and I really, really like the permanence and usefulness of what I create. I’ve built outdoor lounge chairs, a buffet for my dining room, floating shelves and a mantle for my mom’s fireplace. Seriously, if it’s on your bucket list, check out the Ana White site. She’s AMAZING. I did decide to build my own shelves, so there’s a post in progress — baby has just gone on napping strike, so I’m at a standstill until he gets his act in gear.
blogger / persimmon / 1398 posts
@Mrs. Tricycle: I’m so impressed! And so inspired!! Hmmm… Maybe once Mini is back in school and I have some time to *think* during the day. (And I’m desperate to distract myself from the wait to travel.) Also… what’s up with nap strikes?! They should be illegal!
kiwi / 538 posts
I’ve been looking at the blueprints on Ana White to build one- only because we would be able to customize it size-wise. It looks fairly simple to do just a basic 2 tier bookcase- the issue is just finding the time! It’s probably going to be something that has to wait until the summer is over & we don’t have lawn maintenance taking up our weekends during naptime.