Choosing the right kids art supply storage solution has the power to draw your little ones in every time!
When I put together the art cart below, my three-year-old (at the time) started using it daily on her own – even without my involvement!
It’s fun, colorful, and most importantly, accessible – even for really little kids.
Keep reading to see how we use this setup to store:
- construction paper
- coloring books
- paint by water activities
- glue sticks
- pencil crayons
- crayons
- magic markers
- art markers
- erasers
- highlighters
- pens
- paint
- painting supplies
- dry erase books
- and more
This kids art center is our one spot solution to an otherwise very diverse (and very large) amount of stuff!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I could earn a commission at no cost to you if you make a purchase using them.
Easy Kids Art Supply Storage: Ideas to Encourage Creativity
I put together our art supply station using the following items:
- colorful art cart (15 drawers)
- table top art supplies organizer*
- IKEA GLIS box with lid
- Lazy Susan turntable
*The product I’ve linked to above has a built-in turntable so you won’t need to purchase a separate one like I did!
Colorful Art Cart with 15 Drawers
I chose the colorful 15 drawer cart instead of the 20 drawer or 10 drawer ones because of its different sized bins.
Color
While our home is pretty specifically color-coordinated, my daughter loved the colorful cart and I knew it would encourage her to actually use the things in it!
I totally recommend doing the same since color increases the length of attention children will pay to an activity.
Meaning they play longer, so you can get more done!
Drawers
The big drawers hold about 5 pounds while the small ones can handle 3 pounds.
Because the 8 big drawers it comes with are 5″ deep, it can also hold a variety of things like paint supplies, art smocks, table covers, etc.
I also like the big drawers for things like:
- construction paper
- dry erase books
- coloring books
- craft supplies like pipe cleaners, googley eyes, toilet paper rolls, etc.
- paints, brushes, and painting palettes
- table cloths
- painting smocks
The small drawers help you and your kids stay more organize because they’re only 2.5″ deep – which means NO stuffing!
I use these for:
- stickers
- paint with water books
- craft guide books
- homeschool books
- Boogie Board
- miscellaneous activities
Things to Consider about this Art Cart
1. Maintenance
This art cart can handle a total of about 70 pounds of weight – each drawer plus 20 pounds on top of the cart.
But if you’ll be rolling it back and forth constantly, it’ll need to be tightened from time to time otherwise it’ll start to develop a slant towards the side you push it from!
You can do easily do this with an Allen key.
2. Carpet
Again, if you plan on moving this thing constantly (which I don’t recommend), you should know that it does NOT do well on the carpet when full!
You should empty it out before traveling to another room.
We recently relocated ours to the girls’ playroom but had to do so without the drawers in – the wheels are just too small to handle that much weight on the carpet.
3. Permanent Location
Now that our kids art supply storage cart has a permanent home in the playroom, it’s absolutely perfect!
We set up this IKEA children’s desk (which we also use as a sensory table) in the middle of the room and M travels back and forth from the cart to the desk when she’s doing creative work.
The room is carpeted and the storage cart lives in the corner.
It can handle a toddler opening and closing it all day long!
Note: I HIGHLY recommend securing the art cart to a wall if you have younger children since toddlers may want to open all drawers at once.
A move that may cause the art cart to fall forward, depending on the weight you’re storing in it.
Fun and Free Coloring Pages for Kids:
- Alphabet Coloring Pages for Toddlers & Preschoolers
- European Flags Coloring Pages (Perfect for Kids 3+)
Tabletop Art Supplies Organizer
I love how colorful and inviting our tabletop organizer is!
The one I purchased is by Learning Resources and unfortunately, doesn’t have a built-in turntable.
This was easily resolved by adding a Lazy Susan to it though.
It just makes it so much easier for M to spin the organizer around to grab the stationary she wants to use.
I organized the cups as follows:
- tall Crayola magic markers
- short Crayolga magic markers
- thin point markers
- pencil crayons
- pens and highlighters
- character erasers
- dry erase markers
- crayons
- pencils, rulers, safety scissors, and glue stick
Clear IKEA GLIS Box with Lid
I use this clear box to store all of our miscellaneous art supplies.
There is some organization to it but it’s more of an overflow for our lesser favorite items!
Inside, there are some markers in short and long sizes, crayons from various brands, and cute sticky notes (underneath the large markers).
M does choose this box first sometimes though, I guess she likes the variety of things that are in here!
I hope that our kids art supply storage ideas have given you the inspiration you need to create your own organization station!
I love our setup because it’s easy and really inviting – whether she’s on her own or has friends over, the art cart is always a popular choice that’s filled with unique activities for the kids to do.
Tried this setup? I’d love to hear how your kids are enjoying it in the comments below 🙂
Happy organizing, friends!
More ideas for busy moms: