New obsession

I have a new obsession. Window shopping for items for my house. Currently I'm obsessing over two pieces that would help a lot (aren't necessary, but would help a lot!)

1. Toy storage - we have a lot of toys for Santi. There are things that we haven't even opened for him yet that are in his bedroom closet waiting for a rainy day in the future to pull out. Right now, we have three baskets, but there are a few toys that are larger and don't fit in bins. I love organization, and I also love things that can be hidden (i.e. organized behind closet doors, or bins, etc.) So I would love to get something for Santi's toys that will hold them all, leave room for growth, and allow our living room to not look like it's taken over by our child.

Currently, this is what his space in the living room looks like:

 

I'm looking to get a storage shelf with cubbies (which I would buy baskets for to store the toys in and hide away) to fit into the area to the right of the fireplace. Originally, I was looking at the Expedit bookcase from Ikea, but it's a little too tall for the space (I don't want to have to move the shelves above that area)

 So a close second is this version from Closet Maid which I have found at Target. It's about $50 and you can purchase canvas boxes to go in the cubbies. I'm not sure about that and might try and find square baskets with the same dimensions since I like the basket look better than the canvas boxes.

 

2. My second obsession is an entryway bench with storage for shoes. The entryway area we have is small, so we're limited on what we can put there. This is what the area currently looks like:

We have a shoe rack and then a coat rack (not directly above the shoe rack.) This works ok for what we need, but since Santi is bigger, what would be better is that when we come in the door, I have something to set him down on, like a bench, but with storage underneath for our shoes too. Currently, I've found these two pieces on Amazon.com which are front runners. I can't do a three cubby bench because the space is so short (a three cubby bench would run into the area where the door opens.)

Prepac Twin Cubby Bench on Amazon. Currently it's listed at $79 down from $171.

 

Prepac Twin Entryway Bench  on Amazon.com. Currently listed at $74 down from $227.

I'd also like to get a new coat rack with some storage above it for gloves and hats, or little toys of Santi's, my purse, Tito's wallet, etc. I would hang it directly over the bench for a look like this:

 So I'm looking at this piece:

 

Fremont Entryway Cubby Shelf on Amazon.com. Currently listed at $59, down from $165.

So I've got some budgeting to do! Hoping we can add the toy storage piece first (and soon!) because it's driving me crazy to be able to see every toy from the moment you walk into the livingroom.