some good ideas on this thread

thank you thank you for the link to a white gallery bookcase. I have been umming and ahhing about a similar one which a friend bought recently (not GLC) but it was more and only available in beech (which wouldn't match Ds's other furniture).

I have a playroom, but even if I didn't I would use the Ikea Expedit with fabric boxes that I use in the playroom to store little toys. Big toys are on shelves in the playroom - I suppose in a living room I would have something like a Billy bookcase with doors, or they would be in his bedroom.

I have recently had a clear out, so some stuff is upstairs in the DC's bedroom, some is un the understairs cupboard and the "in circulation" stuff is on the bottom 2 shelves of a big bookshelf that we built into an alcove on oe side of chimney breast.

Everything is in not especially beautiful but super cheap plastic lidded boxes which are - and this is the critical bit - almost transparent - so it's easy to see what is where, strictly sorted into different toy types. We also have some pretty patterned cardboard boxes for teeny tiny stuff. The DC's know exactly which is gogos and which is bakugan and which is dolly clothes. I don't.

When we bought our lounge furniture (TV cabinet and sideboard) we bought a matching ottoman/blanket box. This has all Ds2's toys in, hes only a year old, Dds stuff is in her room now, shes 5.

there are loads more to chose from,more neutral,boy or girl etc.........

we have a blanket box type pine box if it doesn't fit in the box it has to live upstairs (although toys come down during the day they go back up at bedtime)

I have this in the dining room with one of these on each shelf to hold stuff like DS's playdough/crayons/craft stuff and puzzles and so on.

<sigh> then we have one of these that has stacked boxes on the other side, like the ITNG thing you linked. A couple of plastic tubs, and a table for his garage and cars - there is TOO MUCH STUFF.

That's all in the dining room and yet somehow my bookcase shelves in the living room contain a Ninky Nonk, a duplo Thomas, another bloody train and a fire engine.

I am having a massive clearout before Christmas.

we're pretty toy free in the lounge now (thank god) but have one vintage looking wooden box which is full of DS's toy cars.
We currently have an ikea shelving system in spare room but that pretty much means there's no room for spare bed but at least it means toys are mainly upstairs. If they want, they can bring them down but have to take them back up afterwards. The lounge sideboard is jam packed with board games and puzzles so they just get put away after each use.
Art stuff in art drawers under the stairs.