Best storage container for playroom? And basement playroom advice!

[DaycareLady]

Hi ladies, we are completely changing my daycare room to our basement. The space is a bit smaller and darker then my current daycare room....I have tried several different storage systems but wondering if I could get some advice on your favourite? I was looking at investing into an ikea one...does anyone have one of those?
The ones I have now work great but are too big for the new area and they are also black, so I would like to get something tan I'm colour.
Also, any tips for brightening up a basement space?! We have a raised bungalow so it is above ground but only one window in this new area tht is still pretty dark because it is mostly covered by our deck. This is going to be a really great switch for alot of reasons but I am having some anxiety about it too.

[playfelt]

We painted the walls a light yellow and change the ceilings fixtures to 4 foot fluorescent fixtures and that helped a lot. Add more lights if you can too so there aren't as many shadowy corners.

[Fun&care]

Generally speaking, I am not a HUGE ikea fan, but I have to say I really love their toy storage systems. I have a tall tower and a shorter unit. I can store a lot in there. Just be sure not to overload the bins...I did that once and one of the bins broke. Easy to replace tho. Also any kind of bookcase will work well, just purchase some bins and put them in the bookcase and voila! As for color, my basement is sky blue. And I hung some string with clothes pins and I hang artwork on there.

[JennJubie]

If your floor space is limited, but you have wall space, you could put up those laundry cabinets. Simple, but they give you storage, and leave your floor free for play space.

[cfred]

Ikea rocks for daycare stuff! My daycare is like an Ikea showroom, lol. My toys are in the one that looks like steps (3 steps with coloured plastic bins on guiding rails). I love it as the kids can reach all the bins and there's room on top of each section to put larger items. I also had, in my old centre, a cheap armoire (sp?) with child sized hangers for our dress up centre. Now I have a tv cabinet that has a large space for a tv on one side, which is where our stuffed toys go. The other side has a shelf in the middle. On top is a small tv, roku, dvd player. The bottom is for our puzzle/manipulatives. There are large drawers underneath on wheels. On one side is our diaper station, with all the children's diapers lined up, colour coded and wipes, creams, change pads, first aid kit in a basket. The other drawer is where we keep our dress up clothes now. Billy Bookcases (the super cheap 2 shelf ones) are fantastic! One is our craft supply station, the other is our reading centre. Also from Ikea which is fab....those big air element chairs. It's just a balloon type thing with various covers. We have the turtle, elephant and lady bug. The kids love them! There's also a great wall mirror that's unbreakable....big alligator round the frame. Very cool :)

[Wonderwiper]

My basement is a taupe colour and we have lots of potlights and bright decorations on the wall so it doesn't seem dark at all!

I just have one of those toy shelves with open bins and a long low shelf on the ground for bigger trucks etc. I store 'spare' toys in Tupperware bins in a closet.

[DaycareLady]

these tips are wonderful!! thank you SOO much everyone!!

[aplacetogrow]

I am also in a raised bungalow and painted my room a light gray used all white ikea furniture with bright storage bins. I used wooden letters and numbers that I painted and a large wall decal to brighten up the walls.