Toys, toys, toys!

I've got two words on my mind after Torin's party . . . toys and storage! 

He got so many lovely presents over the weekend, but now our living room is somewhat overrun! Since Torin was born, keeping his toys tidy in both his bedroom and the living room has been an ongoing process. Room for storage in his bedroom is limited, so most of his toys are kept downstairs, and our attic isn't boarded out at the moment, so we can't store anything up there. Therefore, I've moved his toys in and out of boxes of varying size, tried to streamline them by storing his most babyish toys in the wardrobe in his bedroom and given over a bookshelf in the living room for his books. Part of me struggles with this a little though, as I feel a bit like who am I to decide when he's lost interest in a certain toy? - he may not want it to be relegated to the back of the wardrobe.

What I'm wondering now is what to keep things like Lego, Playdough and crayons in. Before his birthday, he had a few coloured pencils and crayons, and today he was given some felt-tipped pens (so glad I painted the chimney breast in Endurance paint as I've already wiped off a thick line of orange pen from the wall!). I'm sure his collection of these will continue to grow, so what I'm wondering about is what sized container should they all be kept in? Do I find something that will house them as they are at the moment? Or, do I pre-empt a growing collection and go for something much larger?

I also don't want to end up with piles of individual storage boxes in our living room, so I think I'll need something large enough to put most of his toys in. I really don't mind having all of his toys out during the day - I somehow manage to look over them and don't count them in the annoying clutter I notice everywhere else, but it is nice to be able to tidy them away at least a little bit, when he is in bed, or when we have guests.

One of our friends keeps her son's toys in a large wicker storage trunk, which I do like the look of; however, I really don't trust our cats. We have IKEA's MELBU mirror (with a rattan frame) in our bedroom, and shortly after we'd hung it on the wall Rufus managed to get upstairs and began clawing at it - honestly, it was like he was drawn to it. So, I'd be a little hesitant to spend good money on something that could quickly turn into a giant scratching post for the cats.

We do have an old blanket box in our room that would work quite well. The only thing is that I don't think it'll quite fit in the space where the toy storage needs to go - under our stairs next to the sofa that is there.

Believe me people, this is NOT all of them!

Any suggestions?