6 Best Art Supply Carts For Kids Studios That Conquer Creative Clutter
Tame creative chaos with the right storage. We review the 6 best art supply carts to help you organize a kid’s studio and keep supplies accessible.
You step on a rogue crayon, find glitter in the kitchen sink, and discover that the "good" scissors have been used for a collage involving glue and pipe cleaners. When your child’s creative passion explodes, it can feel like your home is the casualty. The right art supply cart isn’t just about tidying up; it’s about creating an accessible, independent workspace that respects their process and your sanity.
Choosing a Cart for Your Child’s Creative Flow
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Before you even look at a single cart, think about how your child creates. A preschooler who loves process art—mixing paint, squishing clay, and making big, glorious messes—needs a different setup than a 10-year-old who is meticulously organizing their colored pencils for a detailed drawing. The goal is to reduce friction. If a child can’t find the tape, they’ll abandon their project or ask you for the tenth time, breaking their creative concentration.
The best system matches your child’s developmental stage. For kids under 7, think big, open, and visible. They need to see their supplies to remember they have them. Clear or open-topped bins are perfect. For older kids, around 8 to 12, who are developing more specific interests like beading, comics, or model-building, a cart with smaller, separated drawers helps them learn to categorize and care for their more specialized tools. The cart should serve their workflow, not just store their stuff.
Consider the logistics of your home. Will art always happen in one dedicated spot, or does it need to migrate to the kitchen table and disappear before dinner? A mobile cart with sturdy wheels is a game-changer for shared spaces. It creates a "pop-up studio" that empowers your child to own their creative setup and, just as importantly, their cleanup.
IKEA RÅSKOG: The Versatile Studio Workhorse
If you’re looking for a single cart that can grow with a child from finger-painting to detailed sketching, the RÅSKOG is a fantastic starting point. Its durable metal construction can withstand years of use, and its three deep, basket-style tiers are perfect for the "see it, grab it" workflow of younger children (ages 4-8). You can designate one tier for drawing (crayons, markers), one for painting (paints, brushes, paper), and one for building (glue, scissors, craft sticks).
The true strength of the RÅSKOG is its adaptability. As your child gets older, you can add smaller containers and dividers within the baskets to organize more specific supplies like charcoal sticks or individual paint tubes. Its small footprint and smooth-rolling wheels make it ideal for families who need to move art supplies from a bedroom to a common area. It’s a low-risk, high-reward investment that can easily be repurposed for other household needs if your child’s artistic passion eventually wanes.
Honey-Can-Do 12-Drawer Cart for Sorting Supplies
Is your child’s art supply collection starting to get serious? When you move beyond general crafts into specific hobbies, the jumbled-bin approach no longer works. The Honey-Can-Do cart, with its multiple shallow drawers, is the perfect solution for the elementary or middle-school-aged child (ages 8-13) who is starting to curate their materials.
This cart teaches a crucial skill beyond art: organization. The color-coded drawers provide a natural, visual system for sorting. One drawer can be for polymer clay, another for jewelry-making supplies, a third for specialty markers, and so on. This setup encourages kids to put things back where they belong because there is a designated place. It respects their growing collection and helps them protect their tools, making it an excellent choice for the child whose interest in art is clearly becoming a dedicated hobby.
SimpleHouseware 3-Tier for Compact Art Nooks
Not every family has space for a dedicated art room, and not every child needs a massive storage system. The SimpleHouseware 3-Tier cart is the answer for small spaces and budding interests. If your child is just starting to explore art as one of their many activities, this cart provides an organized home for the essentials without taking over a room.
Think of this as the perfect "art starter kit" organizer. It’s ideal for a corner in a playroom or bedroom, holding just enough to keep creativity flowing. The mesh baskets are great for containing construction paper, coloring books, and containers of markers and crayons. Because it’s a more modest investment, it’s a smart choice for parents who want to support a new interest without committing to a larger, more expensive system right away.
IRIS USA 6-Drawer Cart for Paper and Projects
Once a young artist starts caring about the quality of their paper, their storage needs change dramatically. For the child who is serious about drawing, illustration, or painting (typically ages 9-14), protecting their work is paramount. The IRIS USA cart with its wide, shallow drawers is designed specifically for this. It keeps 8.5×11" or A4 paper flat, preventing the bent corners and creases that can ruin a project.
This cart is less about holding bulky supplies and more about organizing flat materials and in-progress work. One drawer can hold sketch paper, another watercolor paper, and a third can be the designated "safe zone" for finished drawings. It signals to your child that you take their work seriously. By giving them a professional way to store their creations, you are validating their effort and teaching them to value the entire artistic process, from first sketch to final piece.
ECR4Kids Rolling Cart for Preschool Art Stations
The key to fostering creativity in the youngest children (ages 3-6) is immediate and independent access. The ECR4Kids cart is built with this principle in mind. Its low profile and forward-facing, colorful bins allow toddlers and preschoolers to see and reach their own supplies without needing to ask for help. This autonomy is incredibly empowering for little ones.
Safety and durability are also front and center. The rounded plastic edges and sturdy construction are designed for the realities of a preschool environment. You can fill the bins with chunky crayons, washable paint pots, play-doh, and safety scissors, creating an invitation to create that is always open. This cart isn’t just storage; it’s a fundamental part of a play-based learning environment that encourages exploration and self-expression.
The Lexington Cart for Growing Art Collections
Often seen as a direct competitor to the RÅSKOG, the Lexington cart (found at craft and art supply stores) is another excellent all-around choice built for the long haul. Its metal frame and perforated baskets are robust, making it a reliable workhorse for a child who is consistently engaged in creative projects. It’s a piece of gear that can easily be passed down to a younger sibling when the time comes.
Consider the Lexington for the family that is confident art will be a lasting interest. It can start as a 7-year-old’s general craft station and, with the addition of magnetic cups and hanging organizers, evolve into a 13-year-old’s dedicated painting cart. Its slightly larger size and modular potential make it a solid investment for a growing collection, ensuring you won’t have to buy a whole new system in just a couple of years.
Organizing Your Cart for Long-Term Creative Use
Buying the cart is only the first step. The real magic happens when you and your child set it up as a functional, living system. For younger kids, use picture labels on bins so they can clean up independently. For older kids, involve them in deciding how to categorize their supplies. This ownership makes them far more likely to maintain the system.
Use vertical space. Add jars, cups, or small buckets to the top tier for frequently used items like pencils, brushes, and scissors. This keeps the most essential tools within easy reach. Rotate supplies seasonally or based on current interests. If a beading phase has passed, store those supplies elsewhere to make room for new materials. This keeps the cart from becoming a cluttered archive of past hobbies.
Finally, make cleanup part of the creative ritual. It’s not a punishment; it’s how artists care for their tools so they are ready for the next great idea. A five-minute "studio reset" at the end of an art session builds discipline and respect for their materials. The cart becomes more than storage—it becomes the foundation of a lifelong creative habit.
Ultimately, the best art cart is the one that gets used. By choosing a system that matches your child’s age, interests, and the rhythm of your home, you’re doing more than just conquering clutter. You are building a launchpad for their imagination, ensuring that when inspiration strikes, nothing stands in their way.