Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Versatile Lego Table

My son loves Lego's.  In fact you could say he lives Lego's and they were taking over his room so I knew I needed to come up with a solution.  I did a lot of searching on Pinterest, lots of configuring and finally found the best Lego table solution

Why this is the best Lego Table

1- Size
   Many of the Lego tables out there are pretty short- good heights for smaller kids- but my son is 8 and only getting bigger.  So not only is this a regular height table but it also isn't too large, it doesn't take more room than we have available.

2- Storage
   There are eight shelves which have room for huge buckets- 4 spaces above and 4 below.
These bins are huge and have way more than enough room for the thousands of Legos my son has.

We divided the bins into 8 categories
1. White and Black Pieces
2. Red and Yellow
3. Blue and Green
4. Orange and Brown
5. Large Miscellaneous Pieces (Large)
6. Small Miscellaneous Pieces (Small)
7. Flat pieces (Flat)
8. Gears and Wheels

The last four categories trump the color bins.   If it is a big flat piece, it goes in with the flats no matter what the color.  This form of sorting works best for how my son builds Legos.

How to Label the Buckets
 To label the buckets I found a free Lego font (can find lego font here).  The Lego font- has an inner and outer layer.  I used my Silhouette to cut out the letters- but rather than keep the inner letter, I saved just the outline (and inside pieces like in the middle of the R).
The outline vinyl parts I saved ready to be put on transfer paper then on the buckets
The traditional Lego colors are white with yellow outline on a red background.  So I decided to use a shiny yellow vinyl for all my letters.  And I loved the end look.




3- Versatility
  Not only is there space to store Lego's and build Lego's- but this has also become my son's favorite spots to do his homework.  If someday by chance he outgrew Lego's (I don't think he ever will) we could just pull out the buckets and other things could be stored in the spaces, or even just turn the buckets backwards. (There are even shelf drawers or doors available for this set)

4- Price
   My favorite part was the price.  As I looked at Lego tables, I found a few that I loved including one that had a lot of pull out bins and had a huge table area; but as I began adding up the price for the different parts it was quickly adding up.

We bought all of our supplies at IKEA.  The desk shelf and desk is a set from the Expedite series.
It is $119 for both pieces.  It is available in three different colors.  I was impressed with how good quality both the desk and shelf are; it isn't high end furniture but it also doesn't feel or look cheap either.

The bins are the largest bin from the Trofast Storage Bins.  When I looked at the sizes I was afraid they wouldn't fit, but they fit the shelf perfectly and are only $4 each.

The chair is also from IKEA- it is the Alrik chair at only $14.99.  It can raise and lower to the desired height.
The holes make it seem like a Lego thing to me.
I already had the vinyl so the total price was $165.99 (pre-tax).  Now, we not only have a great place for my son to build and store his Lego's- but a desk that he can have and use forever.
The bin to the left of his desk was our old storage method and still needs to be sorted into his new bins
And what do we do with his completed sets?  We bought a couple of shelf/shoe racks at Target and they fit perfectly under his window seat to hold his finished sets.

For my daughter who loves the Lego Girlfriend sets- who likes playing with her built sets more than building- we also got her a shelf.
We got her the white shelf and desk.  She stores her completed sets up above and then pulls them out to  her desk when she wants to play with them.  She has just has four pink bins beneath that have a variety of things stored in them. 

I am linking this post up at the following crafting blogs
PhotobucketTodays Creative Blog
It's Overflowing

28 comments:

  1. This is brillant!

    I've been working on something similar but I don't have as much space. I'm thinking of storing some things under the desk.

    Living in an apartment...I looks for all ways to use space!

    You've inspired me to try to organize the legos again.

    LOVE IKEA.

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  2. Brilliant idea! I'm so glad I saw this since we're planning a move and I was tempted to "lose" the legos because I'm tired of them being chucked into massive containers. Thank you!

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  3. I need this table for my son! There are legos all over my house.

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  4. Thanks for sharing! I've been pondering how to best organize the Legomania, and I'll be in Atlanta next week with plans to hit Ikea. Cheers!

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  5. What a great way to organize the legos!

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  6. Awesome. thanks for including the info on where you got the stuff, and the prices.

    Buddy loves Legos, but he never takes them apart. Once they are built, he expects me to find a place for them. It drives me batty. I've been putting them in large, under bed, storage boxes, but we are still running out of room. I've been trying to convince him to take them apart and store the pieces and the directions in large ziploc bags. No such luck yet.

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  7. Wow! That is so awesome! I am so impressed with Lucas and his lego creations. I can't even imagine having that many legos in the house! Maybe we should get a system like that for Ethan's artwork! You're inspiring me to get organized!! (Though with my two month old, I doubt it will happen soon . . . haha)!

    Awesome Lego Table!

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  8. Oh My Heart Emily! That is the coolest ever!!! WOW!

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  9. this is brilliant my son has all his legos in a storage container when they aren't on the floor

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  10. This is PERFECT!!! That chair is the best find ever. I feel like I already need to do this and Charlie is only 2!!

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  11. CUTE!!! I have that Lego font on my computer after my Lego birthday party for my youngest last year. :)

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  12. Henry would love this... and the Lego font, perfect! IKEA has some of the best stuff

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  13. Very nice! We don't have an Ikea... :( :( :( I love their stuff, though.

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  14. Wow! I can hardly believe he has enough Legos to warrant that. It's amazing though!

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  15. OMG, I bet he absolutely LOVES this. How cool!

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  16. What a fabulous idea! Looks great and I'm sure the kids are loving it.

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  17. Oh my gosh, I could have used this idea years ago. My three sons were obsessed with Lego's, they had millions of them but I just stored them in long flat bins that went under their beds. Nothing sorted. You on the other hand, are one organized woman! Nice work!!!

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  18. I have those shelves and I love them. They help keep my living room organized.

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  19. Excellent solution. And I agree -- it is versatile and will grow with him and into something else if it needs to be.

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  20. That's a perfect Lego play space and such a good way to keep the Legos organized. You did a really great job with that! Last year my 7-year-old wanted mostly Legos for Christmas, so we got him some neat sets from the Lego catalog, and he's barely played with them! Turns out Legos aren't quite his thing, at least not yet. But if they were I'd want to do something like what you did.

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  21. This is super amazing - a feat I may never accomplish - organizing anything...but I really want to try - awesome!

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  22. Super smart!! I've been trying to organize LEGO pieces for years. lol

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  23. Another reason to buy a Silhouette!!! My 43 year old sister needs this at her house!!! Thanks for the idea and purchase info!!

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  24. Such a great way to keep their Legos organized.

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  25. What a great idea! I love it. Especially that it is something he really wont ever grow out of. My son is such a lego maniac, one day I think I may have to copy your idea. Thanks for doing all the hard research for me. :)

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  26. LOVE these desks and the chair with breathable holes! Shoot, this looks like something "I" would like in my craft room.

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  27. This is such a wonderful idea! And I love that its so versatile! I think I need to do this for my lego-loving son. Where did you get the multi-colored floor lamp? That's a great idea to have one by the lego table because separating those tiny pieces can be pretty hard on the eyes.

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  28. The blog is about inspiration, magnificence and brightness.lego mats for tables

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