Lego Table

We have a five-year-old, which means we also have Legos.  The classic toy I played with as a kid reentered my life when Oliver received a set for his birthday. He coveted those plastic bricks for months and cried when we made him take his creations apart to clean up.  Then came Christmas when both kids received plenty more Legos and the reality hit us that we'd forever be clearing half-constructed creations from our dining room table before setting it for dinner and scouring the living room floor for the tiniest of Lego pieces before being able to vacuum if we didn't implement a Lego organization system. 

I didn't even know where to start when Chris announced he'd found the perfect design plans. Who would have imagined my husband the engineer would find his dream design on a mommy blog.  In fact, the plans for the Lego Storage and Play Table on a blog called none other than "That Mommy Blog".



The plans utilize Ikea furniture for an easy DIY project.  Chris was so motivated to contain the Legos he braved Ikea, which is across the street from The Mall of America, the Saturday after Christmas - with both kids in tow.  He made another stop at Home Depot to have a board cut to create the tabletop and pick up the remaining supplies.

Back at home, Chris decided on a couple of modifications to the original plans.  Because the Lego baseplates usually run $5 per 10"x10" plate, he decided to cover the tabletop with green felt.  Off I went to Joann Fabrics while Chris started construction with Oliver and Soren as his helpers. 

He then decided he wanted a deeper tabletop.  Because the table and storage towers don't sit flush against our wall, by having a deeper table top, the tabletop can sit flush against the wall.  This creates a larger work surface and prevents Legos from dropping between the table and the wall.  He also added a lip to the front of the tabletop, which served two purposes.  The lip was screwed into both the table and the storage units, which stabilized the table.  It also keeps Legos from slipping onto the floor.

The picture above is the Lego table before the felt was laid down.  Chris cannot take on even the smallest of projects without finding a new tool he "needs" to buy to complete the project.  The latest purchase was a new staple gun. The nails he had went through the 1/2"-thick tabletop, and because Home Depot didn't carry any short enough, the Lego table went on hold until the new staples arrived.

What was originally going to be an office now doubles as a Lego command center.