Creating a Lego Play and Display Space

Last week, I shared with you all the new way we’re sorting and storing Henry’s Legos. But because of my chronic long-windedness, I didn’t quite get a chance to show you how the new drawer system fits into the overall setup in Henry’s room. Today, I’d like to pick up where we left off on Friday and show the dedicated Lego “Play and Display Space” we setup in Henry’s bedroom! Our new layout evolved slowly and without a real plan; but it’s been working so brilliantly for our household (which now includes a crawling baby!) that I wanted to share it in more detail. If you have a Lego lover in your home, read on to see how this corner all came together and why it’s working so well!

Just to recap quickly, we used to store our Legos in their sets in dedicated plastic boxes. That system was ideal when Henry relied heavily on the manuals, only built the included project(s), and rarely played with his finished creations. As he developed his free-building skills in recent months however, having all the Legos boxed up was really hampering his ability to play with them. So we took the leap and unboxed all of our sets and now sort them all by color in an IKEA ANTONIUS system. You can read more about why and how we did this here.

So our snazzy little organization system is great, but where did it end up? How does Henry access it? How do we keep the cute little 9-month-old away from the tiny Legos inside the very-accessible drawers? Plus…the storage for all the pieces is great, but where does Henry keep his finished masterpieces? And where does he build? Well…all those questions can be answered in this one picture below. Here is how we’ve setup a play space AND a storage space AND a display space all in one corner of his bedroom!

Okay…let’s be honest, the desk really looks like this on most days…

But that’s really just a sign of a well-working system because he can sit and play and build until his heart’s content. Which lately has been hour(s) a day. Seriously. Let me show you what all we have here and explain why it’s working for us!

The key to this setup is right here. A desk with our Lego storage right next to it:

The desk was originally brought into the room to be used for homework. But we’re not really there yet with Henry; and when we realized we needed to give him a place to play with his Legos that was well out of the baby’s day-to-day life, the desk became the most obvious location. He specifically asked for a “green rolley chair,” and when I added the desk lamp, he felt like such a cool big kid! I’m pretty sure both were essential in making him love this little spot even more. #itsthelittlethings

Besides offering the ideal storage for our specific Lego collection, the IKEA ANTONIUS system was also a great size and shape for Henry’s room. We don’t have a ton of floor space in here, but we also wanted something that would truly allow him to access his Legos easily. The space planner in me really wanted to tuck the drawers into the corner, but it was very awkward for Henry to reach the drawers in that arrangement. He can now sit at his desk and easily grab whatever it is he wants or needs without having to get up or hunt through buried boxes.

And since Henry’s absolute favorite thing in the whole world right now is to play with the people and weapons and accessories…

…placing the people and all their accoutrements in the very top drawer (where he can pull everything out without opening anything) was pretty much the smartest thing I did in his entire room! #momwin

With this new setup, it didn’t take long for his little desk to become overrun with creations. As I was brainstorming possible ways to add display shelves somewhere in his room, I realized the black bookcases that flank his bed would better serve us storing Lego creations rather than random decor items. So I cleared off all the picture frames and other tchotchkes in order to create some dedicated shelves for displaying all of Henry’s builds.

Honestly, this was another happy accident. Not only can Henry reach most of these shelves (with the help of standing on his bed sometimes); but they are also pretty shallow, making them ideal for Lego creations. He can easily pull down whatever vehicles he wants to play with. When his desk becomes overrun, we just put items back onto the shelves until he’s ready for them again. Having a separate play space and display area has been a game changer for my sanity!

Although we unboxed pretty much our entire Lego collection, there were two sets that were worth keeping together: our Christmas Train and our Ferris Wheel. Both of these sets are Advanced/Expert-level sets that were gifted to us as a family. We bring them out only on special occasions and only as a family. These two kits, plus all the Lego train track, are still kept in clear plastic boxes and fit perfectly into the base cabinet of the display bookcase. There is still plenty of space left in this cabinet should we need to keep future sets together in a similar way.

So literally, everything “Lego” is stored in this one corner in our home. Although it’s not entirely baby-proof, Henry’s room will eventually become 100% off limits to Sammy as he becomes more and more mobile. By keeping Legos contained to this room and the baby out of it, we’ve hopefully created a way for Henry to enjoy his favorite toy but in a way that is safe for Sam.

Oh…and if you had any doubt about Henry’s love for anything Lego, especially Ninjago…let me put those doubts to rest right now:

Yes…we are well on our way to a very Lego bedroom. You’re only a 6 year old, Lego-loving boy once, my friends. At least that’s what I keep telling myself 😉

Sorry for the barrage of Lego-themed posts over this last week. However, I know what a storage nightmare the little things can be, and I really wanted to share the various solutions that are working well for us right now. As I mentioned last week, finding the right Lego storage system is a very fluid process and very much depends on the child and how they play with them. I’m certain this is not the last time we will have to troubleshoot and tackle our Legos; but for now, I think we’ve got our current collection well under control! And that is making us all very, very happy!

I’d love to hear if you’ve come up with any smart or creative storage solutions for Legos! These posts become great resources for folks over time, so don’t hesitate to share what’s worked for you in the comments below! I’ll see you all back here on Friday with my plans to breath fresh life into our boring kitchen! See you then!