Lego table project!
One of the “littles” in our family LOVES Legos. Course I am all for any child’s entertainment that doesn’t involve electronics.
Believe it or not I managed to raise four intelligent, college educated children without video games or smart phones…imagine that!
When I heard she has to commandeer the family room coffee table to build her Lego sets, I decided she needed her own personal space!
I looked at buying a Lego table as a Christmas gift…but as with much of the furniture today, they were all cheaply made and didn’t seem very sturdy…certainly not pieces a child could lean on for hours.
So I decided to build one!
First thing I had to do was locate “Lego flats.” I found these on Amazon…perfect!
The package SAYS they are 10x10 but when I laid out 3 wide I discovered the measurement was actually 30 1/8” …good to know! I decided to build a table that would hold 3 wide and 2 deep…and knowing the exact measurement of them laid out is important. The inside measurement of the trim on the top will be 20 1/4” x 30 1/4” so there is room for 6 total interchangeable flats.
I constructed the table out of 1/2” plywood, 14” furniture legs, 1x3 pine boards and 3 1/4” trim.
I bought a piece of 24” x 48” 1/2” plywood and cut down the width to 34”.
When cutting plywood with a skill saw, make sure you “score” the line you will be cutting with a utility knife…
…then cut on the OUTSIDE of the scored line…this will keep the plywood from “splintering” when you cut it with a skill saw.
After cutting the plywood 24” x 34” I “banded” the entire board with 1x3 pine… then added the leg brackets to each corner. The legs just screw into the brackets.
Banding the plywood top with 1x3 pine does several things…it increases the width and length of the table by 1 1/2” …remember 1”x3” boards are actually 3/4” x 2 1/2”. It also strengthens the plywood and the “skirt” it creates will hide the leg brackets.
Also remember…glue AND nails. ALWAYS USE GLUE!!! The glue is what actually holds everything together!
After the base of the top was constructed, I flipped it over and added the trim to the top…cutting it so that the opening on the table top would be 30 1/4” x 20 1/4” to accommodate 6 flats with a smidge of wiggle room so they can easily be changed out.
Once it was all constructed, I puttied all the holes and caulked all the joints. I primed it with primer, sanded everything smooth, tacked and painted it with Krylon satin white.
A few of the tables I looked at had storage drawers or the tops lifted for storage…cute idea and something I could have incorporated into the design…but truthfully if you have a “lego kid” you know the table would have to be the size of Montana to hold all their pieces…so you are better off finding bins or stackable containers that suit your needs!
This table is strictly so the little doesn’t have to clutter up the family coffee table when she wants to build and tear it all down when it is time to put it away…she can just remove the legs and slide it under the couch or bed!
Super cute and hopefully sturdy enough for hours of leaning.
