Lego Coffee Table in the Living Room and Pley
On the one hand, the benefits of construction and Lego play are wonderful! On the other hand, those pieces of brightly colored plastic are everywhere around the house. I gather, the situation is not unique to our house, and some pretty Lego play tables and train tables are available at the stores.The thing is our Lego table has to be in the living room. Kids don't want to play alone upstairs. I don't want to go through the continuous process of picking up the newly built models and sneaky parts and transporting them back to where they belong.
So we compromised: I set up a Lego coffee table in the living room. Also, I love the idea of not spending any more money on Legos, but using Lego renting service at Pley.com.
Lego Table Ideas
I like this flexible set up (pictured above): it allows for an easy clean up and an option of storing toys away quickly for the toy rotation and when not in use. Here is a happy moment! There are almost no Lego bricks and building parts on the floor! How could that happen with my four year old?Pictured above, it doesn't matter how large the surface of the Lego table is - there is never enough space for the display of the finished pieces, for a small world set up, and for the projects in progress.
To maximize the table top space, we added a foldable shelf with the castle on top. This old castle is the best feature now. The towers turn into the helicopter pads or landings for the space ships. It can house and display many finished models and people.
Pictured below, the area under the shelf is a safe spot for ongoing projects and the most used container with people and small accessories.
Based on our previous experience, storing Lego parts in zip lock bags or plastic containers, sorted by colors and sizes, or the initial store bought model doesn't work. Kids either don't see and use the parts, or just spill them out (to the floor). This time we used mismatched baskets. Different shapes and textures of containers helped with the sorting - and sorted by use.
Two oversized baskets have worked wonders for us (pictured below). The bottom one is filled to half full with the favorite building blocks. I noticed that the extra space in the basket helps to contain the pieces inside. The top basket contains plates, larger bricks, and special parts and wheels to build cars, space ships, and furniture (our current area of interest). This basket has plenty of room for easy digging!
The regular shaped bricks and such are stored under the table. That box is too boring to dig in, but easily accessible for getting extra parts as needed. The smallest bricks are stored out of sight (due to the age of this kid - she is not interested in those yet).
And here is our favorite little container that always stays on the table top. It has all the best treasured parts: lights, antennas, a couple of treasure boxes, and who-knows-what-else was brightly colored and caught the eye.
Lego Renting Service at Pley
Sponsored Pley blog campaign: all views and opinions with regard to Pley or the products they feature are my own and were not reviewed by the company prior to publishing. You can find our full disclosure here: Disclosure and Privacy Policy. You can also find our previous article here: Keeping Toys Fresh and Exciting During Winter.
My Firefly asks for new sets. Besides costing money, these new pretty kits are very specific. Once built, they are not taken apart, played with for a while, and in a week, they are around, collecting dust... until the new box.
I'd like to invite you to visit Pley at https://www.pley.com/ This service works in three easy steps:
- Choose your favorite toys (Lego, K'NEX, and more),
- Free Delivery to your door,
- Play, Return, Repeat.
- 400+ Lego sets and popular robotics toys are available. The newest sets are added to the collection regularly.
- It saves money. Gift cards are also available.
- I love how this service helps reducing waste for the environment. Less purchases means the savings on plastic: at least 240 lbs. fewer CO2 emissions per annum per Pley member!
More Problem Solving and Building Ideas from My Bright Firefly
Problem Solving with Cubes and Craft Sticks
Water and Landforms for Kids: Create, Explore, and Save
Pattern Blocks Math
(Click on the picture below to enlarge it.)
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