Last Spring I decided I was going to make my own Lego table instead of buying one of those plastic tables from the store for a few reasons. First, boys will be boys and will definitely climb on anything in sight. So, I knew the table needed to be made of wood, not plastic. Second, with the little plastic tables, kids can be creative and construct one or two buildings, but I thought it would be cool if the kids could make a Lego town. And third, my kids are still toddlers and sharing the same space isn't always a harmonious experience, so size was definitely going to matter.
I searched and searched and finally found an Ethan Allen wooden coffee table that someone was selling on a yard sale site. (I'll fill you in about yard sale sites in another post.) The table was $40 without the glass part, which I assume was broken....I didn't ask because I didn't care. As soon as I saw the table I knew it would be perfection.
Next, I measured the inside of the table, where the glass used to lay. Once I had the measurements we headed to Lowe's to pick out a piece of wood and get it cut. As always, Lowe's cut it for free and there was no headache involved. I then used screws to join the wood to the bottom of the table for my peace of mind.
Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures for all of you of the first four steps of this process. Forgive me? :)
It was easy-peasy from this point forward. I painted the sides of the table green to simulate grass, headed to Target for four Lego plates, then nailed them to the top of the wood. That brings us to the picture below.
The streets still needed to be created, so I used painter's tape to protect the Lego boards then started spraying away with black, glossy spray paint. After two coats of the spray paint dried, it was time to paint the yellow lines on the road. My lines aren't perfect, but my kids don't care. They love their new Lego table!
In total I spent $120; $40 for the table, $20 for the wood, and $60 for the Lego base plates (those suckers are expensive). That's very similar pricing to the plastic Lego tables that are sold at stores, except this has at least two times the amount of playing room and it's much more sturdy and durable. Oh, and another thing I forgot to tell you....my two year old can even use his Duplos on this table!
Looks great! It shows that you put a lot of work into it and I'm sure your boys will get years of fun out of it!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Susen! I'm definitely hoping this keeps them entertained for a few years. I'm 33 and it keeps me entertained. :) Thanks for reading our blog, we appreciate it!
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