Lego Storage and Play Table: An Easy IKEA Hack!

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Peeps, this is truly my favorite DIY I have ever done.  EVER.  What happened was this: Christmas, followed closely by a Lego-themed birthday party when my sweet boy turned six in January.  This family loves Lego, but with the Lego explosion around here, and we needed solutions.  If you have little boys who love to build, you know what I'm talking about.  So I pinned and planned, hemmed and hawed...looked at every solution in the world before I was literally struck over the head with the perfect solution.

I present to you...my Adjustable Height DIY Lego Table and Storage Unit!

It combines the Lego storage ideas you may have seen on Pinterest using the Ikea Trofast storage systems, with an adjustable shelf that serves as a surface for building.  We covered one side of the shelf with green Lego baseplates, and left the other smooth for the option of building without baseplates:

The bare side of the shelf.

 (Reversible = awesome!)  But the best part is that I can make this shelf taller as my child grows, so we could conceivably use this unit for, like, ever.

The shelf at counter height.

So, how did I do it?  It was truly not difficult and I am going to walk you through it.  You know it was easy because I did it all by myself; my husband had thrown out his back so he couldn't even assemble anything for me...telling you, it is easy.

Step One: Get Your Supplies
3 Trofast Frames.  I am sure if you are a carpenter or are married to one, there is a cheaper way to go about this, but for me, purchasing 3 of these frames was the simplest way to go.

Ikea Trofast Frame

You will also need a shelf.  I used 1/2" lumber, cut to 11 and 3/4" deep and 48" wide.  Obviously, your shelf will need to fit your space.  I have found that 48" is very sturdy, and at this thickness it could perhaps be a bit longer but I wouldn't go crazy with the length or it may start to bow in the middle.  You also need to purchase twelve 2.5" long Hex Socket Head Screws.  These will replace 12 of the shorter screws included with the units.

Step Two: Assemble Your Units
Follow Ikea's famously simple directions, with this modification: before attaching the inner wall (the wall that will ultimately face inward toward your shelf) of your shelving unit, place another wall (taken from your third unit you purchased in Step One) on top of it, with the grooves aligned but facing outwards, like so:

Now, attach both walls to the frame simultaneously using the 2.5" Hex Screws you purchased in Step One.  You will use these instead of the screws included with the Trofast, to accommodate for the additional width introduced by attaching two walls instead of just one.

Step Three: Measure Carefully and Install
You will be latching your units to the wall, so it is essentially to measure carefully so that your units are precisely the same distance apart from each other as your shelf is wide.

Please use the latches included with the units to latch them to the wall.  They are surprisingly stable when standing on their own, but don't let that fool you into thinking you don't need latches...your kids will definitely climb on them at some point!

Step Four: Organize that Sucker!
Insert your pre-cut shelf into the grooves, and enjoy your awesome play surface!

We waited a good six weeks while green base plates were on back-order, and just played with the shelf like this.  Fortunately they seem to be readily available now.  You can get yours right here or through amazon.com:

I glued them on with E-6000 adhesive, making sure to space them with legos:

I sealed the rest of the shelf with clear furniture wax for durability, love my Johnson's furniture wax.

I used my Silhouette to make labels for Trofast bins.  I chose to organize my son's Legos by themes, and it has worked extremely well.  He has no problem finding anything or putting things away.  Gone are the days of Lego explosions all over the place!

I also used this opportunity to organize our Lego manuals, using clear plastic sleeves and a binder:

Above the unit, I used the excess wood from having my shelf cut by Lowe's to create another shelf, using brackets from Ikea.  The small plastic bins are being used for smaller storage needs, and most of them are currently empty, leaving us room to collect more Legos!

I also made some vinyl wall art in Lego's signature font:

I love everything about this project, but you want to know my favorite part?  It's this: