A Playroom Expert Turned an IKEA Coffee Table into the Perfect LEGO Storage Solution
Back when my two boys were deep in their LEGO phase, those colorful little bricks featured prominently in the decor of our small apartment. The chunky DUPLO creations, Star Wars sets, and freestyle masterpieces always earned a place of honor on our shelves — before ultimately being dismantled and built anew. We stored them in practical, deeply unaesthetic plastic bins in our family room, choosing easy access over easy-on-the-eyes. If only I’d known about this brilliant LEGO storage hack from @napsandnovels!
Earlier this summer, the Instagram account, run by early education expert and playroom consultant Erica Rivietz, showed the chicest way to store LEGO bricks out in the open: using an IKEA coffee table and an inexpensive Lazy Susan (in Rivietz’s case, from a dollar store). “Who knew a coffee table could become the ultimate LEGO station?” reads the reel’s caption. “We turned the IKEA BORGEBY coffee table into a DIY LEGO table and it has quickly become one of the most-used spots in our playroom.”
IKEA’s $199.99 BORGEBY coffee table is available in birch veneer or black and, needless to say, it’s way more stylish than the plastic-lidded tubs I relied on. With the lower-level storage section measuring 3.375 inches deep and the entire table measuring 27 and a half inches in diameter, it will hold plenty of bricks on its own, but I love the addition of a lazy Susan on top that lets you organize a smaller selection of LEGO bricks by size or, as Rivietz shows, color.
Commenters loved the ingenious hack too (especially the spinning lazy Susan), writing, “Okay wow, this is amazing!” and “Gotta try this.” Some have even already replicated it, with one writing, “I bought this table after seeing your post for our little LEGO fan, and it’s been such a hit! Ever since we got it, he’s been playing with his LEGO every day again, making up his own creations instead of just building the sets. Such a great idea. Thanks!”
According to the post’s caption, the table is the “perfect height for toddlers learning to pull up, while older children can comfortably kneel or sit and build.” (Of course, given this table’s open access storage, be sure you’re sticking to age-appropriate, not-too-small LEGO bricks if you’ve got smaller or multiple kids using the table.)
And speaking of older children, one of my teens recently remarked that he wanted to get back into building LEGO sets, so who knows — this storage hack might be in our future yet!