all things Lego storage
Legos are one of our favorite toys in the house. They are classic, can be used a billion different ways, and are fun for kids and adults alike. But anyone who has a lego loving kid (or is an obsessed adult) knows that the pieces and sets can get out of control rather quickly. After some trial and error, I think we have figured out a great system that works for us and how we play. Let’s begin with the solutions that didn’t work… and why.
Lego Drawers (fail)
The first storage solution we ever tried was these super cute Lego Drawers, which we were super excited about as we dipped our toes into Duplos around age 2. They are lightweight, stack nicely, and come in a variety of colors. If you only have a few Duplo Legos, maybe this would work, but once the drawers get full, it really doesn’t work. There is a lip on the box top where the drawer closes and the bricks would tend to get suck behind that, making the drawer difficult and frustrating to open. Whomp whomp! We thought maybe its becuase these aren’t really meant for Duplos, just regular Legos, but the drawers are sooooo deep and don’t extend all the way open that we didn’t even bother trying to use them for regular bricks because it would honestly just be a black hole. We ended up just keeping our Duplos stashed in our trusty Hay Colour Crates (large), which we’ve been using to store all sorts of toys and items.
Ikea Lego Boxes (also, fail)
As we leveled up to regular Legos, our crates would no longer do the trick as the perforations in it do not play nice with Lego storage. On a whim, we picked up some Ikea Bygglek boxes, a collaboration with Lego, which are modular with a clean look - two of my favorite details in storage items. Disappointingly, We found this was another Lego storage item that is completely inefficient. The smallest size holds no more than a couple of minifigs. The medium size holds a handful of minifigs or maybe 2-3 kid fistfuls of loose legos, but certainly not an entire set of bricks for a say a modest $15 set. Then, there is the largest box Ikea has in the collection, which is a bit better. But the box itself is surprisingly heavy and there is no way to secure the lid on it making a lego spill disaster a very likely possibility, especially when a kiddo is handling it. I appreciate what the collaboration was trying to do, but it sadly misses the mark functionally.
The Lego Station & Storage that works for us…
If you’ve been following us on Instagram, you may have seen our post last year when we took the door off of Olivia’s Playroom closet (formerly locked and used for out of rotation toys). We had the Container Store Elfa Storage System in there and have certainly taken advantage of its flexibility. You can see below how we were using this shelving (and our storage bins) for toy storage.
Right before the holidays it got to a point where 70% of what Olivia was playing with was Legos, so we decided to lean into it. Since we already had the Elfa System in place, it was quite simple to swap out a few components to make this the Lego Station of Olivias dreams. We landed on a wood work surface to warm the space up as well as a pegboard on the back to hold a few small shelves that show off her smaller builds and favorite Minifig creations. For storing our loose pieces and some builds, a combination of small bins that are easy to grab, clear boxes (with latched lids), and 2 drawers.
It honestly took about 4-5 visits to the Container Store, and lots of wandering before I finally decided on the transparent latched bins that have the Legos sorted by color on the upper shelf. You may think I’m completely crazy to think Legos will be kept stored that way, but it’s actually working for us. Sometimes Olivia helps me sort them, other times, I find it pretty calming for to do myself. You’ll notice that we have mutliple bins for a few colors rather than a larger single bin - and this is intentional. If the bins get too deep, it’s hard to sift around in them for pieces that have made their way to the bottom.
The top drawer is our very own build-your-own Minifig station. We used clear divider trays to sort out the different components. Making Olivia sort them with me has helped her to get in the habit of putting the pieces back herself. She likes that she can easily find a top, hair, or an accessory without digging thru hundreds of pieces.
Just beneath the Minifig drawer that is another which is our messy drawer. It’s where the discarded creations go along with pieces that were pulled and not used, etc etc. It’s the catchall for everything thats not where it normally “lives”. Every few weeks we sit and take these apart and sort them back to their colored bins.
Ok but where are all of our actual Lego builds, the ones that are built to the actual instructions that come with the set? Well the latest and greatest builds are on display in her cabinet, with her favorite set sitting on top. These are at a height that she can easily pull them out herself to play with at her Lego Station or at her Playroom Table. But here’s the catch - she can only have out whatever fits in this cabinet. Once the shelves are full, if she wants to build a new set, she has to pick something to “retire”.
Our Retired Lego Sets
One of the hardest things for me has been letting go of keeping each and EVERY set together and built as the instructions say it should be. But I know that I need to let go a little and allow Olivia to come up with her own creations. For many of her “sets”, she’s allowed to take them apart and use the pieces however she wants after she builds it once to the instructions. However, there are some sets that I’m still adamant about keeping whole. Once she’s bored of playing with them as built for a while and wants more room on her shelf, we “retire'“ these sets. The pieces are taken apart and put into their own modular storage bin with latched lid and the instructions on the top acting as a label to know which set is which. These are all stored up high in the closet, nested in a Hay Colour Crate (large).
And there you have it, our Lego Station, Storage, and System. With a little bit of thoughtfulness, and the right items, we’re able to keep our ever expanding Lego Collection from taking over while allowing Olivia to play endlessly.
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Hi, we’re LivletStudio.
We are a design studio focused on creating beautiful and timeless spaces. When we aren’t creating for others, we are renovating our 130+ year old Brooklyn Brownstone.
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