In this post I will be tackling the thorny issue of LEGO display ideas – whether these are shop bought LEGO sets or purely imaginative one-off masterpieces they’ll always come a tidy -up time when your child will say they haven’t finished playing with this LEGO build and want to keep it to continue playing next time…what to do…?
After a lovely long fun-packed summer break I’m back with the third and final instalment in my LEGO posts, hope you find it useful and do let me know how you display your LEGO.
I’m not a huge fan of purpose built LEGO furniture (of which there is a lot on the market) I find it too clunky and large and one-use. It’s my aim to show you how a few additions to any child’s room can lead to plenty of LEGO display ideas for your child’s LEGO creations (as long as you’ve tackled that other thorny issue of how to store your child’s LEGO see my previous blogs for help with that! How to get your child to tidy their LEGO LEGO storage: How I sorted my son’s LEGO so that he would tidy it up by himself )
Purpose-made LEGO containers on display
There are many different “fancy” purpose-made LEGO containers on the market. you can find heads, giant blocks, really really giant blocks and LEGO mini figure cases. These don’t meet LEGO storage needs in our house (which we have met using a different method see my previous post) but do offer a lovely opportunity for display. A combo of different coloured and sized bricks would be ideal to make a statement on a shelf in your child’s room and to store some extra pieces. We have 3 smaller LEGO storage blocks which are currently being used for Ninjago minifigs!
Shelves: the ultimate way to display LEGO
Whether they be floating shelves, a bookcase or repurposed furniture, shelves make a great LEGO display as long as you apply some order. For instance no loose LEGO on the shelves and maybe organise by theme?
Obviously an adjustable shelving system (again Ikea have numerous in different styles from sleek white to mid-century industrial wood and metal) would work well for this but realistically how often are you going to move around your child’s shelves and all the LEGO on them? Adjustable shelving is great for future proofing but maybe not essential as part of your immediate LEGO storage needs.
Having glass doors would keep the dust away, but does impede access – and make sure the doors are safety glass to prevent injuries! IKEA do offer a number of glass doored shelving options which can easily be adapted into LEGO use – maybe even putting great works on display in the living room or family room. I’d avoid the kitchen as LEGO is hard enough to clean without the added joy of grease.
In my son’s room I’ve accessorised our shelves with…
LEGO tape for LEGO display
Adding Lego tape to shelving or walls or any surface really adds another dimension to your LEGO display as it helps keep track of mini figures pretty easily. it comes in a roll which you cut to the correct length then simply pull the backing tape off and stick. it comes in fun colours and I’ve found it a great help in tackling LEGO organisation!
Stackable baseplates
Base plates that can stack to make the most of the shelving and make the most of the height of shelves. The stackable baseplates are adaptable and easy to put up and take down as your little one’s creations evolve. They great for creating little scenes and adding height. They are on my Christmas list this year!
Make useful things as part of your LEGO display
We tend to make use of some LEGO around the house eg pen holders and key chains/tidies charging stations. Who would have though that mini figures make the perfect charging stations? Or that a LEGO block glued to a key chain can help you keep your keys from getting lost at home?
Take a look at Matthew Hughes’ blog for some great ideas for using LEGO to organise your technology.
Here is an amazing instructables LEGO Minifigures clock which is functional and a great way to display minifigs.
LEGO Mini Figure display
There are many beautiful mini figure display cases available such as this great frame but as mentioned above I do like the flexibility of the LEGO tape and shelving as collections and builds grow and tastes change: flexibility is key.
This might be my favourite of all the official LEGO display cases as it is two tier with a removable clear cover so that your child can play with their LEGO then display it easily and it keeps the dust off. It also has a removable background so your child can draw their own background to their LEGO scene.
I hope this post has helped you with your LEGO display ideas and hopefully made you realise that you don’t need to go out and purchase new purpose-made LEGO display furniture but that you can use simple shelving and a few tricks to make the most of what you already have. Let me know how you get on….