Storage solutions: the27thMONKEY
Posted by Huw,
Peter, aka the27thMONKEY, shows us round his house, in which LEGO seems to have taken over every room:
I currently live on my own which gives me a great deal of freedom to do what I want with my Lego. That said I do get asked where am I going to put any future sets I get because I’m definitely approaching the limits of my place!
For storage my setup is quite modest as most of my Lego is built. I have 3x 8 drawers on wheels which slide partially behind the cupboard to maximise the space. You can also see 5 white storage boxes which are also full of Lego. All sorted into separate colours.
The shelves above the storage are for display and were from Ikea with some MDF sheets on top. It does look a bit cramped and I think it’s due a rearrange. I tend to just cram sets in where I can for this area.
The other side of this room is where my desk is and above this are my favourite Star Wars sets. I just need to look up from my chair to bring a smile to my face! This shelf was custom built on the cheap with some LED strips underneath glass panels. It looks great at night. To the left of this display is another shelf I recently put up to cram a few more sets into this room.
Yet more sets on display in the living room on that same type of Ikea shelving. Apart from the UCS Star Destroyer and the Saturn V rocket upstairs, the Black Seas Barracuda rounds out my 3 favourite sets. This one has survived all this time since I got it for my birthday all those years ago. The sails are in a bit of a state but that adds to the charm. All original pieces are there, the only thing that didn’t survive is the long bit of string running the length of the ship. I was able to replace it with a near perfect replica string from eBay.
I also have some of my space themed sets on display down here. I wanted these when I was younger so most of these I’ve got from eBay or BrickLink over the last few years and my aim is to eventually get every set from each of these ranges, Blacktron, Space Police 1 and Ice Planet. I’ve just realised that shelf needs dusting and I must admit I don’t tend to bother with it until it gets really bad! I also recently grabbed a load of transparent bricks from my local Lego shop to give the illusion of flight for the space craft.
Hanging above the TV (and I got inspired from a Brickset article a while back) are some mini figs in Ikea picture frames.
Finally, I’ve also got a small Lego city up in my loft the highlight of which is the train which runs right around the perimeter of the loft. I just need Lego to do another train station! There’s a lot of other stuff stored up there so I’m unable to show the entire track. I need to be careful not to derail the trains on the corners as they are not easily accessible. I have other sets crammed up in the loft too when I run out of space downstairs.
I also framed this poster that came as a GWP when I bought the Tantive IV last year.
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18 comments on this article
Now that’s what I call living in style!
I love that you have 6394 and 6395 on display. They were two of my favourite sets when I was young.
Not quite every room Huw... yet.
6394 and 6395 I never got to play with when I was younger but after getting them a couple of years ago they are every bit as good as I thought they'd be.
Thank you for sharing lots of photos. Unusual to see some of the ice planet Lego 6973 and space police Lego 6781 with the light system to catch speeding spaceships! I like the clear bricks used to suspend the space ships which also gives you space for land vehicles underneath.
I can sympathize with finding a long enough run for the train sets, and going around the edge of the loft room. Your shelf above the bedroom door gave me an idea to have a train set at this height as all dead space, but worried it may fall off.
To obtain more stowage space in the kids loft bedroom we removed the side plaster and went into the Eves to give a triangular space 1m deep and 1m high. As in your case this exposed all the insulation and lose fibers. So we used plywood to cover and also construction grade thickness to build a new floor. Covering all your walls with plywood also improves the insulation as guessing cold up there in the winter, as well as keeping all that loft dust off the models, but you would need to find somewhere to store everything while you did this!
@ambr said:
"I can sympathize with finding a long enough run for the train sets, and going around the edge of the loft room. Your shelf above the bedroom door gave me an idea to have a train set at this height as all dead space, but worried it may fall off.
To obtain more stowage space in the kids loft bedroom we removed the side plaster and went into the Eves to give a triangular space 1m deep and 1m high. As in your case this exposed all the insulation and lose fibers. So we used plywood to cover and also construction grade thickness to build a new floor. Covering all your walls with plywood also improves the insulation as guessing cold up there in the winter, as well as keeping all that loft dust off the models, but you would need to find somewhere to store everything while you did this!"
Plywood for the loft is a good idea but it would be a huge job to do it all. One of these days I would like to do that.
Nice idea having a shelf for the train! Not sure if it would work the way I currently have that room arranged but you've put the idea in my head now. If you're going to do it yourself I wouldn't worry too much about it falling down if you use enough supports. That shelf in the picture is 2.5m long with 4 support brackets. Appropriate wall plugs for plasterboard and I have no concerns about it falling down under the current load of Lego sets.
A wonderful collection and the more I see of these articles, the more jealous I get. I build a set and then meticulously take it down and store it as I move around very regularly due to work commitments. One of these days, I'm going to settle down and that's when the genuine lego hoarding will take place. Please don't tell my wife in the interim!!
Nice use of space for your large-ish collection. I use those Really Useful Boxes scrapbooking wheeled units for some of my brick storage as well.
Is your attic space fairly well climate controlled?
And all I can say is, if you want to collect all the classic space sets and display them, you'll need a lot more shelf space!
Thanks for sharing.
@oldfan said:
"Nice use of space for your large-ish collection. I use those Really Useful Boxes scrapbooking wheeled units for some of my brick storage as well.
Is your attic space fairly well climate controlled?
And all I can say is, if you want to collect all the classic space sets and display them, you'll need a lot more shelf space!
Thanks for sharing."
The only climate control I have up there is a window I can open so with a bit of a breeze during the summer it's not as bad as it could be.
I love that you have such a wide range of sets. So many of the sets you have on display bring back great memories. Thank you for sharing your collection with us.
Man that's a lot. Pretty crammed in there.
You have the gas petrol of 1988!!! I have it too and I love it!!!!
Oh the Classics... They will never fade...
Any lego in the kitchen??
I see some excellent taste in wallpaper! Hopefully you can come visit the real thing apres-'rona... we'd love to have you!
I applaud the use of, well, "Really Useful" drawer sets, as they are indeed really useful! Was struggling to find a new manufacturer of drawer sets that are sturdy and can be separated and stacked, and finally found those.
Thanks for all the comments, nice to read them!
Surprisingly I have no Lego in the kitchen.
Those really useful brand drawers and boxes are just really useful ;)
Aren't you concerned with unintended inhalation of insulation fibers? It's a long term danger.
Why does your 8880 has orange rims?