crafts Kids crafts Lego Recycled crafts tutorial upcycling

How to transform an Ikea table into a Lego Duplo table

One of my favourite upcycled crafts has been transforming our old Ikea coffee table into a Lego Duplo table for the children. It’s probably the piece of furniture we’ve had the longest as I think we bought it 8 years ago when we first moved in together.

easy lego table - the gingerbread house

It’s served us well. A couple of years ago it got its first transformation. It was given a coat or two of blackboard paint so the toddler could do his mark making on it.

He quickly got bored of that idea (walls were much more appealing) so it was pretty un-used and even spent some time in the play house. The children have enjoyed playing with Lego Duplo ever since they could grasp a brick so we thought we’d turn it into a Lego Duplo table for them.

Equipment you will need to transform an Ikea table into a Lego Duplo table:

It was the easiest upcycle ever. We hopped on the tube to Ikea and picked up two BYGEL rails from their Kitchen accessories and 6 colourful BYGEL containers to hang on them. The rails were £2 each and the containers only 60p each – our cheapest Ikea trip ever.

How to transform an Ikea table into a Lego Duplo table:

One evening we lightly sanded the top of the table before glueing a spare Lego Duplo base board in the centre of the table with Evostik contact adhesive, we weighted it down with some heavy books and left it to dry overnight.

The next day we added the two rails to the legs of the table, one on each side, and hung the cups from them to use as Lego storage.

As a final touch we painted lines around the base board to look like a road.

The children love their Lego Duplo table and it’s been a big hit with them. We already had two Ikea Sundvik chairs so they are quite happy to sit at their table and play. They’ve built Lego houses, schools, air craft hangers and petrol stations and had races around the road too. Not a bad return for a couple of pounds spent in Ikea!

34 Comments

  • Reply
    Nayna Kanabar (@SIMPLYF00D)
    June 12, 2014 at 8:42 am

    What a fantastic idea, its very innovative.,

  • Reply
    jo
    June 12, 2014 at 8:51 am

    aaah we did that last year for H’s fourth birthday, but as a Lego table – it’s brilliant too, all the expensive tables are too small for her now, but her table lives on!

    Ikea do some nice small chairs to go with it too!

    • Reply
      jenny
      June 12, 2014 at 10:58 am

      The 4 year old is just starting to like proper Lego so I’m hoping I can remove the base board at some point and swap it with a Lego base board!

      • Reply
        jo
        June 13, 2014 at 9:08 am

        we managed to get four of the Lego base boards on there – and some careful lego placing to make sure it sits properly too, and they’re still going strong (but dusty!) x

  • Reply
    Polly
    June 12, 2014 at 10:09 am

    my kiddos would love this! what a great idea x

  • Reply
    you baby me mummy
    June 12, 2014 at 10:42 am

    Fab idea, you are very creative x

  • Reply
    Zena's Suitcase
    June 12, 2014 at 12:25 pm

    What a great idea and tutorial! I’m going to have to come up with a version for my daughters

  • Reply
    S J Thurley
    June 12, 2014 at 1:16 pm

    Bloody brilliant idea, am passing this on to a friend of mine who was just complaining about treading on bits of Lego. x

  • Reply
    Jen aka The Mad House
    June 12, 2014 at 1:21 pm

    I adore this and have pinned it already. Great idea and you could do it with lego too

  • Reply
    Lisa Prince (@BEAUTY_IIAO)
    June 12, 2014 at 1:46 pm

    our family has always been a great fan of lego , it helped me overcome anxiety so we love it x

  • Reply
    Mums do travel
    June 12, 2014 at 2:11 pm

    This is a brilliant idea, how very clever of you!

  • Reply
    Angela Spicer
    June 12, 2014 at 2:46 pm

    Brilliant idea. So simple but effective

  • Reply
    Hannah Staveley
    June 12, 2014 at 6:06 pm

    What an amazing idea .x

  • Reply
    Cass@frugalfamily
    June 12, 2014 at 7:35 pm

    I would never have thought of that – it looks fab!

  • Reply
    Foz
    June 12, 2014 at 10:26 pm

    Oh wow that is such a neat idea! Would love to have that for the girls

  • Reply
    Jane @ northernmum
    June 12, 2014 at 10:28 pm

    wowswers! you are clever

  • Reply
    Pinkoddy
    June 13, 2014 at 7:04 am

    What a fantastic idea – you are so talented.

  • Reply
    Michelle
    June 13, 2014 at 5:35 pm

    You should submit this to Ikea Hacks! They have some amazing transformations on that site! x

  • Reply
    Sarah Bailey
    June 14, 2014 at 1:57 am

    What a fantastic idea! I love it – I also sort of want one for myself. x

  • Reply
    Globalmouse
    June 14, 2014 at 3:56 pm

    What a great idea, I love this! Definitely one to try and do myself, thank you!

  • Reply
    Fritha Strickland
    June 14, 2014 at 9:02 pm

    how cool! I love an IKEA hack! x

  • Reply
    Shell Louise
    June 15, 2014 at 11:52 am

    What a great idea. My girls would love one for their lego 🙂

  • Reply
    Helen @ Witty Hoots
    June 15, 2014 at 5:32 pm

    I think that this is a very clever and innovative idea! My daughter would love one of these!

  • Reply
    What I'm reading: The Playful Parent by Julia Deering - the-gingerbread-house.co.uk
    January 11, 2015 at 7:42 am

    […] boxes which are easily accessible, some larger toys are semi-permanently out and we always have our home made Lego table out which is a brilliant invitation to play. Each child has a reading corner to escape to when they […]

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    Learning with Lego sets - the-gingerbread-house.co.uk
    March 4, 2015 at 10:22 am

    […] mentioned our DIY Lego Duplo table several times on my blog. It’s permanently in our living room and in constant use. My 4 year […]

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    Summer fun with Lego - the-gingerbread-house.co.uk
    July 31, 2015 at 10:46 am

    […] has been lots of Summer fun with Lego play. We always have our home made Lego table out which acts as a permanent invitation to play. They also have a couple of boxes of Lego and Lego […]

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    Ikea hack Lego table - the-gingerbread-house.co.uk
    January 16, 2016 at 4:42 pm

    […] wanted to give him more space to build his Lego creations. The Ikea hack Lego table we have downstairs is really useful so we wanted something bigger. I bought a couple of Lego base […]

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    Vé Máy Bay Vietjet air
    July 8, 2017 at 4:18 am

    These are very cool ideas! I love the idea of making a lego table. I’m bookmarking this!

  • Reply
    Pokemon Shop
    November 18, 2017 at 3:29 pm

    Fabulous idea! Keep all that evil lego in one place 🙂 And make it as easy as possible to clean up! Its a great way to get the kids outside in the summer too, just pick the table up and go!
    Thanks!
    The Pokemon Shop

  • Reply
    Creating a grown up living space for tweens - the-gingerbread-house.co.uk
    August 19, 2018 at 2:56 pm

    […] out we’ve been thinking of reinstating a coffee table (we haven’t had one since it was made into a Lego table!) and buying another comfy chair. So when Sloane and Sons got in touch asking if we would like to […]

  • Reply
    Christy
    May 19, 2022 at 10:21 am

    Interesting idea. I am going to share this post with my brother who has a kid who love playing legos. Thanks for sharing!

  • Reply
    Jade
    July 27, 2022 at 12:40 pm

    Super creative! Thanks for sharing!

  • Reply
    Christine
    August 11, 2022 at 8:07 am

    Great idea! My kids love lego. Hope they can do more creative pieces together!

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