The boys asked for a Lego table in their room. It’s funny. 95% of the things my kids ask for, I say no. {Albeit they are usually asking for donuts for dinner, a toy shopping spree and everyday trips to amusement parks.} But I have a soft spot for anything decor related. So when they asked for a Lego table, how could I say no? I mean, they do spend the majority of their time at home creating the most intricate planes, buildings and cars out of Legos.
I did have a few requirements for the table: 1) something round 2) something with modern lines 3) something with a life beyond the Lego years. I searched secondhand stores and craigslist for several months to no avail. A few midcentury modern tables turned up but they were all too low to accommodate child-sized chairs. I contemplated a DIY table but by the time a Lego table would take top priority on our to-do list, the kids would be teenagers. So I started browsing online and within a day I had fallen for this solid oak table. At $120, it wasn’t exactly cheap and I held off on adding the table to my virtual shopping cart for a week. {Hint: If I’m on the fence about purchasing an item, I give it a week to set in. Most of the time, I’ve forgotten about the item after a few days but some items still have my attention a week later and that’s a good sign they’re worthy of my money.} A week later, I hadn’t found anything else and I was still enamored with that little oak table so I took the plunge. The table is constructed of solid wood and has a clean design so it should last through Legos with the boys, tea parties with Mabrey and would even be an ideal coffee table during the college years. After realizing the table would be with us for at least ten years, $120 didn’t seem awful. Plus, I had a 15% Overstock coupon that brought my total closer to $100.
When the table arrived DAMAGED, I was heartbroken. It was a non-returnable item but when I called Overstock they were happy to ship a replacement. I was to hold onto the first table {completely shattered, splintered and beyond repair} in case UPS wanted to “investigate” the claim. {FYI – They didn’t.} The second table arrived damaged, too. At this point, I was starting to think it was a bad omen. Maybe this table wasn’t meant to be. I called Overstock again. It seemed to me there was a problem with the packaging. Both tables arrived in a flimsy cardboard box with no cushion between the table and the box. Somewhere along the line, each box had been dropped and the tables damaged. I explained all of this to Overstock {in a nice way} and told them unless I could be guaranteed better packaging, I didn’t want a third replacement. I just wanted my money back. They gave me a full credit on our credit card, told me to discard the tables as I wished AND added $40 to my Overstock account for my trouble. Basically, I got paid $40 to receive two broken tables. Not too shabby.
I showed HH the broken tables and gave him the full scoop. Like I said, the first one was beyond repair but HH was optimistic he could fix the second table. It only had a partial crack in the top.
HH used wood glue and a trio of brackets along the bottom side of the table top. Voila! The table is like new. You can’t tell it was ever broken. And in the end, it was FREE. Sometimes good omens are disguised as bad ones.
Next up…chairs. I’ve always loved the look of wire Bertoia’s. Sadly, they rarely show up on craigslist anywhere near us and when/if they do, they’re in bad condition and really expensive. With $40 in my Overstock account, you better believe I typed wire kid chair into their search engine. How happy was I when these turned up?! SUPER HAPPY. By this time I had another 15% coupon {Overstock sends repeat customers online coupons all the time, btw} which brought the pair of kid-sized wire chairs to $86 minus my $40 credit = $46 total for a modern Lego table and two chairs. Awesome.
I placed the table between two bookcases and under a window in the boys’ room. It’s working out great. I think we could even use the table and chairs outside on nice days as a kids’ dining table. Of course, now I’m wanting three chairs {an extra for Mabrey} but they only come in pairs. Oh well.
There is still plenty of open space in the bedroom for floor play.
In an attempt to tame all the stuff that comes home from my boys’ schools, I hung three white magnetic boards – not to be confused with white boards – and bought two packs of round magnets.
There is one flaw in my Lego table plan. See that floor register? A few Lego pieces have gone MIA. Teeny Legos will fit through the register. HH notched the baseboards and caulked the registers in place because we added insulation to the exterior block walls during renovation. Those MIA Legos? Yeah, they’re MIA all right. HH says he can remove the register and retrieve the lost Legos but I think he should wait until the boys are 18. Wonder what all we’ll find down there then?!
We finally got around to hanging woven shades in the boys’ room this past weekend. They match the rest of the shades in the house and things are starting to feel a little more cohesive room to room. I’ve yet to style the boys’ bookcases properly and I want to paint the library lights on top of them but the room is sloooowly coming together. Which means it’s right on track with the rest of the house ;)
images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking
budget decor, DIY, family life, kid-friendly