Why use Wood when you can have a LEGO Desk?

I still use a basic table for my computer, so I guess that formally makes my table a desk. I think it’s cool, it is a gray, 1950’s laminate table with curved sides. Most people I know have modern desks made out of particle or pressed board, some have metal desks, or metal with a glass top, and some have a desk made of solid wood So, there is a lot a variety out there when looking for the perfect desk. But one of the most unusual desks I have come across is a LEGO desk.

About 10 years ago, an eCommerce company hired a gentleman who wanted a LEGO desk, and the company wanted him bad enough to work it into his contract. Why did he want a LEGO desk? Maybe to play on during his breaks. Though I read that at his previous job, fellow employees would give him a bad time about his inbox always being full, so he told them that if he had a LEGO desk, then he could build a bigger inbox. Maybe he was just a LEGO lover from childhood, or he made a joking comment once about a LEGO desk and then the idea just stuck, I don’t know, but just where do you get a LEGO desk?

Luckily, there are people out there who take the old adage “do something you love” seriously. It took the company 7 months to find him, but eventually they were led to a man named Eric Harshbarger who builds LEGO projects on commission as a part time job. He was contacted about the desk and agreed to take on the project.

Now, we don’t know how much he was paid for this project, and as I tell my kids, it is none of our business, but we do know that he was paid $2000 up front just to pay for the LEGO piecess. Anyone who has a child who likes LEGOs is not shocked by this price, those little building pieces are not cheap! But, they also last forever, so that is good.

Now, if you have bought LEGOs before, you know that basic LEGOs come in tubs. Eric used almost all of the pieces from 32 Blue Tubs, 300 small base plates (8x16 studs), and 63 blue plate packs. Some specialty pieces were purchased from private collectors to make the drawer slides.

Once the basic design was settled on, the desk itself only took a few weeks to build. But, once the company approved the desk, Eric then had to glue all the pieces together. This meant flipping the desk upside down, disassembling the desk piece by piece from the bottom while gluing the pieces together and reassembling it right way up. Once completed, the desk was shipped to Seattle, which cost about another $800.

Basic facts about the LEGO Desk:

• Approximately 35,000 LEGO bricks were used.


• The desk weighs about 125 pounds.


• About 7 pounds of glue were used.


• The desk is 60" wide x 29.5" high x 30" deep.


• There are 7 working drawers (six small, one large file drawer).


• There is a small folding lid in the top that conceals a hole for computer cables to drop through.


• The basic colors of the desk are blue, yellow, red, green, black and white, assembled in a pleasing manner and pattern.

Now, one question I had is whether the top is bumpy or smooth. Smooth is generally the preferred working surface, but it turns out that they guy wanted his desk left with the LEGO bumps. I guess that will allow him to build his own inbox, or whatever else he may have time for while on break!