Although I can only speak for myself, one of the best parts of being a little kid was playing with LEGOs. How many of us can’t say we spent entire afternoons building little cities, cars and other creations with those tiny little bricks? It’s not hard to see why these toys still hold so much nostalgic value for us, even as adults. Still, most of probably haven’t played with LEGOs in a long time.
That is, except for the family in this story.
A couple living in the Canberra suburb of Turner, Australia found an unusual way to use LEGOs while redecorating their home.
The couple in question are Charlie Bigg-Wither and Sandie Parks, 45 and 54, respectively, who also have three children. When they bought their house, they knew that it would require some love and renovation to truly feel like a home. While they were brainstorming ideas, Bigg-Wither had an unusual idea: what if they used parts of his enormous LEGO collection?
Still, Parks was initially resistant to the idea:
“The first thing he dad was put LEGO around a window, and at first I thought, ‘No.’ But I loved it straight away.”
Though the LEGO decorating only started with a window or two, it spread quickly throughout the entire house.
After only a little bit of time, the house began to be known as the “LEGO house,” according to Bigg-Wither:
“Next we built garden bed walls out of [LEGOs] . . . Our kids’ friends came over and we poured half a tonne of LEGO on the ground and asked them to build bricks. Each one reflected all their own personalities and they’re still there. I have some of the bricks we made in our driveway now too, and they’re still intact with cars and trucks driving over them.”
If you walk around the couple’s unique property, you’re sure to find all kinds of little LEGO surprises.
Although you’re sure to find a figurine here and an odd brick there, the home’s largest undertaking was the all-LEGO staircase, which plays a prominent role in the house.
According to Bigg-Withers, it took quite a bit of time to accomplish:
“I took a couple weeks off work for that, spending eight hours a day or more on it. I got into a meditative state and went for it . . . It can become a bit of an obsession because once I start, I don’t want to leave it unfinished. It’s my therapy and a way to unwind.”
Although his wife was out of town when this was happening, ultimately she ended up approving of the new decorations.
In all, Bigg-Withers’ LEGO obsession goes back 30 years—and he’s grateful that his family has supported him in showing his passion.
Although he’s likely spent thousands of dollars on LEGO pieces throughout the years, the result is that the family has a truly unique house. “It’s brought a sense of community to our home,” Bigg-Withers says. “Our house usually has people in our yard when I get home from work, school kids stop there on the way home, people stop on the way to visit family. It’s like it belongs to the community rather than just being ours, which makes you feel safe as well.”
Over time, Bigg-Withers’ collection got so large that it was unwieldy—but the family had a great idea.
Instead of selling off his excess collection in the standard way, the family decided to put the proceeds from sales towards fundraising for the Canberra Hospital Foundation. In all, the family collected more than $44,000! While the LEGO obsession may seem a little unusual from the outside, the family says it has been a gift. Even Parks thinks the same:
“It makes living day to day a joy . . . it’s been such a big feature of our lives and our children’s lives. It’s priceless the joy we’ve had with it.”
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