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Last year, we discussed several of the custom LEGO Modular Buildings by British LEGO fan bricked1980 (see links at the end of this post). His custom LEGO post office has been particularly popular due to its lovely details, and because it perfectly matches the size and style of the official LEGO Modular Buildings. Many LEGO fans requested building instructions, and suggested submitting the model to LEGO Ideas for the possibility for it to become an official LEGO set. Although bricked1980 does have a couple of smaller models on the LEGO Ideas platform (see his profile here), the custom modular buildings he designed so far were too large based on LEGO Ideas guidelines. Recently, however, he submitted a smaller LEGO Modular Building project to LEGO Ideas, which is now open for voting. 🙂

Bricks & Blooms comes with 2,587 pieces and built on a 32×32-stud baseplate. It features a three-story garden center designed to be compatible with existing LEGO Modular Buildings. The facade gives the impression of two buildings side by side, however this is just for visual interest. The front to back measurement of the building is quite narrow (similar to the #10243 LEGO Creator Parisian Restaurant). This was done to leave ample space at the back of the building for the outdoor area of the garden center.

At ground level is the garden center itself with plants and gardening tools for sale. On the street side of the garden center, fruits, veggies, and flowers are sold. At the back of the garden center, there is a large outdoor area with a glass canopy, selling plants and other gardening products. On the second floor, there is a café, accessed by steps at the back. It includes a nicely detailed kitchen and seating for guests. There is also a small balcony looking out the street below. Many garden centers in the UK also have a department with pet fish and aquatics, which you can find on the third floor of this building. In addition, a door at the side leads out to a small roof terrace area.

If you enjoy the modular garden center, and would like it to become an official LEGO set, you can vote for it on LEGO Ideas. You can also check out bricked1980’s other projects, and vote for those as well. And for the currently available official LEGO Modular Buildings, visit the LEGO Creator section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the modular garden center? Do you think it would make a good addition to the LEGO Modular Buildings? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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Awesome LEGO kitchen designs and décor

The kitchen is considered the heart of the home. It is where the family cooks, gathers for meals, have discussions, and even play together. In fact, the kitchen table is often a favorite place to play board games and work on large LEGO models. Kitchens also have lots of interesting appliances and accessories that aren’t found anywhere else. All of these characteristics make kitchens great candidates for LEGO projects. 🙂

Designing and building kitchens allows LEGO fans to display their building skills (appliances, cabinets, utensils, etc.), decor skills (choosing coordinating colors and interesting shapes), and their collection of interesting LEGO accessories. Below, I will show you some of my favorite LEGO kitchens. But, before we begin, let’s explore a little bit of LEGO history to get a better understanding why stocking a LEGO kitchen takes so much diligence and devotion.

LEGO has been quite minimalist when it comes to providing a variety of tools and accessories. This is especially true for kitchen utensils. The LEGO fork wasn’t introduced until 2012, and the LEGO spoon until 2017 – both in the LEGO Friends line. (An earlier spoon appeared in a few LEGO Belville sets). LEGO did a little better with dishes and cups. The iconic LEGO cup was released in 1979, the goblet in 1986, and the basic dish in 1995. We also got a frying pan, a saucepan, and a large cauldron in the early 1980s. However, we didn’t get a teapot until 2016, a tea cup and saucer until 2018, and a soup bowl until 2017. All in all, LEGO has been getting better with kitchen utensils, but they are still fairly rare items that LEGO fans treasure. The LEGO Friends line is still the best source of kitchen utensils, although sometimes they are available in other themes as well.

When it comes to LEGO food items, the variety has been much better than with utensils. The LEGO bread was introduced in 1982, the ice cream in 1995 (ice cream cone in 2013), the turkey, apple, and an elaborate cake in 1997, the cherry, popsicle, hot dog, banana, and croissant in 1998 (hot dog bun in 2016), the carrot in 1999, the pie in 2011, the pretzel and steak in 2012, and a very pretty knotted bread loaf in 2018.

Monica’s kitchen (see image above and first image) was inspired by the Friends television sitcom and was designed by LEGO fan aukbricks. It is fully stocked with everything imaginable, including all those coveted kitchen accessories and utensils we talked about above. Check out all the clever designs, like the kitchen knife block, toaster, coffee maker, fridge, stove, chairs, etc. I really like the colors too! See full-size flickr gallery image here.

This elegant modern kitchen was built by LEGO fan Littlehaulic. The chrome fixtures nicely accent the white cabinets and lime-green tiles and decor. They go well with the brown hardwood floor. See full-size flickr gallery image here.

Interestingly, LEGO fan bruce n h also choose lime-green to tile his kitchen. You can also see one of those fancy and rare LEGO cakes I mentioned above. See full-size flickr gallery image here. (UPDATE: this user deleted their flickr account.)

Johan Alexanderson serves a full breakfast in his kitchen with juice, milk, egg, sandwich with butter, Kalles Kaviar (a Swedish specialty), and Kellogg’s Sugar Smack cereals with strawberries. Also check the rest of the kitchen behind them. There are some nice design elements like using a couple of LEGO vehicle doors for the roll of paper towel. See full-size flickr gallery image here.

Here is another nicely designed modern kitchen by LEGO fan Tim Schwalfenberg. The elegant black, white and chrome color-scheme comes together nicely. See full-size flickr gallery image here.

This kitchen is also by Littlehaulic. It is part of a fully built doll-house (see below). I really like the use of LEGO’s more unusual pastel colors. See full-size flickr gallery image here.

As you can see, there are many ways to build and decorate a LEGO kitchen. You can make them minifig-scale, or use another scale if you really want to build up the details. You can also make the kitchens fully stocked and cozy, or more like a show kitchen for entertaining esteemed guests. And, if you have been collecting LEGO kitchen utensils and food items, building a kitchen is a perfect way to highlight them. If you need more, check the LEGO Friends section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like these LEGO kitchens? Do you collect LEGO kitchen utensils and food items? Have you ever built a kitchen before? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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