Keyboard Store

After a long break from LEGO Ideas I am back, and here is my newest creation: the Keyboard Store.

This 16 x 32 modular building is made up of 1,528 pieces total. It includes 3 minifigures and has 3 floors. Please note that parts of the building have been deconstructed in some of the images for a better look inside. Also please note that I created the background in the cover image.

The first floor is the store itself. In the front is a glass door and windows so people can look inside at the store's inventory. The store is small and relatively old, which is why most of the colors of the walls are dark and generally muted. Even the cashier/help desk has carpet leading up to the actual counter, in a style that I've noticed in some older buildings. The store sells all different colors of keyboards, two of which are displayed on the floor, while the rest hang on the walls due to a general lack of space in the store. The cashier/help desk includes a cash register and a phone. Next to the doorway to the store is a doorway that leads to a stairwell. The stairwell leads to the apartments upstairs. It isn't designed to be removed with the rest of the floors because I figured that they didn't really need to be. Many of the steps are made to look as if they are cracked from years of people traversing the steps over the building's long history.

The second floor is the store owner's apartment. Like the store, it is fairly plain. This is partially because the owner does not believe in decorating. However, it is also neat. It contains a bathroom with a toilet (and toilet paper holder) and a shower. It also holds a well-equipped kitchen with a stocked fridge and many vital appliances. There is also a bed tucked in the corner with a keyboard hidden underneath it. This is partially to keep it out of the way for when the owner isn't using it, and partially to protect it from potential burglars. There is also a table near the window, on top of which sits a pumpkin that the owner recently received as a gift from a friend.

The third floor is another apartment. Unlike the other two levels, however, this level is not occupied by the store owner. It is occupied by another man who is, as I describe him, the world's worst tenant. Unfortunately, he is rather clumsy and therefore is the reason for many of the broken steps in the stairwell, as well as the mismatched taps in the bathroom and the kitchen. His bathroom, while fairly neat, is rather cramped, as his residence is located under the roof. In the kitchen it is not much better. While his kitchen has more storage than the store owner's, it is also smaller and decidedly more cramped. However, this is partially his own fault as he has crammed so many things into his small apartment. Next to the window is his bed, which has clearly not been made (or, at the very least, the sheets are rather rumpled). A few rock n' roll themed posters hang above the bed. On the other side of the apartment is the tenant's table, which holds a plate and a coffee mug (again, mismatched because the mug from the original set was broken). However, in the middle, between the bed and the table are all of this tenant's musical instruments. This is because his dream is to start a famous rock band. However, he doesn't know which instrument he would actually play in his band because he hasn't actually found any other aspiring musicians yet. Therefore, he practices them all. Unfortunately, the tenant's motivation has led to the store owner being rather annoyed with him as he plays very loudly and often distracts the store owner, customers, and employees in the bottom two levels. This has also led to his apartment becoming cramped and hard to navigate as so much space is taken up by his drum kit. His guitar and bass guitar hang on the wall.

The building is populated by three minifigures. The first (farthest to the left in the images) is the store owner, an older man, hence his nickname, "Old Ben" (which graces the front of his store as well). He is fairly utilitarian, and so he wears simple clothes and combs his hair simply. The second was originally intended to be a store employee, but I can see him being a customer too. Being young and rebellious (I'd put his age to be around 20 or maybe a bit younger), he is dressed in bright colors and has dyed his hair bright green. The third minifigure is the tenant of the third-floor apartment. Clearly he is about to start practicing drumming, as he has his drumsticks in his hands.

This building was heavily inspired by a particular building that I saw while vacationing in Europe during the summer of 2019. While there, I had the idea to start taking pictures of buildings so I could try to model them in LEGO later. This is my first attempt at modeling a building I photographed. I'm especially proud of the work that I did on the second-floor windows and the roof, as those were particularly challenging for me to model.

Thank you for taking a look at this project! I really hope you liked it. If you did, I would be grateful for any supports, comments, and shares.