Meccano, known in many parts of the world as Erector, is a line of metal construction toys that allowed for some seriously creative projects. While LEGO’s ubiquitous popularity has long surpassed the highly-versatile toy by leaps and bounds, Meccano’s system of frames, pulleys, and gears remains a unique building platform. So unique, in fact, that a supersized version, called Meccano Home, is now being sold for building functional home furniture. Seriously.
We’re not talking about vanity furniture that’s only for display or occasional use, either. Instead, these are real chairs, tables, lamps, shelves and cabinets that you can use full time. If you don’t mind having furniture that resembles Erector toy sets, of course.
The Meccano Home uses oversized Erector pieces for the furniture frames, all of which come lined with perforations similar to the original toys, so they can be easily connected at various points. It’s sold in both sets and individual pieces, so you can buy an entire office desk or just the legs if you have a different project in mind. Since these are really similar to the original Erector design, all the pieces are modular, which means you can give a table eight legs and attach a chair to it, if you want. If you’ve ever fancied making Frankensteined furniture that looks like nothing you can buy anywhere, this is exactly the thing to make those dreams come true.
Naturally, all of the pieces are better reinforced compared to the toys, so they can really support the kind of weights that home furniture is regularly subjected to. So far, the only glaring omission in their sets is a bed, which, let’s be honest, you can probably already put together using the existing pieces.
The catch? Meccano Home isn’t priced like a toy and is kind of expensive as a furniture, as well. Prices for furniture sets starts at €198 and top out at near two grand.