Anyone who calls IKEA "adult Legos" hasn't checked out the Lego catalog lately.
While many of us may have had our Lego introductions as kids, sets these days range from architectural marvels to genuine works of art that anyone, kid or adult, can enjoy. In other words, "adult Legos "are just Lego.
As someone who enjoys a good Lego build, and is surrounded by friends, family, and Mashable coworkers who do too, I decided to poll the people around me about the best sets they've built, as well as those they're still coveting. Altogether, I rounded up 10 sets, with picks from under $100 all the way up to $850. (Shoutout to my brother for suggesting the two most expensive sets on this list. His expertise is well earned — he owns so many sets my mom texted me ahead of his last birthday, "[He] does not need any more Legos until he has his own garage to store them in.")
Check out our 10 favorite Lego sets below:
Lego Botanicals Petite Sunny Bouquet Flower Set
Mashable contributor Lauren Allain bought this small but adorable Botanicals set for her partner's mom — someone who'd never built a set in her life. The verdict? "She loved it," Allain told me. At 373 pieces, it's intricate enough to result in a design that could genuinely work as house decor, while still being beginner-friendly.
Lego Botanicals Orchid
The Lego Orchid was one of the first from the Botanicals line to go properly viral, and it's no surprise as to why — it's gorgeous. Mashable's Haley Henschel uses it as a design piece in her home. It's as at home on a mantle as it is on a bookshelf or even a dining table. And it gets extra points for being an unkillable orchid.
Lego Icons Retro Radio
I knew I had to ask my friend Danica for her all-time favorites, as she is the proud owner of the first Lego set that made me audibly gasp: the Typewriter (you can actually use the keys — I know). While that set is sadly discontinued, she pointed to this Retro Radio as being another favorite, partially because she likes the vibe, partially because it can actually play audio. The sound brick in the build plays a selection of short audio settings, which is a nifty enough feature on its own for a $100 set. After completing the set, you can also open up the back and put your phone in the radio and play music off your own device — the Lego isn't technically playing it, but it's a cool feature if you want to pretend it is.
Lego Ideas The Insect Collection
When I asked my Mashable colleagues for their favorite sets, Social Good Reporter Chase DiBenedetto responded with a link to this one and a simple message: "I love my bugs." Looking at the color, detail, and poses here, I can see why. With this set, you'll build a blue morpho butterfly, a Hercules beetle, and a Chinese mantis.
Lego Ideas A-Frame Cabin
Not all Lego builds are created equally — intricate ones with more pieces on the wrong day can feel more frustrating than relaxing. Yet my friend Danica had to recommend this cabin set in addition to the Retro Radio because not only is it extremely charming (look how precious it is on her shelf), she found the build itself fun, despite being an over 2,000-piece set.
Lego Icons The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook Kit
"If I had 100 bucks to drop on this heavy metal Balrog book nook, I would," is what Mashable UK Editor Shannon Connellan told me in my call for favorite sets (the set goes for £100 in the UK, $129.99 in the US). Opening the link to this set was an experience — taking in the massive Balrog, the tiny Gandalf, the "you shall not pass!", and the staging of this book nook between books now has me thinking if I had $129.99 to drop on this book nook, I would, too.
Lego Ideas Twilight The Cullen House
Sometimes, recreating scenes from a beloved IP is just what the soul needs. Animal Crossing fans may appreciate being able to painstakingly work their way to K.K. Slider's concert in the plaza all over again, LotR fans may need an incredibly epic bookend (as seen above), and Twilight fans may need to see in Lego form where Edward Cullen told Bella, "You better hold on tight, spider monkey."
For Mashable's Dylan Haas, spending time with his wife building this 2,000-plus-piece set reminded him of the importance of taking time to connect with your loved ones. He wrote, "I’m not saying that you should bury your head and ignore what’s going on in the world — actually, I advise heavily against that. But if the state of it all is getting to be overwhelming, maybe I am saying that you should pick up a Lego set and just see what happens."
Lego Grand Piano
Another Lego not yet owned is this grand piano. While I'm more of the Lego builder between my boyfriend and me, he's the musician — his instrument of choice being the piano. Knowing that one of his dreams is to one day own a grand piano, I figure this is more within my range of affordability, relatively speaking. While it's still expensive, it also has an impressive number of features and an incredible attention to detail. You can adjust the bench height, put the tiny sheet music on the stand, cover and uncover the keys, open up the side to see the inside, and of course, actually play the 25 keys, each of which is connected to its own hammer.
With the connected app, you can listen to the piano play a small selection of songs (and watch the keys move), or you can choose to play songs yourself — the song plays regardless of what keys you press, but it does play at the rate you press the keys. So yeah, this tiny Lego piano is $400, but for a piano lover, maybe it's worth the splurge.
Lego Technic McLaren P1
Speaking of splurges, it's time to get into my brother's two picks. He first suggested the larger-scale items from Technic's line, saying they are "pretty cool because [they] step away from the traditional brick." He built the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, which is unfortunately now a retired product (though you can hunt around on resale sites if you're so inclined). If you're not too picky about make and model, this McLaren P1 is a worthy alternative still in stock.
Lego 'Star Wars' Millennium Falcon
An $850 Lego set is not for the casual Lego fan, which is exactly why it's my brother's pride and joy (to be fair, he bought it at its original price of $799 — a real bargain). I'm 99 percent sure I've never seen my brother happier than when he was building this behemoth. For a long time, it lived near the entrance to my family's home (shortly after its initial residence on the kitchen table), and it was the conversation piece of every single person who visited. I've watched many a grown man drop his jaw at its presence. And they better — it is not only by far the most expensive set on this list, but one of the most expensive sets Lego has ever produced.
When I asked my brother if he thinks this set is worth $850, he texted back, "F-ck no! But it does look cool." Would he buy it all over again? "Yeah probably." And honestly, I get it. This set is beyond intricate, with its whopping 7,541 pieces allowing you not just to build the exterior structure of the iconic ship, but also some interior rooms, populated with characters from the original trilogy and recent sequels.
