Rustic Display Stand – Plans and Alternatives

For this project, I plan on creating a staircase shaped display stand with a storage compartment in the back that allows me to show off all the various knick knacks that I’ve collected from different experiences across my life. The design is heavily inspired from stands that are intended to display Lego Minifigures in a way that doesn’t obscure the back rows from being appreciated in full detail, as seen below. I’ve always enjoyed Lego as well as the content creators surrounding the hobby, and they’re frequent use of this type of display stand inspired me to create something similar of my own.

Tricked out Bricks Minifigure Display Stand

As for the aesthetic I plan on implementing, I want to try and make something that fits within cabin/cottage core. Natural features such as wood, warm earthy colors, and floral decorations all could serve a role in making this display stand something you might find in a cozy home deep in the woods. I really want to emphasize the natural brown color of wood with my design, but I also realize that I’ll have large blank sections on the side and back of the project that could look boring if I stick to only wood. Thats why I want to try and paint flowers, trees, and other natural features to break up the boring brown while still evoking those feelings of being connected with nature. Below is a rough sketch I made to try and show off this aesthetic.

One alternate aesthetic that I could implement with this project is the modernist/minimalist aesthetic. Minimalistic design reinforces function over form, and one way that could be seen in my project is with sharp edges, minimal use of material, and stark colors that take the focus away from the display stand and puts on the items being displayed. A sketch for what my project could look like with a more minimalist design is below, interestingly, it’s very close to the Lego stands I drew inspiration from since those also try to emphasize the figures being displayed.

The last alternate aesthetic I wanted to explore for this post is something that’s a bit more maximalist, cluttered, and asymmetrical. With this design, the staircase shaped uniform rows of the first two designs are gone and all the focus has shifted much more from whats on the stand to the stand itself. The different stands are all at staggered heights to keep the eye moving and to make sure no one point gets a lot of attention. The decorations are wild and sporadic, and I imagine that a finished version of this design would be extremely colorful thanks to varying materials and paints.

Overall, this exercise was very interesting, and I think I got a lot of creative inspiration by going outside my comfort zone and seeing what my project could be. Finding a nice balance between focussing on the display stand itself and the things that are being displayed is going to be tough, but as long as I keep it between the two extremes I investigated today I think the project will turn out well.

References:

(1) – Tricked Out Bricks – https://trickedoutbricks.com/product/80-figure-podium-stand-for-lego-minifigures/