I Love IKEA
I'm a design and food-obsessed freelance writer and market research analyst, and a stay-at-home mom.
I'm a design and food-obsessed freelance writer and market research analyst,... More »
IKEA gets a bad rap sometimes. People complain about the incomprensible directions, the allen wrenches, the particleboard. And OK, these are all valid complaints. But there's so much that's great about IKEA that I can't help but forgive those issues.
I love the store for its $1.99 vases, it's simple dishware that's great for parties, its Billy bookcases, its dinner napkins that come in every single color. I am lucky enough to live about 15 minutes away from an IKEA - and I make serious use of it.
This morning, my cousin was heading to IKEA for the first time in about ten years. I envy her - I wish I could see all that great stuff for the first time again. Listening to her plans sent me on a bit of an IKEA-happy picture-finding spree...and here's some of what I found:
I love the store for its $1.99 vases, it's simple dishware that's great for parties, its Billy bookcases, its dinner napkins that come in every single color. I am lucky enough to live about 15 minutes away from an IKEA - and I make serious use of it.
This morning, my cousin was heading to IKEA for the first time in about ten years. I envy her - I wish I could see all that great stuff for the first time again. Listening to her plans sent me on a bit of an IKEA-happy picture-finding spree...and here's some of what I found:
This simple IKEA hack - it's just cool mouldings hot-glued onto a night table and painted - makes for an interesting and genuinely one-of-a-kind piece.
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| Simple shelves like these are what IKEA's made for. |
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| Barstools can get very expensive, but IKEA has a small, but great collection of sturdy stools that are under $50 each. I like these for their utilitarian look - I've actually got the matching step-stool. |
IKEA has a lot of great moveable islands - this one is great in the kitchen, but would also be super useful in a home office.
Shower curtains - and other little, semi-disposable things like that - are great buys. So cheap...which is important when you know something won't last forever - and you don't even want it to.
IKEA has tons of minimal, unobtrusive beds like this one. They're perfect for apartments, especially, since they don't take up too much space.
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| I sometimes get lost in the lighting section of the store - I wish I had high enough ceilings to pull off big pendants like these. |
This wallcovering is actually birch tree fabric panels...from IKEA.
I have tons and tons of IKEA candles - I can't resist them, since they come in so many colors and they're so cheap!
This is such a perfect example of how to mix inexpensive and modern pieces from IKEA with unique, traditional elements, like the collections displayed on the wall.
Ideabook updated on Nov. 2, 2009.
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I like the last closet photo. So organized. I wish my closet would look like that...
What a great closet.
What I like most about Ikea is that when you are not ready to buy the big stuff, or undecided, you know they are always around for when the time you are ready. Ikea is a big helper, and their displays? It's like walking into a blog.
And you all are right - I can't believe I left out Expedit. It IS great!