On my birthday, my sister and I took a swing by Ikea after our fun day out. It was her first visit there. I think she is hooked now, since she found several things to bring home. Ikea is such a fascinating place to walk through, pure enjoyment and so many cool things to see.
So, let’s go browsing at Ikea, shall we?
Lots of great linens. When I get back in a house again, you can bet I’ll be hitting up Ikea for some inexpensive items. Their linens feel great too and I would not hesitate to buy some of these. You can’t beat the prices!
Love how they set up rooms so you can see their products in a real live room setting.
Lots of great ideas with storage and bookcases.
We all know about the famous Billy bookcase, right? This one has been used successfully across blogland for a long time. Using these as built-ins by trimming them out top and bottom is a great way to have a wall of bookcases without a lot of money. My friend, Kate did this in her guest house, which was brilliant.
I’m not positive that the pricetag you see goes with this rug, but their rugs are really well priced too. I love the simplicity of this gray/white check one.
Not all of Ikea’s furniture is modern, this pretty little curved side table would fit in most any room.
More colorful rugs.
A whole craft room of organizational possibilities. By the way, my sister is creating a craft room in their basement, which I’ll be blogging about this year.
A complete kitchen setup so you can see their cabinets and countertops in action.
More dining and kitchen ideas.
Did you know Ikea has farmhouse sinks? Yeah, me neither! I know that lots of people have used Ikea for cabinets and I wouldn’t hesitate to do that either if I need to renovate a kitchen.
Map wall art.
More kitchen and dining possibilities.
Awww, a cute little person’s room.
These pretty lanterns cannot be beat. Small and large, great prices.
Their pendant lighting is pretty snazzy too.
Loved the industrial feel of this one.
Lots of pretties hanging there to check out.
Another full room put together so you can see how their products work together. Brilliant marketing!
A living room with TV and wall unit.
Office and storage ideas.
They have some great organizational items to choose from, so if you need to get organized (and who of us do not?), check out all the organizing tools, like these magazine. These cardboard ones are perfect for my little decoupage project I did a couple years ago.
More parson’s chairs than you will likely see in one spot.
Lots of pillow covers and pillow forms, great prices on these too. My sister picked up a couple for her master bedroom chairs.
One thing I love about Ikea is their choice of real live plants. They have different ones that you don’t see everywhere else and they are very inexpensive too. You know how much I love real plants!
Daybeds and open shelves.
Modern breakfast table and chairs.
Cowhide rugs.
Here are more of those organizing boxes I was talking about. Great way to color coordinate your storage needs.
And the Ektorp sofa is still going strong, with more slipcovers to choose from every year.
My sister, Renee, found a few things she couldn’t live without, including pillows, plants and a few other goodies.
Not to mention, cinnamon rolls on the way out the door. Yum!
Thanks for the tour! I am planning a trip to IKEA soon!
I haven’t been to IKEA in a while since the closest one is about an hour away but I am pleasantly surprised at all the beautiful things they have these days. I really have to get back there soon! Thanks for sharing your shopping trip!
-Shelley
Oh my girlfriend, how fun! I would so LOVE to browse and IKEA with you… we’d go crazy with ideas! Miss you and thank for the linky love.
xoxo
Kate
oh, you are making me want to go TOMORROW! 🙂 Love me some IKEA!
Love that craft room set up like that – will have to check out that out. and I always love their live plants too – sure that one will find it’s way home with me.
My main reason for going is the little red lanterns that Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick used for her Christmas mantel – HAVE to have them for my winter mantel – LOL! 🙂
First, I can’t believe that was your sister’s first trip. Second, I’m glad that you showed the blue living room because I really want to move in to that display. And something else that might be a little bit of helpful info is that the Ektrop is the exact same size as the Pottery Barn Basic. So you can pay Ikea prices and not Pottery Barn prices for slip covers!
Rhoda, I’ve been to Ikea once and am so eager to go back for a longer visit! Your post has made me hungry to take my time and explore all those nooks & crannies. (First time around, my husband and I stopped by briefly on the way to the airport.) LOVE their linens and pillow covers!
I’m a fine art photographer and many of my artist friends say that Ikea gives them the “color fix” they need to inspire their next project. Thanks for this post – your photos are wonderful!
Happy New Year! ~Bonnie
I love love love Ikea! I can definitely get in trouble there if I’m not careful. I want soooo many things! AND, did you know they sell dark chocolate bars? The best!!!!
BTW…just like my blog post tonight expresses – YOU are important to me. Thanks for your friendship.
Hugs,
Kat
Oh this makes me want to make the 3 hour trip to the closest one to me, which is in Charlotte. Love that place!
Isn’t IKEA great? I love that store, we are getting one in a year or so, they keep pushing back the opening date. But we recently heard that it will be the second largest one in Canada, YAY!!! I can’t wait. I already have a long list of the things that I want to buy.
Happy New Year! Hugs, Cindy
I went to Ikea today in Perth, Australia a little way away from your Ikea! It was absolutely crazy town in there as theres a sale on but I came home with a boot full of decorations, vases, art, bins, doona so it was worth it. Its great for those little finishing touches I think 🙂
Thanks for the IKEA fix without having to travel!
Just went to Ikea yesterday! Looking for bathroom sinks and cabinetry. Not too sure about the cabinets (most are particleboard with laminate, which we don’t want) but loved some of their sinks.
Really interesting to me how the room displays you’ve shown seem different from the ones in the Portland store. Yours seem bigger, more posh. Guess that’s cause we’re in Portlandia 🙂
I LOVE Ikea! There was a one day special last week for GORM shelving that is usually $30/each for only $10! (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30058508/)!!!
Alex and I got 4 to make a beautiful pantry with 🙂
Thanks for taking me along on your adventures through Ikea!! Had my own Ikea adventures recently… so I am totally relating! Used your post on my blog to support my Ikea love 🙂
I love Ikea! I bought one of there leather couches over 10 years ago, and it is still going strong and looks great. Thanks for sharing your shopping trip. Hope you have a grand evening. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
Rhoda! Clicked on a link looking for ikea hacks and ideas for my new home….ticked pink to get taken to your blog, nothing like finding another GI-er…haven’t been around for awhile…moved to the Toronto Canada area about 45 minutes from Niagara Falls. Hope you are well and love seeing how successful your blog has become!
Great to see you too, Judy!! It’s been awhile and thank you. I’m doing great!