IKEA. My Fave.

Sorry guys – it’s been a super busy month, and my husband’s been on a lengthy “stay cation,” so that’s why I’ve been a little behind with blogging… But I’m hoping that this post can make up for it!

I’m sure that you can tell by now that I love going to IKEA. It’s a sick obsession actually. I try to avoid taking my husband there because I often just end up staring at things, trying to figure out an IKEA “hack” for them. It takes hours, in general, and unfortunately, I’m not really that creative… But I have bought some pretty cool items this year and put them to good use!

So in the interest of spreading the love, I thought I’d round up some of my awesome purchases from IKEA in 2015, and show you how they’ve been used in my home as well as my client’s homes 🙂

1 – My Sewing/Crafting table:

The Norden Gateleg Dining Table is kind of amazing. I already have a large table in my home office/”no longer a man cave” for my computer, so trying to figure out how to add another table was super challenging. Thanks to Pinterest, I found a bunch of people who had started using this “dining table” for their sewing machines, and added wheels to it to make it even more functional. It’s such an amazing solution for a small space since it’s only 12 inches deep when closed!

2 – Lots of Lighting For Almost Anything:

I bought a few sets of the SÄRDAL battery operated LED lights a few months ago, and they are so versatile and effective! I’ve put them on my outdoor plants for parties, in bowls, and wrapped them around pretty much anything for some soft lighting. They’re super easy to use especially since you don’t need a power outlet, which can be a serious issue for those of us who use 110V in a 220V world.

Seriously. You can use it anywhere!

I also bought 3 of the STÖTTA integrated LED lighting fixtures to light up my kitchen counters. You can probably buy a battery operated one if you don’t have a 220V outlet close by, but I’d highly encourage doing this if you have a problem with lighting in your kitchen.

The integrated lighting has made such a huge difference

The other thing I love using for mood lighting are BORRBY lanterns. When my black lanterns had taken a beating from being outside, I just spray painted them silver for a more glam look!

Awesome, right?

3 – IKEA Fabric & Rugs:

As some of you know from my Instagram account, I’ve used IKEA fabric a lot this year. It’s been used for my pillows, my roman shades, and I even found an awesome tutorial by Retropolitan on how to transform cheap SIGNE rugs into a floor pouf! Ahhhh-mazing!

I used material from Zamil for the front of my pillow case & IKEA fabric for the back!

4 – Picture Ledges for my pictures AND my husband’s cricket bats:

I’m sure you’ve found some pretty good uses for this MOSSLANDA picture ledge, but I have yet to see this solution… It’s not the prettiest, but it definitely works. My husband’s cricket bats were slipping and sliding all over the place in our closet, and now all of them sit in a beautiful line. I’m quite proud of this one especially since I didn’t want to spend too much of our home budget on this “problem” 🙂

How you would normally use a ledge…

And how you improvise!

5 – My Plant Stands:

Getting a log that had a level surface to put planters on was proving to be quite difficult for me, so I decided to try out the VILDAPEL plant stands. I actually think they’re awesome and work really well. They add a little height and look so pretty!

6 – Magnetic Spice Containers for the fridge: 

This is an awesome solution for small kitchens. I have a client who has absolutely no room in her pantry or her cupboards for stacks of spices. So to save some space, we decided to move her spices into GRUNDTAL magnetic containers for her fridge. I labeled the containers using a chalkboard marker on the glass (some are not suitable for glass so please check if you do this), so that she can change it up whenever she needs to!

7 – IKEA frames for pictures and custom art:

Another client of mine is an amazing illustrator and wanted to use her designs to create a gallery wall in her dining room. This can become a pricey option if you decide to go custom, but if you can find a nice frame like the SÖNDRUM, you can give your space a high end and clean look without it becoming expensive, and without it looking “soooo IKEA.”

8 – Customized Door Mat:

Some of you may have seen my DIY Personalized Doormat post earlier in the year, but if you haven’t, this is another great idea I found on Pinterest. I wanted to update my exterior door, with a pretty doormat with our initials on it, so I created one using a TRAMPA doormat from IKEA, and painting it with acrylic paints. It looks so much nicer than I thought it would!

9 – My Crafting Supplies Storage:

I recently started using the FINTORP series rail and cutlery stand to store some of my crafting supplies. I spray painted it gold because frankly, everything looks better spray painted gold!

So much better in gold!

The beautiful blue RÅSKOG trolley is also a great unit for for my sewing and crafting supplies. It can be stored away discreetly when not needed as well! I love that both of these solutions don’t take up any shelving space and keep everything upright and visible. I’m actually going to be using the rail and hooks to hang pots, pans and even cooking utensils, so keep an eye out for it in upcoming posts!

10 – Wire baskets for organizing my kitchen:

I saw this beauty of a solution on Pinterest, and it has saved my life. I had piles of pasta and ridiculously high stacks of cans on my pantry shelves, taking up way too much space. They’re now tucked away into the OBSERVATÖR wire baskets, and off my pantry shelves, giving me tons more space. It makes my heart happy to see this!

Since I have plans to use a lot more of the IKEA products for home solutions in the coming year, I promise to keep you posted on how they work out 🙂 Happy Holidays!

Let me know how you’ve used your IKEA products this year – would love to see some of your awesome ideas!