Fun Ikea finds

October 16, 2014

A couple weeks back I took the Bub on a mini-excursion to Cincinnati for the day. Our plan was to visit Kings Island and then I realized we could also make a stop at Ikea. Boom -- one for me, one for him. I’m all about compromise. (Even though I think amusement parts are the bomb and the kiddo loves IKEA too.)

Our closest Ikea and is two hours away so I only make it over there once or twice a year. When I do it’s pretty momentous and I have to snap pictures the whole way through. :)

I don’t think I’ve ever been there for Christmas decor and I was SO excited to see what they had in the store. I almost grabbed the cross-stitch pillow on the left for the basement but we already have so many dang pillows down there:

cross stitch snowflake pillow ikea red white check pillow

I have to go back to return some stuff so that one may just make it in the cart next time.

They had at least four pillow designs that would work for Christmas:

christmas pillows ikea

So cozy and an easy way to add some holiday color! Don’t forget to check out their super cheap feather pillow inserts too!

I always love looking at their fabrics and I fell in love with a few this trip. I thought this log fabric would look SO cool as a runner down a table for Thanksgiving or Christmas:

log fabric ikea

Or just a funky pillow for the winter – I thought it was different.

The blue botany fabric was really lovely, although I still can’t get there with the bugs on my fabrics. I’m trying:

botany fabric ikea gingham check fabric

It’s a beautiful navy blue and so striking. Loved it. The gingham check is a classic any time of year!

This may not be new but I’ve never seen in before – they have Christmas tree fabric. It’s just a print of a tree and I love what they did with it:

christmas tree fabric ikea

My boy took this photo, sorry about the blur. :) They hung tassels and ornaments from the fabric. I just thought that was fun! How perfect for an small apartment space or a kid’s room.

They had some beautiful rugs I hadn’t seen before. These jewel toned/wash rugs are all the rage right now and this one was gorgeous in person:

ikea rug

I should have pulled it out to take the picture but we were hurrying to get to the park. ;)

This one was pretty in person too – it’s actually got more color to it than it looks, it’s just muted:

ikea rugs

Here’s a few other items that caught my eye as we walked through:

ikea home art

The Kallax comes in a new mint green color – so fun for a playroom or nursery!:

kallax ikea mint green

This cabinet made my heart skip a beat – I am obsessed with gray as you’ve probably noticed lately and this was a beautiful piece:

liatorp cabinet ikea

It’s called the Liatorp -- it was seven feet tall and $500. It would be gorgeous in a kitchen or dining room! Or even full of baskets and towels in a bathroom. Loved it.

This table was more modern than I would pick for my home but I thought the lines were beautiful:

long wood table ikea

Loved the wishbone chairs too! And $600 was crazy good because it was SO long.

This kitchen island with the butcher block top caught my eye:

kitchen island butcher block ikea

Loved the industrial stainless steel shelves combined with the wood top. I’m falling in love with shelves in the kitchen – it seems much easier to grab items that you need daily.

This dresser was new to me – you stack the pieces to make your own customized unit:

stackable ikea dresser

It would be SO cute in a kid’s room – each drawer painted a different color? Or an ombre effect with darker on top and lighter as you go up? So many fun possibilities. I couldn’t find a name for this one so took a pic of the tag:

Their lighting section is always one of my favorites. These industrial floor lamps were so cool!:

ikea studio lamps

I LOVE Ikea plates – we’ve had some for years now and they hold up incredibly well. The only time we’ve have them break is when the crazy cat knocks them off a surface. Other than that they stay nick and scratch-free. I thought these designs were super cute and you could easily mix and match them:

ikea plates

Very Anthopologie-esque. :)

What did I get this trip? Well I’m glad you asked! Lots of little things – some Christmas stuff including this polka-dot fabric and twine:

red and white polka dot

I think they have the fabric year round but it will be extra cute for Christmas. 

I FINALLY found a fiddle leaf there – I’ve looked every trip for years! The price was ridiculously good – only $13. I should have gotten two:

fiddle leaf plant in basket

If you have a fiddle leaf from anywhere else you know that’s a GREAT price! This is my second and I love them and their full, pretty leaves. I’ve heard mixed info on cats and these plants -- they are a ficus and I’ve had another ficus for years without issue. That and the fiddle leafs are literally the ONLY plants our cats don’t mess with. They eat the rest. :)

I couldn’t resist this big chunky cable knit throw:

cable knit throw Ikea

I have a major problem with collecting blankets. And magazines. I can’t pass a good one up.

I picked up one of these bookcase lights to go over the étagère in the kitchen, thinking I’d only want one:

bookcase light IKEA

But now I want two and I grabbed the wrong power cord for them. So now I get to drive back! Not necessarily a bad thing cause Ikea is a fun trip for sure:

Do you love Ikea too? I don’t have many of their furniture pieces in our home but I’ve heard good things. Most everything we have from there has held up great and is priced incredibly well! This store is just FUN. If you go make sure to give yourself enough time to eat some meatballs and walk around to take everything in. :)

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Comments

  1. I order my two fiddle leaf figs on HomeDepot.com and have had good luck with them so far. They're also VERY well priced and are a little over a foot tall.

    I was nervous to get them because they're apparently hazardous to cats, but my cat prefers to play with and chew on my palms, so she hasn't gone near the fiddle leaf figs or my rubber tree plant.

    Good luck with yours!

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  2. That grey cabinet is pure love! How pretty! I love the fiddle leaf too! I wish Ikea wasn't quite so far away from me!!

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  3. Ahh.... in love with those pillows! And that gray cabinet, gorgeous. This post just makes me sad that I live so far from one!

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  4. I feel your pain...our nearest IKEA is 80 miles away, so like you I only get there a couple of times a year. I love that stacking dresser and the log fabric. The lamps, the plates...looks like another trip is in order!

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  5. The closest Ikeas to me are both 4 hours away but luckily we have friends near there and every once in a while I can talk the husband into "swinging by" Ikea. This post is perfect timing, I'm going to the one in Houston tomorrow afternoon and can't wait! Sans husband and with a friend :)

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  6. I live 3 minutes from an IKEA so now I feel like a slacker for not visiting since May. I'll go soon but I have to get there early before the parking lot gets insane. Thanks for the reminder!

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  7. I need to go spend some money at Ikea! :)

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  8. Now I want to go to IKEA! I have two that are about equal distance from my house, but Bay Area traffic is the worst so I really have to plan it out or otherwise I'm stuck on the freeway for ever! I know I have picked up Xmas stuff there in the past and it's super cute :)

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  9. I feel blessed that our IKEA is only about 35 to 40 minutes away. After seeing your pictures, I am thinking a trip to IKEA is in the plans tomorrow! Is the red checked pillow there? I have been looking forever for one! Thanks for sharing :-)

    Have a Happy Thursday...
    ~Sherri

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  10. Ooooh, I haven't seen the wood fabric! That's awesome!!

    And its almost literally impossible for me to walk out of IKEA without another blanket. You can never have enough!

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  11. That Ikea is less than 40 minutes away from me, and I LOVE it! I re-did my entire bedroom this summer with all Ikea stuff--Hemnes dresser, nightstand, and bookcases. I even got the curtains, laundry container, and trash can there. I love those velvety rugs you showed. So cozy!

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  12. Am I the only one who thinks of Ikea as Hell on Earth?! lol. I took my new college graduate son into one to buy him a new bed, mattress, bedside table and linens for his bedroom in the house he's renting with some friends. It was a logistical nightmare! Mind you, that store was in the middle of a massive renovation at the time. But OMG. We finally found 'a guy', grabbed him, and didn't let him go until we'd found everything, ordered it, and arranged for delivery. To have navigated all of that on our own would have taken months. Seriously. lol. I swore I'll never set foot in one again, unless at gunpoint. lol
    Glad your experience was way more fun!! Jealous!
    Polly in Canada

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  13. The closest IKEA is about an hour drive away. My friends and I go atleast 3 times a year and make a day out of it. We spend one hour going through the showroom, we eat lunch in the restaurant, and then spend another hour to an hour and a half in the marketplace. They have so many unique things and super storage ideas. My master bedroom, and both daughter's rooms are furnished with IKEA furniture! I'll never forget the first time we went, we were all in total awe over the place.

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  14. Um, we just got IKEA here (opened last month) and I'm so happy! I live less than 5 minutes from it. You and I have very similar taste-I have my eye on that chunky blanket. LOVE. I really want the grey cabinets-that whole line is so great! We just bought new living room furniture there-Ektorp- and I love it so far! Yay for IKEA

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    Replies
    1. Sara! You must live in Kansas City! I was going to post the same thing. :) Before our store opened, the nearest IKEA was EIGHT hours away! I still feel like I'm dreaming.

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    2. Sara = I live just north of the river on the Missouri side, but have already been to IKEA more times than I want to count and am planning another trip today!! Isn't it fun, I love being able to look, come home to see if it would work in my house and then going right back to get what I want!!

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    3. I do! I just went there again tonight (after having just been there on Wednesday) and love being so close. I have to practice restraint and not put 1 of everything in my cart. :)

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  15. Did they have more fiddle leaf plants? I'm only about an hour from that Ikea. I think I feel a road trip coming on this weekend :)

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  16. I wish I'd known! I am from Cincy, and I never get up to Ikea. I will in February for some basic dressers for my kid's room.
    -Ash
    www.stylizedwannabe.blogspot.com

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  17. Wow! I will be at the West Chester Ikea TODAY! Have to take my son to Cincinnati for a Dr's appointment and it just wouldn't make any sense not to stop;) I love going to Ikea. I'm from Germany and for years and years I would only get to go if I was there, bummer. Can't tell you how depressing it was not to be able to back my minivan up to it and cram it full of cool stuff, especially when my kids were little! One thing you didn't mention was the food! I can lure my 18 year old son there with the insanely cheap and delicious fish and chips!

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  18. I love Ikea as well.. I could get lost in there. (really, I could get lost!). Anyway, regarding the tree print fabric. I have seen it put up in a playroom (or hallway? can't remember). Where the kids are, anyway. Then the Christmas countdown was pinned up. Twenty-four little trinkets were pinned everwhere. Everyday a special little trinket/toy/candy etc was taken down and enjoyed. It occupied the children during the anticipation.

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  19. We just bought that kitchen island a few months ago and love it! We had looked everywhere for one we wanted and that one fit the bill - and the price was great. We bought a set of their Besta casters and added those, making the island a rolling one.
    We also have the Hemnes series for our bedroom and it has held up great. We have the huge Expedit shelf, the six foot one, and two smaller Kallax. My favorite thing about them is being able to add the drawer units. Our IKEA is about 90 miles away, so we usually have a list when we go. I need to go once, without my husband and a list, so I can have fun just looking at all the marketplace stuff!

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  20. Wow, it's like you read my mind! I have been on Ikea.com almost every day compiling a list for when we make the 2 hr trip (are they all like two hours away no matter where you are in the country?! Seems that way lol) to find stuff for our new house that we are in the process of buliding :) I haven't been to Ikea years - any suggestions on stuff not to miss to decorate the new digs?? We need basically everything :) Love love love your blog, it's been a huge help with ideas on how to decorate my dream home!! Allie

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  21. OK.. turning off computer, grabbing purse, getting in car, heading to IKEA...
    Thank you :)

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  22. we do not have an Ikea store so i have not been in there store before.

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  23. Thanks so much for sharing your Ikea shopping trip. I could stay in there for hours. I love the things you purchased. Hanging the banner and decorating it I thought was an adorable idea. I think your son made a great pic! As you enter our front door, we have a blank wall that I often have pics and different things but I think for Christmas, this will be adorable hanging there. Sharing the affordability of the inserts is greatly appreciated. Those darn things can cost a fortune.

    Take care

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  24. I only live about 30 minutes from the West Chester Ikea and yet I only go there a few times a year.....The reason, I spend way too much $$$ !!! Hope you had a great day at Kings Island too !

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  25. Don't faint, I have never been in an IKEA. Our daughter says I better not ever go in one or I'm likely to spend the mortgage money. Sure if I don't want to be murdered by hubs.
    Thinkonly IKEA'sin Denver some where or in Salt Lake and we live good distances away from both. There is no way I'll make that trip over Rockies to Denver at this time of year. I'd love to get to shop in one but that trip over to Denver is a no for me. Could get stuck in snow storm and we've seen too many smash ups and awful wrecks on the news. And those people drive like maniacs thru those mountains. Thats way it seemed to me anyway, I'd been away from San Diego long enuf by time we took trip over on our way to Grand Junction when we moved here, and that was in summer. No store is worth that aggravation, lol . So I'llhave to yearn at a distance. I can drool on the internet on their site. Have fun for rest of us without handy IKEA's. Of course San Diego got one or more after we moved to MT from SD.

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  26. I totally love IKEA. So glad I read this post because I really like those red Christmas-y pillows. I might have to go get some next weekend. Thanks for sharing!

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  27. I have never been to an IKEA and I am dying to go! xoxox

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  28. I went Saturday for the Fig Leaf Plant and they had none :( I was totally bummed! That was the main reason I was going, but I ended up spending another $100 so it wasn't a completely wasted trip!

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  29. How funny ... I just bought that butcher block top kitchen island in August. But I decided to use it as a kitchen table instead (just didn't add the shelves!) I paired it with some swivel-top tools from Target.com. We absolutely love it!!

    http://jerseygirlbydefault.blogspot.com/2014/08/new-kitchen-table.html

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