Some of us aren’t lucky enough to live in an IKEA city. I grew up in Atlanta (aka Ikea city) and I lived in NYC (not really an Ikea city), but now that we’re in SC, there are just some days when you need to make a road trip to hit up the Ikea in Charlotte, NC (about 90 miles). I get the catalog, mostly just for inspiration, but it’s nice to see what things they come out with that are…less…”Ikea-y”. It’s like a game: I try to find things that don’t necessarily look like they came from Ikea because maybe paired with some more expensive and some thrifted/antique items, guests won’t know that you’re cheap and can’t afford real furniture yet (hey, I’m in my 20’s, give me a break).
So last weekend David was going to be working on both of his days off, so I took the opportunity to indulge in a little retail therapy, Ikea style. I put on my Motown Pandora station and grooved on up to Charlotte.
Shopping List (It’s important to have a mission at Ikea):
- We need a new mirror that’s not the $5 wonky one we have from Target. I’d LOVE to have a large dressing room style mirror for the closet room.
- Our Ikea just got live plants, maybe they’re cheap? I’ll check.
- Entryway storage. We have a small table that isn’t cutting it when you need a place to dump your mail, keys, purse, dog leash, etc.
- Dresser for guest room. There is nothing.
Item #1 Mirror Inspiration:
And the winner? The Hovet of course. It was like $300 cheaper than the West Elm one. Item #1, CHECK.
Item #2 Plant Inspiration
What’s all over Pinterest besides dahlias and peonies? Fiddle leaf figs. They’re so pretty when taken care of and I have 3 other house plants right now that have yet to die, so I figured I’d grab another one. And I was right, they had tons of plants. And cheap planters (cheaper than Target and KMart and any of the other big-box stores). So here’s the fig inspiration.
So, I came home with one. And a white planter. For like $16 (for both). Item #2, CHECK.
#3 Entryway Storage
No luck with this one. I’d really like to DIY something like this from West Elm. Who wants to help with that? Seems doable. Pipes. Wood. Hooks. Done.
Item #4 Dresser for Guest Room
No luck again. All of their dressers are really IKEA-y. Meaning Malm looking.So we’ll keep looking. I’m hoping for a Craigslist steal like these.
Other things I picked up? Wooden coat hangers (so our closet room can eventually have matching hangers). All the plastic hangers have got to go eventually. But we’ll phase them out. No rush on that one.
Any other Ikea lovers out there? I was really tempted to get some other things that I didn’t really need, which is kind of a problem for me. Anyone else headed to Ikea for Labor Day weekend?
Love Ya Bean It 
Is it bad that I’ve stayed in your guest room a handful of times and never realized their was no dresser… also if you feel like doing any fall cleaning and getting rid of anything, I’m here to accept your throw aways, in particular I’m looking for a cabinet or some type of shelving something… but I do however accept many other things if you got stuff to get rid of…
I do have stuff. I’ll bring a suitcase of clothes to the beach in a few weeks, and possibly a bookshelf also. Oooh wait! I’ll bring the suitcase to guest camp! See ya tomorrow sis!
yeeee!!! I can’t wait!! for the clothes but more importantly to see me seeester!! what does the book shelf look like? if you dont mind me asking..
I’m not gonna bring that–don’t think I’ll have space 😦
thats cool, I was just curious what it looks like, but you can describe it to me tomorrow
Beano, I come across mid century dressers like the top one all the time. Right now I have a nice pair of gentlemens chests…. maybe you can use a pair of smaller chests? If not, I will shoot you pics when I come across a nice one. What’s your budget? Also…send my your phone number or email.