Watching My Mailbox

... for the 2011 IKEA catalog!

Check out the online version while you wait - lots of fun new stuff and cool room ideas!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's - I'll be back tomorrow with my resolutions!

<3
Hattie

Bedroom switcharoo

I hinted earlier in the week that an innocent trip to IKEA caused a whole lot of moving, painting, and shaking around the roost. Our bedroom and office/craft room have been in a state of upheaval for most of the week, but the bedroom is finally starting to take shape.

Let’s take a look at the bedroom before:

Note how low the TV is. You can’t see it, but the TV is sitting on an old school desk I used as a TV stand during my grad school days and for most of our marriage. The cubby in front was perfect for holding the DVD player. I liked this arrangement quite well until my parents gifted us a super comfy pillow top mattress. The new mattress raised the bed a good six inches, blocking part of the TV screen. Another downside to the school desk was that is lacked storage, something we needed much more of in our little bedroom.

Here’s my side of the bed and nightstand:

Now for some after photo fun!

We moved the school desk into the office (more on that next week) and replaced it with my nightstand.

This gave us the extra storage space we needed. To fix the height problem, we purchased a pine nightstand at IKEA for $14.99. Three coats of Zinsser primer and two coats of American Accents semi-gloss white paint later, and we used it as a topper for my old nightstand.

I still have to do some cord wrangling and concealing, but I’m much happier with the new look. I also need to figure out new artwork for over the TV, and attempt anything that might possibly hide the ugly HD antenna us over-the-air TV folks need. Anyone know if you can paint those suckers?

Since I was now nightstand-less, we moved another piece of furniture from the office into the bedroom.

This antique marble-topped washstand came from my Granddad’s estate. It took a lot of wrangling, but by moving Brad’s dresser and the bed over as far as they would go; we were able to squeeze in the washstand.

I love the way the wood picks up the colors in the bamboo blinds and the brown storage box on the night stand.

I also like that my nightstand and Brad’s dresser are now much closer in height. The only thing that bugs me is that the bed is no longer centered under the window. But, when you live in a tiny cottage, you get used to little quirks like that!

Have you done any furniture switching lately?

<3
Hattie

I heart IKEA

Brad and I spent the last few days at the lake with his family, but before we headed down to NC for some boat riding-sun soaking-fun, we headed up to IKEA with my family for some eye candy, shopping, and Swedish meat balls. Here’s a few of the many items that caught my eye on this trip.

For no apparent reason, I’ve started to develop a serious thing for alphabet prints. It didn’t hurt that this one is red as well! I’m also digging that funky little metal lamp.

One of my favorite things about IKEA is the way they arrange their furniture into complete rooms and even mini houses. It always gives me great decorating and display ideas. I was surprised by how much I liked this bedroom. Dark wall paint is not usually my thing at all, but I felt like this deep blue really worked with the punches of red, white, and natural fibers. Plus, I’ve loved that lamp shade for a while now, even though it is pretty far removed from my normal decorating comfort zone.

On the other side of the same bedroom I fell in love with this dresser. I love how the mirror is simply propped up rather than hung.

Now, this room really spoke to me! Could it be because I’ve been dreaming of a white Ektorp sofa for years? Could it be the wonderful sisal rug? Could it be the awesome juxtaposition of the soft and feminine sofa and prints with the more modern and masculine coffee and end tables? Could it be all of the above? I think, “Yes.”

Finally, this awesome basket/trunk really stopped me in my tracks. I didn’t have the space or 60 smackers to take it home with me, but I’d love to find just the right place for it one day!

Brad and I did not leave IKEA empty handed. We stumbled upon a solution to our office/craft room work space and storage dilemma and picked up something for the bedroom as well. Thursday night found us assembling, painting, and moving furniture around so stay tuned this week to see some of the results!

What’s your favorite store for eye candy and inspiration?

<3
Hattie

I'm Back!

Well, spring break has come to an end. It was wonderful to catch up on sleep, spend time with Brad, get stuff done around the house (projects coming soon) and take a lovely trip to IKEA. We came home with a few new little treasures, but I also took some eye candy pics for you.

Like a lot of blogland, I’m gaga over the white EKTORP sofa, but this charcoal grey number really had me smitten. Maybe it’s the comfy array of pillows, or the sophisticated lines, but I fell for this sofa big time. My heart still belongs to white slipcovers, but I could see this fitting in perfectly in our dream home’s library.

In the “why didn’t I think of that?” category, I love the idea of casually tossing a few books in gorgeous baskets like these. Sigh…I wish I’d taken a few home with me.

I think it must be the red that drew me to this vignette. It’s much more modern than my usual style, but those punchy red chairs and whimsical basket lights had me thinking fun indoor picnic.

Finally, I bring you my semi dream kitchen, or at least my dream cabinets, island, and sink combo.

We currently have these bead board cabinets, and I like them enough to want to use them again in our dream house.

Ok, I don’t love the lights (although I have the exact style hanging over my kitchen table and love it there), blinds, valance, or backsplash. BUT – I love the double apron-front sink, butcher block counters, and cool panel that blends the dishwasher seamlessly with the rest of the cabinets.

Mmmmm, cabinets and counter space!

I really heart this butcher block island, and kind of even dig the hanging pot rack.

I’m a huge fan of these corner shelves. I already have the bottom version of these, but I would love to one day have the upper and lower. They add fun display space and a really finished look.

I know this was a very mini virtual tour of our IKEA trip, but I hope you had a little fun tagging along. Any IKEA favorites of your own?

<3
Hattie