Spruce Up

It has been a while since I've posted something other than photos, and when I came across this earlier this week, I knew it was something I had to share:

Wow.  Thrilling, right?  Ok, let me explain.

Pretty Pegs is a Swedish company that makes replacement legs for IKEA furniture!  No more of those terrible screw-on, metal, cheap-looking legs for your new sofa or bed.  Seriously, the possibilities are endless.  The photos above only show you a tiny selection of their legs.  They have tons of styles in tons of colors, and they really are quite attractive.  Combine some Pretty Pegs with your Bemz slipcover, and your IKEA furniture will look unique and high-end, but with those lovely IKEA prices.

I know, too exciting, huh?

Throw with Style

I've been looking for a throw for our living room for a while now because I am fed up with trying to snuggle up to my scratchy yoga blanket while relaxing on the sofa. I saw the Pom Pom Throw by Calypso Home in a photo in Cookie magazine recently, and I love its playfulness.



It costs $50 (not terribly expensive), and comes in 8 incredible colors (Deco is shown above).

For a much less expensive option, check out the IKEA Polarvide Throw which is only $3.99 (yes, 3 dollars and 99 cents!):


The Polarvide only comes in 5 colors, including black and white, but it is cozy because it is fleece.

Dining Chairs

We made a trip out to IKEA yesterday, and we found some dining chairs:



I know what you're thinking. These chairs are nothing special, I agree. But they are incredibly comfortable, and finding something that my hubby and I could agree on was a bit of a challenge. They were $79.99 each which is somewhat expensive for IKEA, but much less expensive than other chairs we'd found.

We're going to do a little work on them. We're going to paint them and reupholster them in a fun fabric, so hopefully they will look better soon. I'll be sure to keep you updated on the whole process, seeing as I've never painted or reupholtered furniture myself before. This could be interesting, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Our New Kitchen!

Hooray! Our kitchen is finished. After only four weeks, everything is complete and almost everything is back in the cabinets. I couldn't wait to show your some photos to see what you think:

View into the kitchen:



View to the right as you enter:


what was once dead space is now a clever niche





View to the left as you enter:




view of the built-in wine/alcohol storage:



Close-up of the floor tile:



Close-up of the backsplash tile:

with the under-cabinet lights on, giving a warm glow


with the under-cabinet lights off, to show you the subtlety in the colors



Close-up of the faucet:



Close-up of the range:



Semi close-up of the refrigerator:



No frills light fixture:


Resources:

Refrigerator - Liebherr 24" wide, bottom freezer with ice maker (we love ice!)
Range - Bosch
Dishwasher - GE Profile
Countertops - Caesarstone in Eggshell
Backsplash tile - glass tiles from Ann Sacks
Floor Tile - ceramic tile from Ann Sacks
Cabinets - IKEA
Faucet - Danze
Cabinet Hardware - Restoration Hardware
Paint - Benjamin Moore 'Apparition' (#860, I think!)
Light fixture - Home Depot

Kitchen Renovation Update

Now that 2008 is upon us, we have decided to get moving on our kitchen renovation. Today we chose floor and backsplash tiles, so I'm very excited. Here's what we have so far:

Cabinets from IKEA



Porcelain floor tiles from Ann Sacks




Glass tiles for backsplash, also from Ann Sacks

This is the design:



These are the colors:







These colors look a little gray here, but in person they are creamier and go nicely with both the cabinets and the floor tiles. Oh, and to add a little depth and texture to the backsplash, we're going to use a mix of glossy and matte finishes. It sounds weird, I know, but the sample at the showroom was gorgeous!


Cabinet pulls from Restoration Hardware (which are on sale now - hooray!)




Slim refrigerator from Compact Appliance




Possible faucet set from National Faucet Warehouse




We still need to chose a range and countertop material, but that's about it. I'm leaning towards doing a Corian countertop with an integreated sink so that there are no seems and it just all flows easily. I'm so excited I can't stand it. I love when it all comes together and you're just chomping at the bit to get started.

So, what do you think?

Cabinet Hardware

I am in complete kitchen upgrade mode now that I've seen plans for our new IKEA-based kitchen from The Kitchen Couple. (By the way, I don't think I've mentioned The Kitchen Couple before, but they design and install IKEA kitchens. Ron and Bonnie are the founders and they both worked at IKEA before deciding to open this company to help people install the cabinets they purchased at IKEA. It's a little help for those of us who aren't quite DIY-ers yet!)

We know what cabinets we're going with (Abstrakt which you can see here), and we're thinking about flooring (wood vs. cork vs. bamboo vs. tile and on and on) and countertops (Silestone or Icestone). So now I'm thinking about cabinet hardware, and these are the pulls I love:



Home Depot sells them for $8.49 each (see here), but we need a total of 42, so that will get expensive. I am now on a quest to find another source who has similar pulls for less. The only catch, however, is that I want them to look and feel expensive. (For me, cheap cabinet pulls are a pet-peeve...sort of like a really weak, clammy, wimpy handshake.)

Baby's First Trip to IKEA

The family took a trip to IKEA in Elizabeth, NJ today to check out their kitchen cabinet options. To be honest, we weren't blown away by anything, but we will probably chose something from IKEA to keep our cabinetry costs down.

Here are some items that did catch my eye when we were there:

Jakob Swivel Chair for $139



The Jakob chair seems to be IKEA's take on the Saarinen Tulip chair. While clearly not the original, the Jakob chair does maintain a nice rounded shell to envelop your backside. It comes with a thin cushion that could use a little more substance to it, but it is a nice addition for comfort.



Tobias Chair for $89.99



The Tobias Chair was my favorite new piece of furniture that we saw at IKEA today. I love the clear plastic seat (reminiscent of the Ghost Chair by Philippe Starck - the original clear plastic chair) and the chrome plated legs. Also, this chair happened to be quite comfy on the old derriere (no cushion necessary).



Lunna Chair for $129



This was my favorite of the lounge chairs that IKEA had to offer. The base of the Lunna chair looks a bit cheap, but overall, I like the design and I think that the black and white floral pattern is nice and graphic (a good example of traditional design - the floral morif - done in a modern way - in black and white). If, however, anyone has problems getting up from a seated position in regular chairs, this would not be the chair for you because it is fairly low and deep. Also, the seat slants downward ever so slightly to meet the back of the chair making for a challenging attempt to rise out of the chair in any sort of suave fashion.



Andrea Kakel Bedding - $19.99 for a quilt cover and 2 pillowcases (!)



I absolutely adore this quilt cover and these pillowcases that we saw today. The color is a very warm, deep orange - perfect for a soothing and inviting bedroom. I was ready to hop into the display bed as I was browsing. They are 100% cotton, and I really love the sort of middle eastern pattern. Very exotic and unusual, and, if I dare say so, romantic for the boudoir.



Polarvide Throw for $3.99



I love the playful edges on this easy to use/store throw. All of the colors have a different edge design and my favorites were the red, bright green, bright yellow, and green. Unfortunately, the edges on the black, navy, and white versions were very bland and not at all as playful as the brighter colors. These throws are a lightweight fleece so they are extremely cozy, easy to clean, and can be thrown in a bag as a shawl. They are 67" x 51" - a manageable size for everyday. And for $3.99 you really could get one in every color...



Now for the bad. Every time I go to IKEA I see the Krabb mirrors (they even have a bad name!) and they make me cringe:



I've seen them at IKEA and in some apartments, and I've got to say, they are awful. I think the design is completely cheesy, unsophisticated, or clever. I hate one on its own so imagine how I feel when I see them in a group of three! It's not good. (Oh, and if you noticed, I have not included the link to the IKEA website for these mirrors because I really don't think you should buy them!)


That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed this post about our baby's first trip to the Swedish wonderland that is IKEA.

Tulip Tables

I am a huge fan of mid-century modern design, and the Saarinen Tulip Table is one of my favorite pieces:



A 42" Tulip Table from DWR (Design Within Reach) will cost you $1431. If you'd like to get a similar look for $149, check out the DOCKSTA Dining Table from IKEA:



Someone familiar with modern design will probably be able to tell that the IKEA version is not an original Saarinen, but so what? Affordable design is a beautiful thing.

Vanity

I came across this vanity from IKEA the other day, and I am quite impressed:



The legs look a little cheap, but for $239.99 I think I could deal with it.

Accomplishment!

So this is what I did on Saturday night:




Yes, that's right, I color-coded our books. Didn't you all stay home and do the same? No? Well, our bookcase was driving me crazy. It was overflowing with books, art, photographs, junk, and I just couldn't take it anymore. I mean, I spend a lot of time in our living room sitting on the sofa that faces these bookshelves (which, by the way, were an incredible IKEA purchase!), and the mess was making me angry. So I decided to do something about it.

My inspiration came from a photo I saw on design*sponge, and I can't tell you how pleased I am with the results. I sit there and stare at them in awe now. I am so proud. Gone are the books that were never going to be read, gone are the photos and the artwork (they aren't really gone, they have just been moved), gone are the days of wishing it looked better. Now I see the whole bookshelf as a work of art in itself.

Along the bottom there are a number of bankers boxes which contain the junk that just could not be organized in any sort of logical way. Why bankers boxes, you might ask? There are tons of containers and boxes out there, but we really didn't want anything too natural (baskets), colorful (those plastic storage boxes from the Container Store), or childish (buckets or pails), so we bought some of these at Staples as a temporary solution. But our temporary solution has me pretty pleased, and in a way, I like the humor that the bankers boxes add - something so ordinary that is now a prominent feature of our living room.

By the way, just out of the frame of this photograph is my baby girl, her beach ball, and hundreds of toys that we play with all day long. But at least for a moment there it looked as though our apartment had some sort of order.

One more thing, the EXPEDIT bookshelves from IKEA which I absolutely adore can be found here:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40047675

They are a pain to put together (expect some sweating and maybe even some name-calling), but once they are standing, they are amazing!