Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Weekend at IKEA: Day 2

Sunday morning found my friend Mary Elizabeth and I back at IKEA at 10 a.m. sharp. By Day #2, we were beginning to feel like semi-pros, even though our Swedish showed no signs of improvement.  We had mastered the second floor;  today we skipped the escalator, went backwards through the empty check-outs, and started in the "Marketplace" on the first floor.


The first thing we came to was what I go to IKEA for:  Dinner Napkins.  I love to entertain, but big,  colorful dinner napkins are not only hard to find, but expensive when I do find them. The last package I bought was from Amazon for  a special Valentine's Day dinner; with Prime shipping, they were $7.38 for 75 napkins.

IKEA has dinner napkins in almost every popular home dec. color and additional colors for different holidays and seasons (e.g. brown in the fall).  And, they are only $1.99 for a package of 50 napkins. Since I don't make the two hour drive to IKEA often, I load up when I do go. On this trip, I bought so many packages of napkins that the shopper waiting behind me in line asked me what kind of party I was giving.



The Marketplace is as big as the second floor but if you follow "the path" from one section to the other, it's not so overwhelming.

 Next we found ourselves in the Garden department. 


IKEA sells a huge variety of both real and "faux" plants as well as a "farmhouse-worthy" selection of inexpensive pots to display them in.


Their faux plants look real and all are priced very reasonably.  The plants sized like the ones below (I bought four different ones) were $4.99 each; the galvanized pails to display them in were only $.79.


And here is my very favorite purchase (although I have no idea what I will do with them yet):  a set of three FJANTIG wall hooks, each only 5" tall, shaped like three different styles of IKEA chairs. (Some crazy designer in Sweden must think this stuff up just for women like me!)



I love these silly chairs so much that I bought two packages of them.
For only $5.99 per package they'll be fun (and practical?) to decorate with.


Mary Elizabeth fell in love with this KRUSNIG lamp; it reminded her of a cloud! It's made of layers of paper (the small white and yellow piece behind it is a separate lamp. ) and comes in two sizes. The large one is only $12.99. It is packed flat and you puff it up at home when you hang it.  Yup, she bought one for her new apartment.


The IKEA Marketplace has hundreds of styles of pillow covers on display, all 20" square. Both the covers and the "stuffers" are remarkably inexpensive . . .


As are their rugs, curtains, duvets, duvet covers, and bedding. I bought this sturdy indoor/outdoor LOBBAK runner for our back hall.

I also picked up a pair of these NORDRANA knitted storage baskets for $9.99/pair.

Mary Elizabeth loved all of the IKEA "rail systems" for kitchen (and office, bathroom, studio, etc.) storage. The rails and hooks come in white, black or stainless steel and the choices of hanging utensils and containers is almost limitless. 

Another favorite section of IKEA is the Children's department. The kids' furniture is bright, whimsical, inexpensive  and easy for children to move around.


There are many children's bedrooms on display to give parents ideas for storage and maximizing small spaces for kids.

And did I mention the stuffed animals? IKEA's stuffed creatures are the softest ever. They even had a wrinkly piglet, a rat with scary teeth, and a cuddly horse with silly wobbly legs.  As might be expected, most were priced under $10.00. My favorite was this "Big Bad Wolf", who comes with Grandma.  Kids get to rescue Grandma from his stomach - really! (Little Red Riding Hood is sold separately.) 

After the Marketplace, you come to the huge warehouse section of IKEA where you pick up furniture and other large items by their aisle and bin numbers (the reason for the pencil upstairs on Day 1).


I think Mary Elizabeth was feeling a little overwhelmed at first, but she had written down the aisle and bin numbers of her KALLAX shelf and rolling cart so we found them right way. Although it is big, IKEA is well-organized with good signage to help newbies like us figure it all out.
The last stop was the Swedish Food Market just outside of the main check-out area.

You can buy frozen Swedish meatballs just like the ones from their restaurant . . .


As well as Salmon, Lingonberry Jam, Swedish candies and cookies, including the world's thinnest ad best Ginger Snaps!

I bought these KEX cookies for my special needs daughter. Her name begins with "K' so it's her "favorite letter". I can already picture her divvying up the cookies with her friends: "K for me, vowels for you, K for me, vowels for you . . . ". Needless to say, the cookies spell "IKEA".


Our second day at IKEA was almost done and we were dragging. Now, we just had to figure out how to hold on to our "trolleys" on the steep cart escalator . . .

And navigate through the Boston tunnel, over the Zakim Bridge, onto 95 North and home to Maine.


Now that we're back and rested, here are a few of our IKEA purchases displayed in our homes:

Mary Elizabeth's "Cloud Lamp" (she bought the small one) looks beautiful in her bedroom;

As does her little "polka dot" IKEA rug.

She assembled her black RASCOG Cart and it's already in use as a bar cart in her kitchen. She can roll it into the living room for entertaining!  Martini anyone?

After a bit of reorganization, all of my new napkins fit in my under-bookshelf storage baskets. 
I love the colors!

My four faux plants (love the fern!) bring a touch of Spring to "Elmer's tool box" at my house.

And the adorable trio of chairs? 
I'm still walking around the house with them, looking for the perfect spot!

SKAL! (that's "Cheers" in Swedish),



This post is linked to:
To Grandma's House We Go #127 at Chas' Crazy Creations
Talk of the Town #162 at Knick of Time
Vintage Charm Party #170 at My Thrift Store Addiction
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Flaunt It Friday #436 at Chic On a Shoestring

13 comments:

  1. That store has an escalator for shopping carts? Glad you enjoyed your trip. We're on our trip, too. Day one, snow, day two blue sky, day three snow, now rain. 🙂

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    1. Yup. and they need it , Jim. Some of the furniture carts are huge! If you've never been to IKEA it's well worth the trip! Sunny here in Maine today after overnight snow. Thanks for your comment! ~Cheryl

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  2. Now I want to make a trip to IKEA! I love those chair hooks. Such a fun store.

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    1. It really is a fun store, Linda! I've been there before but spacing it out over two days seemed to make it much more manageable, less overwhelming, I guess. A fun road trip with a girlfriend or two! If you go, you've got to post photos of your treasures on your blog! Happy almost-weekend, Cheryl

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  3. SINCE I AM THE M.E. OF THE THELMA AND LOUISE IKEA SHOPPING TRIP WITH MY DEAR BFF#2 , CHERYL, I HAVE RIGHTS TO COMMENT. IT WAS A BUSY TWO DAYS. I DID HAVE A MISSION WITH SPECIFIC PURCHASES IN MIND. I WAS SUCCESSFUL IN FINDING THOSE ITEMS THAT I WANTED. HOWEVER, THELMA AND LOUISE COULD NOT END THEIR JOURNEY WITHOUT EXPLOURING EVERY AISLE , EVERY BIN, EVERY KNOOK & CRANNY OF EVERY DEPARTMENT. IT WAS AN EXPERIENCE THAT ALL CRAFTERS, ALL SHOPPERS, ALL DIY DAREDEVILS SHOULD HAVE ON THEIR BUCKET LIST. I AM SO PLEASED WITH THE ITEMS THAT I PURCHASED AND I SPENT TIME TODAY PUTTING THINGS TOGETHER AS I CONTINUE TO ORGANIZE MY NEW MINI 615 SQFT ADORABLE APARTMENT (WITH CHERYL AND HER DARLING HANK'S HELP) . SO, DO TREK TO IKEA IF YOU CAN. HAVE A LIST OF WISHES AND HOPEFULLY, YOUR OWN BFF DIY TO GUIDE YOU.

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  4. Cheryl,
    Thanks so much for stopping by!!! I have never been to an Ikea!! The closest one in the Philly area which is about a 2 - 2 1/2 hour drive from where we live...
    Hugs,
    Deb

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    1. Hi Debbie,
      I hope someday you'll get to go. It's huge and tiring though so best to plan an overnight and two-day visit to IKEA. Good to hear from you! Hugs back, Cheryl

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  5. You had room in one car for everything? Very impressive! It kind of makes me tired just looking at the photos of the interior of the store, yet it is so fun to go and see all of the clever and cool items. Another inspirational blog entry -- thank you!

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  6. Hi Kick, I didn't think my little mini-Cooper could handle an IKEA haul so we took DH's Toyota 4-Runner - much bigger. And we did just manage to squeeze it all in. Lots of fun but exhausting! Thanks for always taking the time to Comment; I appreciate it. ~ Cheryl

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  7. Enjoyed my vicarious tour thru IKEA very much; thanx. I think your little chairs should go wherever anyone USED TO throw clothes over a chair--maybe even a row in the bathroom? I loved them, too!

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    1. Hi Kathy, I love that idea! So few chairs, so many places to put them that I'm paralyzed! They're just so cute that I know I'll find a place eventually. Hope you'll get to IKEA some day. Just allow a LOT of time; two days was perfect. It's a bit like Disneyland for creative women! Have a great weekend, Cheryl

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  8. Oh my goodness, I love the chair trio! I only get to Ikea about once a year so I enjoyed shopping vicariously through you! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!

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