I’ll admit, I was less than thrilled when I bought window blinds, shortly after IKEA opened in Canton, Michigan. Admittedly they’re still up and completely functional, but the quality just wasn’t there. But in the Spring of 2008, I decided to give them another chance, mostly because I was the college student trying to furnish an apartment cheaply. I found that the quality had greatly improved, and was astonished by the sheer quantity of everything. My favorite part though, was the set ups of kitchens and offices, and one orange bedroom in particular. My apartment that year was fully IKEA furnished. The sofa, chairs, tables, lamps, picture frames, bed, desk and hundreds of other items were showcased fabulously. The photos below are of the living room, which was spiced up with orange and red accents, then halfway through the year softened to blue and brown accents. The furniture was almost completely neutral so I was able to change out the accessories very easily, for a completely different look.
What I like most about IKEA though (besides the macaroni & cheese and endless enjoyable hours shopping) is the fact that almost everything goes together. Each piece comes in four to six different colors, so even if the style doesn’t match perfectly the color of the piece ties it together really well. Additionally, the products generally come in the same four to six colors (shown below), so it’s really easy to pick out a fabulous furniture set.
For those of you craving custom everything, they have that too! Designers in the home office, kitchens and business sections are more than happy to work with you to outfit your space with cabinetry fit for a king (or queen in my case). They have thousands of storage and organizational ideas for those of you that are a bit overwhelmed with clutter, in the kitchen and office sections (downstairs for those of you in Michigan). IKEA workers will help you pick what items best suit your needs, and they're really creative about it too! I never thought of using a flatware drawer organizer to hold my screwdrivers.
Not only is IKEA a quick easy fix for furnishing needs, they've also really taken it to the next level by fixing the quality issues they had a few years ago. In addition they're really active in the community, donating money, food and products to local shelters, schools, religious establishments and so much more. They also organize donation events and have even established an eco-friendly sustainable packaging line. I've seen so many posts about the fabulous things they're doing, I'm jumping into the next one head first, when I find out the information, I'll post it here. In the meantime heres a list of all the great things IKEA is doing: The Never Ending List
Editors Note: I think my favorite IKEA piece is a storage ready piece called the Expedit bookshelf. Its completely versatile. I've stood it on end, laid it on its side and done everything short of hang it from the ceiling, (which I considered for a while) and its held up, and looks great. IKEA even makes drawers and doors and storage boxes specifically for this bookshelf, to hide that clutter!
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