Here at Casa James Logue, we've come to a bit of an impasse in terms of unpacking. We lack the furniture and organizational components to put the rest of this crap/precious stuff away. And that means...da da da...the first post-move trip to Ikea!
Yes, that's genuine excitement. Yes, I know there's a lot of Ikea hate out there, but I'm not one to throw shade on a place that makes sometimes-genius stuff at low prices. So while I'm not aiming for an all-out Ikea showroom look over here, I'm still pretty excited to get some of the stuff on my listy-list tomorrow. Here's what we're shopping for.
1. In Lou's room, we're going for the Vyssa Skoa extendable mattress. This is one of those semi-genius products. It's a mattress the width of a standard twin, but adjustable in length, from about 3/4 length to full size. Ikea sells a couple different coordinating extendable bed frames, but we've got our own, thanks to my clever dad, who built the platform storage bed I asked for in components (more on that after it's fully set up). We're keeping Lou on the 3/4 length for now to maximize space in her tiny room. We'll also pick up some Len extendable sheet sets, a bed guard rail and the ubiquitous Bekvam step stool to help her get up on the bed (it's 18" high, which is a little much for her right now).
2. For the dining and kitchen area, we're planning on picking up two of these Nandor chairs, and whatever brilliant dish rack and wall storage solutions we can find. We expect it to be many. In particular, a dish drying rack is in order. Since we don't have a dishwasher, I gave myself permission to buy a good, fancy dish rack. But some are so ridiculously expensive (I'm talking to you, Simple Human) that I think we'll just go with something like this from Ikea.
3. In the living area, I want some Fiddle Leaf Figs. I am really hoping they have some tomorrow. No, I didn't have good luck with any of the plants I purchased from Ikea this summer, but I'm ever an optimist. I'm also looking for two white 1 x 4 Kallax units; one to convert into a bench/coffee table, and one to serve as our linen closet/laundry area in the nook by the back kitchen. I will say that I've had other thoughts about that little nook, like maybe even a built in-looking cabinet and some shelves floating above it - but I think the Kallax will be much, much cheaper. We'll price out some cabinet and wardrobe options tomorrow just to be sure.
I'll also look at wardrobes/armoire for the office/guest room. I think we need more storage in there than a dresser or another Kallax can provide. I'm just not crazy about the Ikea wardrobe options in general. Finally, I'm going to check out pricing for a custom kitchen counter, to rest on top of the dresser I'm converting into an island in the kitchen. My guess is buying a custom-sized melamine board from the hardware store will be cheaper, but I'll still check out Ikea options before I jump.