When we moved to Minnesota in 2010, it was the first time I had lived in a city large enough to house an IKEA.
And I didn't fully know the magnitude of IKEA's amazingness until that point in my life.
Why would one want to go somewhere with three levels of furniture, home decor, food, faux plants, and the best brooms you will ever find?
Well... why WOULDN'T you?!
I admit it, if you don't live near an IKEA and can't go whenever you'd like (AKA NOT on a weekend), a trip to IKEA is overwhelming. It's usually packed with people, you don't know where to start, but you know you need one of almost everything.
And it's so darn cheap. Which definitely is worth noting. You don't go to IKEA for heirloom pieces.
You go on the 'need now' basis. One of those 'I've only got a little cash but need a new couch' moments in your life.
Or you're just cheap like me and know you can leave with a rug, umbrella, sofa pillow, cutting board and kid utensils for under $45.
That might have been me today.
But let me show you some things that we have purchased at IKEA that have lasted and will last until we just don't want it to last any longer.
EKTPORP Series
Let me tell you about these couches.
We bought this couch with the chaise lounger in 2012 in Minneapolis. It is slip-covered and came with the white slipcover so to save money, we went with it.
Knowing we had two small children living in our home. And a dog who lived inside five months of the year.
Five years later, that couch is still apart of our family! It has seen the best and worst of times. I won't go into too much detail, but Reece went through a period in his life when he would smear poo on anything that was white.
This couch survived. As did our washer and dryer.
Can I tell you that I think this couch will last another five years? Yes, I think it could. Will I force it to go another five years? Probably not. But will I consider getting another one down the line? You betcha. For less than $600, this couch has been amazing!
You might recall our moving fiasco earlier this summer when the movers didn't think they'd be able to fit any of our couches through the doors of our new place. Luckily, these couches come apart in three pieces so this one fit! Did our expensive couch from Nebraska Furniture Mart make it? No... it did not.
So back to IKEA we went for another EKTORP couch that now sits proudly in the front living room!
I love that I can take off the covers and throw them in the wash! I love that it's just a simple, classic couch and that it's pretty darn comfy!
Like I said... these most likely aren't heirloom pieces, but they are pieces that will get you through that time in your life when hands and feet are messy and food is buried under the seats and crayon streaks are found everywhere. Even on your furniture.
(We even bought this chair and absolutely love it!)
KALLAX Series
When I was working on Sloane's nursery, I wanted a piece that I could use for books, for baskets of hair bows, hats, blankets, stuffed animals, etc.
I found this KALLAX shelf that fit perfect in her room and had eight open shelves on it to fit whatever I wanted on it!
This was our first encounter with putting IKEA furniture together (and found out that this would be the EASIEST piece to put together ever).
It fit perfectly in her room and served its purpose well!
Then we moved to Bentonville and acquired an actual playroom. So this piece got turned on it's side and used to store toys and still to this day, is used for that purpose!
It is the PERFECT size for this use. I can get a lot of baskets in this and all kinds of dump trucks, tractors, police cars and fire trucks!
This series has LOTS of different sizes - bigger, smaller and in between this size. This $60 piece of furniture has gotten lots of use from the Clark's!
HEMNES Series
When Sloane was born, the dresser in her room had been one of Matt's old dressers that we painted white.
Then when Reece was born, he got the dresser... and Sloane got the free dresser we found down the street that we painted and put new hardware on.
And then when Tess was born, she got Reece's dresser, which left Reece without a dresser.
Hello, IKEA!
We bought the Hemnes 8-drawer dresser in a blue color before we moved from Minnesota to Arkansas, knowing we wouldn't have the luxury of running to IKEA anymore in Bentonville !
They sadly do not have the blue color anymore, but I LOVE it! It's the perfect dresser for him and will definitely grow with him as he... grows.
If you ask Matt if he will ever buy a dresser from IKEA again and I'm certain he will tell you no (no, no, no, no). It took him at least half a day to get the dresser put together, but man... once it was finished, it looked great!
In fashion, pain is beauty. In home decor, pain is IKEA furniture. :)
HOME DECOR
I not only found our queen-sized bed on day one of IKEA when we moved to Minneapolis (which is now Reece's bed), but I found lots of great home decor items. From pillows, to faux plants, to lanterns and frames.
I filled my staircase wall in Bentonville with IKEA frames and though they did sometimes fall and break, the good news was that I had only spent $5 on it so I didn't need to shed a tear (just a tear for how long it would take me to get back to an IKEA)!
We bought huge clay pots for our plants there (that would normally cost you more than $50) and lots of greenery for inside the house.
And I'm currently deciding if I go back and get this...
You just can't!
I've bought napkins, this fantastic umbrella, cutting boards, pitchers, wedding decorations (See: Lauren's wedding!), wooden hangers for Two Dots, pillow inserts and pillow covers... you name it, I've probably bought it.
So with that, if you are hesitating a trip to IKEA or dread it, let me just tell you that it's worth the time. Try and go on a weekday, right when it opens, get a parking spot up front, buy the 50 cent IKEA bag and fill it up!
Enjoy!
XXOO,
Allyson
