IKEA Girl’s Bedroom Accessories

Can I just say, I love IKEA.  Even though I get lost and disoriented every time I visit.  It’s just so fun to wander around looking at cool stuff.  I can spend all day there!  I have Swedish meatballs for lunch in the cafeteria, and later I stop back for coffee and a cinnamon roll.  When it’s time to leave, I have a cart full of stuff and sore feet.  I check out and head home, exhausted, with a trunk full of awesomeness.

That was how it was before I had a child.  Now, it’s a much different experience that involves planning and strategizing.  It starts with studying the IKEA catalog prior to the trip.  I make a list of the items I’m considering and that I need to see in person to decide.  Thanks to IKEA’s free babysitting, I get 45 minutes alone to hunt down the items on my list.  Last Tuesday, Meredith and I made the trip with our 3 littles in tow.  After dropping them off in “Smaland”, we went our separate ways to divide and conquer.

I was very disappointed to find the one item I wanted most was out of stock – a bean bag style pouf floor cushion for my daughter’s reading nook.  Oh well.  There must’ve been a run on them by all the college kids!  I’ll have to check out Pier One and Target instead.  I did end up buying 4 things, all for my daughter’s room.

This vintage style wall clock was only $12.99.  It reminds me of the clocks on classroom walls when I was a kid.  I hope it will help my daughter learn to tell time.

I also bought this faux potted rose plant.  I must say that silk florals have come a long way.  Years ago, I would’ve scoffed at buying anything that wasn’t fresh or dried.  But after killing my share of houseplants, this is instant gratification.  It looks great (and pretty realistic) all the time and requires nothing in return.  Plus, it only cost $2.99!  I’ll pop it into a lovely flower pot, put some mulch on top for a natural look, and voila!  I’m done.

Next I found this child size dress form.  I have two vintage adult size dress forms that I love.  One of them is currently in my office wearing a 1950’s prom dress.  While the IKEA dress form is a little too modern for my taste, I’m going to dress it with a long princess gown.  That way, the focus will be on the gown and the dress form will just serve it’s purpose.

The last item was somewhat of an impulse buy.  I was looking for a shelf to hang in the reading nook.  However, as is often the case at IKEA, the one I wanted was out of stock.  Then I noticed this doll house hanging flat against the wall.  I could immediately see it as an alternative shelving unit.  How cute will this be in a little girl’s room?  So I bought it, even though it was a little pricey at $34.99.  And I made the mistake of not checking to see how it was attached to the wall…

On Friday, I opened up the dollhouse box and set out to put it together.  Here’s what I was facing:

I had to chuckle when I opened up the instructions and saw this:

Well, all of the jokes about assembling IKEA furniture are real, folks.  At one point I got so frustrated I had to walk away and come back to it later.  I eventually figured it out, though, and I was very happy with the finished product.

The only problem?  The dollhouse is very heavy and doesn’t have hooks or hardware for use as a shelf.  Instead, I’ll rest it on top of the bookshelf.  I plan to stain the floors, paint the exterior and add some wallpaper.  Then I’ll decorate the interior with tchotchkes (don’t you just love that word!).  Instead of shelves on the wall, I’ll put up some artwork, including something sweet I just made that I’ll share in another post.

So how was our trip to IKEA with kids?  Much shorter than if we were there solo.  And a lot more potty breaks.  But I did have Swedish meatballs for lunch.  Luckily they also had chicken tenders on the menu for the kids.  And instead of a cinnamon roll, we all had 99 cent frozen yogurt cones on the way out.  Not too shabby.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful Labor Day Weekend with your families!  I’ll be working on a Fall tablescape, so stop back soon to check it out!

Rebecca