3 DAYS AT AN IKEA STORE
3 days
+ 3 trips to IKEA
____________
= A big improvement to a little apartment in Philly.
That is how I spent my whirlwind trip to Philadelphia last week, trying to make my son’s first apartment a little more livable. Taylor moved to Philadelphia to spend 2 years teaching high school Spanish for Teach For America before going on to law school. He moved in with his longtime college sweetheart who is in her 2nd year of medical school at UPenn. With the challenges of teaching to contend with, decorating his apartment was not a priority for him. With cadavers and cardiology on her mind, the decor of their first apartment was the least of her concerns. So, that’s where I came in. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, last weekend Taylor had 4 days off, so off I went to see what I could do with a tiny apartment, a small budget and 3 days at an IKEA store.
With all due respect, this was their bedroom BEFORE. I really liked her antique wrought iron headboard and was glad we had something pretty to work with. The pink nightstand was also cute but didn’t have a mate for the other side of the bed. I also thought the desk had good bones but it simply did not fit the space so we found a spot for it in the living room. So, off we went to IKEA to see what we could do with the bedroom.
6 bags and 3 shopping carts later…
this was the result.
In the process of checking out at IKEA the woman in line behind me commented about the large quantity of goods I was purchasing. I explained that I was outfitting my son’s 1st apartment. She then unabashedly inquired if my son would like the flowered pillows I had selected. HEDBLOMSTER CUSHION – $19.99
I explained that they were a feminine gesture for his girlfriend’s benefit and that I hoped the gray buffalo check pillows would provide a masculine counterbalance. Fortunately my son approved of the choices, even if the lady in line at IKEA didn’t. SMANATE CUSHION COVER – $6.00
Playing off of the shades of red in the floral pillow, I added 2 of these nightstands. HEMNES NIGHTSTAND, RED – $69.99
The lampshade I selected also picked up some of the detail in the floral pillow. SKEBY LAMPSHADE, WHITE – $14.99
And the nickel plated lamp base played off of the gray in the fabrics. RODD TABLE LAMP BASE – $15.00
Next we added a blackout roller shade to the window and covered it with some lovely off-white textured sheers, adding gray drapery panels on top of that. VIVAN – $9.99
Where the desk had been I placed a gray rattan trunk to store sleeping pillows by day, decorative pillows by night. BYHOLMA CHEST – $59.99. The gray and off-white area rug complimented everything in the room. SNEKKERSTEN LOW PILE RUG – $69.99. Unfortunately IKEA doesn’t sell bed skirts, something I would have liked to buy in order to hide the bed frame.
In a corner at the foot of the bed we placed a gray rattan arm chair and topped it off with coordinating pillows.
The chair is from the same collection as the chest. BYHOLMA RATTAN CHAIR, GRAY – $104.98
In the end it was all good, thanks to IKEA. It is amazing what you can achieve there for relatively little money.
I also made strides in the kitchen, bathroom and living room, and will feature the kitchen transformation in a future post.
So there you have it: 3 DAYS AT AN IKEA STORE
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PS- The folks at IKEA don’t know me, I just like sharing things I like.
