So I made it to Ikea last Tuesday, and spent several hours wandering round the showroom, trying to get my head round all the different things I was looking for, and doing some lateral thinking to work out if things could be used for different purposes. I had to stop for lunch halfway through.
Pancakes, gravel-lax and Dime cake. Nom.
Suitably fortified, I had another trip round the showroom, then hit the marketplace and the warehouse. I was exhausted by the time I finished, four hours after I arrived.
But eventually I arrived home, with a suitably laden car, and set to Putting Things Together, as you do when you’ve been to Ikea.
My favourite purchase is my Poang chair – I’ve wanted one of these for years, ever since I stayed in a holiday flat which had one. It doesn’t look very comfortable, but looks are very deceptive in this case, the back is just the right shape to give support all the way up, and because there are no legs at the back, it bounces slightly, I can sit for hours just rocking gently in it.
It’s adorned with this beautiful cushion, all hand embroidered. I’ve got four of the previous version (with the little bird) on my sofas and I love them. This one’s filled with synthetic fibre rather than feathers though, which isn’t as mouldable, but will stop that irritating thing where you get stabbed by the sharp end of a feather.
I needed a chair to use at my spinning wheel, the one I’ve been using has a cane seat which is rapidly disintegrating, so after sitting on pretty much every chair in the shop I chose this one, with an extra seat pad for comfort. I might re-cover the pad in pretty fabric if I get round to it.
And talking of repurposing things – I needed a small side table to put a book and a drink on, this one was being sold as a stool, but it works perfectly for me. I was also looking for a stand for my TV, and managed to find a bookcase height extension unit which should work, but I’ve not got round to putting that together yet. The plant pot under the table is a little bin for bits of fibre-y fluff and the inevitable leaves the cats bring in.
The other big thing I wanted was a wall unit/bookcase for the wall behind the Poang chair, to keep craft books and supplies in, but I knew I couldn’t get it in my little car, so I was planning to decide which one I wanted and get it delivered. That plan was scuppered by the fact that whilst online delivery will deliver for a just about acceptable £35, they only come to York on a Friday, when I’m at work, and instore home delivery will deliver next day, but they charge an amazing £60 for the privilege. So I’m going to meet my parents there next time they come across and they can put it in their Volvo.
This is the unit I think I’m getting, from the Besta range. There’s a variety of drawers and doors for it, so I need to decide exactly what I want. I may get a smaller one too, instead of the blanket chest – that hides my garden cushions and throws nicely, but moving everything off it every time I want to open the lid could get old very quickly.
I was also impressed by the fact that some people evidently have kitchens which they save for best. I can just imagine it, ‘This is my everyday kitchen, and next door is my Sunday kitchen…..’
I love Ikea.
Minniemoll knits and crafts 