Tag Archives: IKEA

Accessorizing my home.

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So we are half way through the renovations and I’m really starting to see how it is all taking shape.  The new huge windows are in the bedroom so we can wake up to the garden every day, the wall is in for the new closet, and the bath tub is sitting ready to be installed.  Thankfully we’ve also gotten rid of the remaining carpet on the main level – I find carpet a complete no no with two dogs and two children.  Of course with a remodel there is the expense of the actual work itself, but a bit like losing weight or changing your appearance with a new haircut, there has to be some new attire and accessories.

We’re going for a very minimal contemporary look so our walls will be some kind of white – there are hundreds to choose from!  For the interior of the closet we have set ourselves the challenge of designing it ourselves using the Pax modular closet from IKEA.  Again it is very modern and extremely versatile with different drawer and hanging options for all types of clothes.  Personally I LOVE IKEA though would probably never furnish my entire house with it.  They offer the best furniture for children’s rooms and solutions for storing all the shrapnel that children seem to collect, and dare I say it – I love assembling a flat pack.  This week I have assembled two Expedit storage cubes for the kids – one for our family/tv room and the second for Poppy’s room.  They are brilliant and look fab – I’m even thinking of getting a red one now for our laundry room as a place for all our bags etc. when we walk in from the garage.

For years now I have been on the hunt for my perfect vanity/dressing table and I’m glad I have waited till now to buy one as I think I have a much clearer idea of where our aesthetic is heading.  I have always liked the idea of a mirrored vanity but most are either ridiculously expensive, are too traditional in style, or have zero storage for cosmetics.  I think I might have just found the most perfect one at West Elm – the mirrored Parsons desk.  It’s not cheap at $599 but has the sleek look that I was aiming for plus 2 small drawers for cosmetics.  To soften the blow I am considering the Tobias chair from IKEA to pair with it.  We have 2 of these around our Big Sur breakfast table and they add a great contemporary feel, open up the space and contradict other styles like natural wood well.

To allow me to continue to indulge in my outfit of the day blogs, and to open up the bedroom given the fact it will be slightly smaller due to my immense walk in closet, I also have the Parsons floor mirror from Crate and Barrel on my wish list – it is huge and will look fabulous leaning against the exterior of the closet wall.

We also thankfully got rid of the dogs’ chaise.  Yes the dogs had their own chair but as they would now rather lie on any other piece of furniture than their own I decided that it was time for it to go.  It smelt and looked rather horrid after years of use.  So a large area has opened up in the kitchen where I plan to create a ‘coffee nook’ that can be transformed into an area for entertaining given that all our parties end up in the kitchen…though our house has very few walls it can be argued where the kitchen actually begins and ends…I’m going to get two Tullsta arm chairs in black leather from IKEA which are cheap enough to get trashed by the children, but look neat and sleek enough to be pleasing on the eye too.

As a coffee table solution for this small space I’ve ordered another Stow ottoman from Crate and Barrel in persimmon.  We have a green one already which I love – the lid flips over so it can be used as either a seat, a foot rest, or a table – and it can easily be moved around the house – brilliant!  Given our house is full of neutral tones accessorized with either pops of orange or green I went for this lovely orange.

 

So no clothing allowance for me for a while – at least till I have accessorized my home…

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TGIF.

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Note to self – must go away without MM more often…the reason being I get wined and dined before I go!  Poor love I know he will miss me and the children and he is being so sweet taking me out a few times, without the children, so we get some time together before I leave for the UK on the 18th for 2 weeks.  We’ve always been very independent and I know he’ll be fine without us – he doesn’t fall into the usual stereotype of being useless by himself – he’s a better cook than I am, always runs the dishwasher and loves to read so he can catch up and a few books while I’m gone – oh and the European Championships start today – so who am I fooling about reading?  Every game will be DVRd and watched I know for sure!  In fact is it possible that is why he suggested we left the country for those 2 particular weeks?…Hmmmm cunning….

So before he sits down tonight to watch the first games we’re off out to lunch at Local Three – it’s a fabulous local eatery with a menu based around local and seasonal fare – they do great ‘small plates’ too so it is a fun place to go and share lots of different offerings.  The lobster salad sounds particularly good!

This weekend will be spent – by me at least – moving all my clothes and possessions from the bedroom to the basement bedroom where MM and I will be relocating to while the master bathroom, bedroom floors and walk in closet are under construction.  It all starts on Monday!!  I’m SO excited about the work starting, but running up and down stairs with arms full of swag does not fill me with joy.  Oh well it will be worth it and who knows I may find more items to eBay!  I may start trying to design the interior of the new closet too – IKEA have some brilliant modular solutions I’ve got my eye on.

So for lunch – what to wear?  I wanted something casual but not too casual as I’m getting tired of throwing a tunic on over a bikini at the weekend…so I opted for my lovely green J.Crew chino shorts, Express white tank, and my new Zara printed jogging jacket – I’ve gone for a nude shoe, Tory Burch Emmy sandals, so as not to overwhelm the look – the flowers and green are already pretty vivid!

Have a fun Friday!!

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The desk is built!

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Hurray!  The IKEA desk is now assembled!  After the exhausting weekend I have to say the last thing I felt like doing last night was battling my way through a flat pack but what with guests arriving from Sweden on Thursday the rest of the week is going to be filled with tidying and cleaning.  Last night was my only chance to get the desk erected before Friday.  The process began as expected with MM watching, pointing out the bleeding obvious and lining up the screws and pegs for me while I battled with huge, heavy pieces of chip board.  He was also very handy at taking photos of me.  I am actually glad he was around though, as I did need him to help do some of the heavy lifting – these things ain’t light!

The desk is now hidden under a sheet in the dining room until I can put it in Poppy’s room while she is at school on Friday.  The plan is to hang her new pictures, mirror and basically rearrange her room while she is out so she can be surprised with her ‘big girl’ room on her return!  I can’t wait to see her face!

Of course I did find time in between dinner and flat pack hell to do a little online shopping.  I had polled some friends earlier in the day on whether to jumpsuit or not?  Meaning is it something the every day woman can get away with?  I’ve avoided them so far thinking that only a 6ft skinny bird can wear them and look good, but then I stumbled on this stunner in the AllSaints archive.

It looks a lovely drapey, heavy jersey and I think it would look fab for a bit of evening glamour with heels, and it could be worn throughout the year, pairing it with a jacket in the colder seasons.  The poll results were divided so I decided to take the plunge and order it – I’ll let you all have your say when it arrives and I try it on.

I also ordered this gorgeous top in chalk blush which I’m hoping to pair with the vintage pink Petrel Brodies.  I decided against the Prey sequin vest as I remembered I had a couple of cheaper versions from Express that will do just nicely.  This top is much more unique and I love the colors.

Earlier in the day, on my way back from picking my little man up from daycare I happened to be driving by DSW and thought we could take a quick look before going home – what better place to take a 4 and 6 year old?  The only reason I wanted to nip in was that I had seen a pair of shoes on sale that I knew would go with my new items.  I’ve found that I’m a much better shopper these days.  I do procrastinate a little but online shopping definitely allows me to build a great capsule collection of new pieces instead of making impulsive mall purchases of lots of items that don’t coordinate.

Here are the lovely wedges that I got for a bargain of $50 – in store there was an additional 30% off!

We’re off to watch my daughter’s class perform the Three Piggy Opera today which should be fun, and then I am off home to start cleaning the house ready for S. and his girlfriend’s arrival – I am so looking forward to seeing them and partying all weekend!  I shan’t be cleaning in these but I’m wearing my AllSaints Phinius dress (here’s the top), Boden leggings and my Tory Burch black patent Eddies.  I love this dress and it’s also super cute with cowboy boots and bare legs.

 

 

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Flat pack hell aka IKEA

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I’m so happy it’s Friday.  The end of the school year is taking its toll.  It’s filled with birthday parties, ballet recitals, pool openings and teacher appreciation days.  I am in constant flux of running errands and driving people around town.  Dealing with two separate teacher appreciation weeks for the first time is driving me nuts.  Don’t get me wrong I value our teachers and I am in awe of the work they do but this week alone I have had requests from Hugh’s daycare for cash, presents, cards and lunch for the teachers.  I’m more than happy to help provide a fun lunch but sometimes I feel I’m being asked for donations every month – and it’s not like we don’t already pay them to take care of our son.  Maybe I’m being too harsh but from Christmas bonuses to Valentine’s Day to teacher’s birthdays and teacher appreciation week I’m starting to feel a tad irritated.  Plus I then get invited to Muffins for Mothers at 4pm on a Friday afternoon!  What working Mom is going to want to do that before a commute home on a Friday?  They used to have it in the morning for breakfast when we dropped the children off, which makes far more sense, and I’ve just made the daycare Director perfectly aware of that.  OK vent over and done with.

MM had the morning off today and we’ve had the pleasure of each others company in IKEA for the past 2 hours.  My daughter turns 6 on the 18th May and her request for some weeks now has been for a more ‘grown up’ bedroom.  It’s not childish now but she wants a desk for homework, more storage, and more grown up art on the walls.  I’m actually very impressed that she wants these for presents instead of more dolls – which do get played with, but I’m sure Ken is up to something as there seems to be an ever increasing population of them every time I enter her room.

I love IKEA‘s products – I wouldn’t want the entire house furnished in IKEA but we have fabulous bar stools, a couple of beds, storage solutions and some dining chairs from there and they all look great.  They obviously aren’t built to last years but they do the job and look pretty cool.  What I really don’t like is the IKEA store itself.  Even when you enter with a list of the specific items needed I guarantee you will never get out in less than 2 hrs.  I’ve even learned a few short cuts through the maze of furniture but still I can’t get out quickly.  I write down every code so that I can go immediately to the correct warehouse shelf, but every time there’s an issue – I write it down incorrectly, we change our mind on the way down there and forget the new number, or we mix up items and end up having to search on the computer terminals.  None of it IKEA’s fault I hasten to add – always user error.  Then of course the flat packs are heavier than lead weights so negotiating them out of the store requires strength and skill, not to mention we had omitted to remove the car seats from my car, so we ended up straddling the back seat unclipping awkward child restraints so we could lower the back seats!  Aaarggh!  In 90 degree heat and humidity too – yuk!  Well all we have to do now is to work as a cohesive team and calmly assemble said flat packs.  Normally this involves me trying to instruct MM, getting exasperated with him for having no logical or spatial reasoning, then telling him to get out of the way and let me just do it on my own…all part of his cunning plan.  I promise to post photos of this sequence of events over the coming evenings while we try to assemble the desk and shelves quietly once the children are in bed.  Or as MM suggested S. and his girlfriend will be here by then and surely living in Stockholm makes one an expert on assembling IKEA??:)

Before the excitement of IKEA I headed to Jenny Craig for my first weigh in.  I am thrilled to say I lost a whole 3.8lbs this week!!!  I’m only trying to lose about 15lbs in total so I hope it keeps coming off this quickly.  I haven’t felt hungry at all due to eating all the healthy fruit and veg that Jenny Craig encourages you to volumize with.  I should be fast as lightning on my morning run tomorrow!

Poppy and I before the school run this morning:

I was asked the other day, by Diane, if I have any favorite tunics that I go back to time and again?  Well I do try and rotate my clothes but the one that I love is from last summer and it’s the Terrazzo Tunic.  It’s so comfortable – I know some really disliked it thinking the print was very 1970’s wallpaper but I am definitely one of its fans!  I’m wearing it here with my Boden spot prize necklace from #BodenMondays twitter fun!

To all my readers in the UK enjoy your long weekend and Monday Bank Holiday!

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