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Let’s Shop at Ikea Together

SHOP

Let’s pretend we are going shopping together at Ikea.  That would be fun.  You, me, a few rowdy rugrats, maybe a couple lemon drop martinis, of course a babysitter that teaches children French cooking in her AirStream trailer in the parking lot, and maybe one of those hover-round things that the cops ride on….what are they called?….segways?  Or is that considered drinking and driving?  Can you even use those in Ikeas?

Let’s just go back to when we were martinis in hand with no kids in an Ikea.  We are shopping.  Commenting on the displays.  Making jokes that a million point seven people have made about moving in.  Rubbing our faces on the rugs.  Stroking cabinetry.  Attempting to get dressed in those clothes fake hanging in the closets.  Let’s do that.  Sound fun?  Because that is like a dream girl date to me…

Those half n half shades are adorable.  As is the latitude pillow.  And I love the little white couch.  You know me…white couches are my version of Ryan Gosling.  It totally says Hey Girl on the tag.  And let me just say that the wood fabric is such a good idea for folks that want to create a planked wall but are renters.  You can just adhere it with starch!  Go Woody!

Love the duvet cover below.  I think it could be styled better.  Let’s just say that this is not the bed I would be pretending to sleep in.

What is going on here with this bedding?  Is this cute and I just don’t know?  The stripes on stripes is odd to me…like too close in scale.  I don’t hate the yellow ticking…but with the mustard wall?  Baby poo anyone?

I do like this room.  The floors are cool.  The vibe is very teenage girl.  Just switch out the candlesticks for a track trophy and the purple books for a tablet.  Because let’s be honest…kid’s these days don’t know what books are.  Whaaat?! 🙂

Oh hello Sherry’s bedroom light!

Super neutral but still cute.  It could have been good to do a little color somewhere, right?

I thought it was a cute idea to put a shelf above the bed if you don’t have space for a side table.   Wall mount the light and make sure you REALLY secure those upper cabinets.  Nothing says wakeup like a cabinet to the face.

I only took one photo of the bathrooms and this is it.  I thought it was interesting to see a ‘double vanity’ but separate.  I dig the open storage but let’s just be honest…you would have to be OCD about cleanliness because otherwise this could be double the mess.

Moving on to kitchens…

Brown kitchen!  You just don’t get to see a whole lot of these.  And this one had a rich chocolate wall.  Personally, I think the lights are off…but the mix of cabinets is cool…and the art is super fun.

Okay if there was a kitchen that was stereotypical 2013…this is it.  I wish I had a bigger shot.  Tuxedo cabinets, chalkboard wall, subway tile with dark grout, open storage?  Yup.  2013 slapped Ikea and left this beautymark.

My favorite kitchen of the day was this guy.  It must have been that faux brick wall.  It was like the long lost cousin of Weston’s wall.  Such a manly space.  Bobby Flay can cook for my family anytime in here…ya know…if the appliances actually worked.

Isn’t this one interesting?  It’s so big and completely white.  And those lights….like something from a optometrist’s office.  See the optic nerve?  It would be a great prop for laser surgery.  Speaking of which…I totally want.

Jeremy likes the giant art.  He thought it would be interesting to have big statement like this in a kitchen.  I agree.

Speaking of interesting…look!  a traditional type kitchen!  in Ikea!  The storage here is insane.

I hear that southern kitchens are white.  Is that true?  Is that the stereotype?

Because if Ikea were any indicator…it’s definitely true.  Most of the kitchens were white.  Like this one.

p.s.  I licked that sink.  Just checking to see if you were still reading.

Another white kitchen but this one had a much richer feel…I think it’s the backsplash and the black countertop.  It actually reminds me of what I wanted to do in our kitchen before I met my soul mate (aka marble hex tile).

What do you think of this bad boy?!

That backsplash is weird and awesome at the same time.  It works in this space but I don’t think I could ever do it.  It reminds of a bag of cotton balls that got fossilized.  Also I need to take a poll about where that backsplash should end with a hood….at the bottom of the hood?  at the top of the cabinets?  all the way up?

I do love that waterfall island though.  It’s gorgeous.

I can almost be a fan of this cute dining area…almost….as long as someone changes out those striped chairs.  I don’t know why I can’t get over it…but seriously.  can’t.

I do however LOVE LOVE LOVE the gallery wall.  I love the good mix of frames and the other objects.

Love the green lamp.  Love the big mirror.  Love the scale of the light to the table.

I’m still thinking about this cabinet storage unit that was in this dining area.

I don’t know how I could pull this off but it sure is intriguing.  For someone like me (hoarder of all the dining things), I like storage.

And boom…white washed faux brick wall.  You know I am ATL cranking right now.

MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!  This is just beautiful.  The iphone couldn’t capture the beauty like it deserved.  That tile was sweet.  And the counter was laminate LAMINATE!  LAH-MA-NAAAAAATE!

I need a new pantry situation.  My pantry is just awful.  Although I don’t need that many wine racks.  I’m gonna go ahead and say my apologies to your liver Ikea.  Or maybe it’s for your sparkling pear juice…in which case, you are not a lush and that stuff is delicious.

Big map!  or should I say Big Mahpp!

I don’t always look at the shelving.  But when I do, it’s gotta have four copies of each book.

And if you are under 20, a book is one of those things that has a hard back that you bare down on to write a check….oh right.

So what did you love?  hate?  mock in your head?  I’d love to hear those Ikea thoughts 🙂

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  2. OK. I really want to go to IKEA now!! Love the white kitchens (and I live up north!) and couch (I dream of the day when my kids are old enough that I can convince my husband to get a white couch 🙂 )

  6. Girl you are cracking me up. I think I’ve sworn off entering an IKEA ever again…I get lost easy…but maybe I’d take that back if you were along. Just so you could make me laugh while I drink my martini. Thanks for the smile this morning

  7. I totally love that leaf picture in the pic with the white washed faux brick wall! So much so I sent a pic to my husband and told him to pick it up on his way home from work! He said to tell you Thanks, lol!!

  8. I like that cabinet at the end of the neutral bed. I love the tile above the laminate counter. I love the latitude pillow idea. Might have to make one of those. Love the green lamp. Like the gray of the bottom tuxedo cabinets. Lots of things to like here.

  9. I just made the 2 hour journey to Ikea Pittsburg yesterday and its styled quite differently – like dramatically better! The Hubby and I took our 2 grown kids so the Boy could get some real furniture (he’s a classy just-home-from-the-Marines Hopen guy now) and Baby Girl was along for the ride since she’s ready to deliver any minute – and loves her some Ikea – she even timed some contractions on the way home 🙂

  11. Hah – I have spent so much time in that IKEA over the past few months – looking over every inch of every kitchen – that I knew which kitchen your comments would be about before I scrolled down! We’re currently installing our IKEA cabinets (black). I do kind of wish we would have chosen white – just for the brightness factor. I do think white kitchens are a lot more “southern” (coming from the north, but having lived in the south the past few years). I could use a good trip to IKEA right now. Too bad it’s 3 hours away…

  13. next time you do an IKEA run you totally have to give your more local readers a heads up. Unless you don’t want us to show up and creepily stalk you around the store. That’s cool too. But an IKEA trip KATIE BOWER! My kind of party.
    I’m dying over that farmhouse sink as well and the storage. IKEA makes me want to get my life organized. I NEED all the shelves/bins/racks/baskets/etc.

  14. I love those two tone lamp shades! Any idea what they are called? I can’t find them anywhere online and they would look perfect in my nursery.

  15. “Nothing says, ‘wakeup,’ like a cabinet to the head.” LOL

    I totally agree with most of what you said. Those striped chairs at the dining table looked WAY out of place. I wish I had skills to build a gallery wall like that one. Problem is I don’t have any fun objects. Also, the bathroom sink with the two drawers is totally going in our reno’d master bath. It’s such a good price and our house already has enough money sunk in it. For reals.

  16. Yup – white kitchens must be a southern thing. Where we are, white went out in the 90s. It’s all about rich dark wood.

  17. Must have the half and half lights. Have a jones for blue. . .if they were singing me and Mrs. Jones, blue would be singing for me . . .
    and so when boy 3 at my house wanted teen room with gray walls, mom said “you can have dark if you have blue” his room demands these lights . . . must order / must have / sooo glad you are watching for me
    ps. . . i read about the licking 🙂 betcha swooned before you bit . . .

  18. This makes me really want to go shopping with you! I agree on all of your opinions and love the humor and honestly.

  19. Making a trip to Ikea tomorrow, it’s 2.5hrs away so this is only my second time there. I will now probably spend half my time there trying to find the exact same displays you posted and checking them out!

  20. I’m always wondering if IKEA set up their stores the same across the country. I’m in San Diego, and I’ve definitely seen a few of these rooms before. I’d have to agree about the “2013 kitchen”!

  22. We went to get some countertops for the laundry room but we failed to call ahead and when we got there, they were out of stock 🙁 So all I got was picture frames and a fake plant.
    xo – kb

  23. Well now you’ve done it. I have to make an Ikea trip. Those navy shades are to die for. I’ve said it before – there needs to be a support group for navy lovers, so we can just calm down already.

  24. I’m going to that ikea tomorrow with one of my friends from high school! I have to take my kids though, so it could be an interesting trip. I’ve never been with both of them.

  25. Such a fun post! Oh my goodness though – the picture under the silver candlesticks in the purple girl’s room looks just a tad bit too much like a snap shot of the opening credits from “Looks Who’s Talking”! Eeek!!!

  26. My favorite thing to laugh at on an IKEA adventure is the size and proportioning of furniture etc. I’m 6ft tall and my boyfriend is over 6’3″. We’ll sit on a couch or chair and say “WHAT IS THIS, A CHAIR FOR ANTS?!” Gets us every time.

  27. The navy and white shades? They are called Nymo and come in 18″ (or maybe 15″) and 23″… I bought the 23″ in March in Atlanta for my little boys room. There was also a red/white version. I saw them hanging in the showroom & picked one up in the lighting section.

  29. I was just at IKEA last night. We were buying nursery furniture. For $239, we got a crib, a dresser, a side table, 5 4×6 botanical prints, a fabric patchwork picture frame, a mommy/baby fox stuffed toy and a chocolate bar (I’m pregnant, the chocolate was a necessity). AND THAT IS WHY I LOVE IKEA.

    Amen.

  31. I love, love, love the shelves. I would love to update the shelves in my library/guest room/ grand kids bedroom. I am a voracious reader and cookbook collector. Last count I have over 400 cookbooks and I added the shelves one by one as I needed them. I now have 7 bookshelves in an 11 x 12 room along with a double bed and dresser. Cozy.

  32. Cindy – I feel like you just painted a modern day Norman Rockwell LOL – sounds like you have a lot of exciting things going on in your family right now – enjoy it! 🙂

  33. Am I the only one who stalked and zoomed in on the horizontal mirror in a dining room and saw Katie wearing LJ? LOL It’s like a fun Where’s Waldo… Do I get a bag of meatballs or anything? 😉

  34. Call me 2013, but I was just crushing on that grey kitchen pretty hard last night. I think I would like to mix them with white though. Maybe grey on the bottom and white on top. And the sink is a must! But really you can’t beat how cheap the butcher block counter tops are. I can’t find them anywhere for a decent price, but we would have to get them an hour and a half home somehow.

  37. We say that too! We aren’t quite that tall but we call it ‘playhouse furniture’ because it would work perfectly for children 🙂
    xo – kb

  38. Bahahaha!!!! I’m still laughing… Nothing says wake up like a cabinet to the face… I nearly woke up my 7 mos old sleeping in our room when I busted up on that line, that’s a lot Bower!! Your one-liners kill me… You need a talk show, take Ellen’s slot and I’d sign up for tickets to that show that I’ll never actually receive!! Thanks for the girl date… Those martinis were bomb

  40. Aww, you made my desired Ikea trip so much more desired!!! haha, I’m 8 hours away from our closest, so when we go to Ikea, we GO to Ikea if you know what I mean!!
    I totally hate the cotton ball back splash, and I would probably stop the tile at the hood, not level with the cabs…seems like a waste to me, and I think it draws attention from the back splash and onto the range, which isn’t usually a good thing (but in the cotton ball case, it doesn’t really hurt!)

  41. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! That is HILARIOUS! I can only see the swimmers now. Thanks!!!

  42. I gotta say… I don’t get the ikea thing. We had such a bad experience with furniture we bought there and ended up returning most of it. Hard to put together (pieces don’t fit, holes don’t line up) and when it is put together it feels cheap and won’t last long. The picture frames we bought literally split while they were hanging on the wall and fell…so those all went back. The only thing I will buy there now is plants and bedding…

  43. if you ever want to see a dark kitchen in the south you can just come to my house! the dark kitchens were so popular a few years ago (wait, was that almost 10 years ago?! it can’t be… i’m not that old :P) when the tuscan look was in that everyone jumped on the bandwagon. that was before our eyes were reopened to the beautifulness of white cabinets circa 1990.

  44. I feel like you were just with me at my last Ikea shopping trip! It is crazy our tastes are so similar!! You would be a blast to go shopping with though. 🙂

  45. I would so like to go on this “dream girl date” with you! My favorite is the first picture with all the navy and white. Navy is my new summer obsession 🙂 Dreamy….

  46. You are so funny – forget all the IKEA products, made me laugh just reading your comments. :).

  47. I love this post! Well, I love all your posts – although I never commented, bad girl! – but I couldn’t let this one pass 🙂 I went to Ikea a few days ago with my Mom to organize and decorate my apartment and we had so much fun! I had the same feeling with their bedding, most of it looked off… I loved their big art prints though! I live in Dubai so predictably they have a few more Arabic-looking items, but I could recognize most of what’s on your pictures still ^^
    You’re a great source of inspiration to me, I love what you do and how you write… You make very pretty things and have great style, but you keep it real and everything looks achievable, which is so nice! You bring inspiration and joy to my life Katie, thank you! 🙂

  48. I feel guilty… We have IKEA 15 minutes away and I never go there… Why? it makes my children crazy, and I worry I will lose one! (Really!)

    I love the shelving in the last photo, and that floor as well… gorgeous. I can’t do the red faux brick wall, we had a wall of faux brick in our first house and it was a BEAR to remove. Never again!

  49. You licked the sink?!!! What did it taste like (maybe a lemon drop martini)? 🙂 My Ikea doesn’t have nearly the awesome displays that your Ikea has. I’m in Texas (suburbs of Austin) and we still do oak cabinets down here. The majority of my neighbors have not done anything with them either, still oak brown or a darker color, not too much white. Could be that our homes are 15+ years old and we are too lazy to change them. Have a great weekend.

  51. I hear ya. They definitely have some great things and some not-so-great. It’s key to do research 🙂
    xo – kb

  52. I’m from Maryland…which I guess is below the Mason-Dixon Line and therefore considered south by some, although we are very liberal LOL. Anyway, we love white kitchens. If you aren’t south, you should want to be because white is bright, open, and cozy. I think the white trend is everywhere and in all rooms of the house. And so here is what I would lick at Ikea beside the awesome sink that I want. Love the subway tile with dark grout still,the dark countertops, and the faux brick white wash. Also, I think the cotton ball backsplash is done right up to the cabinets. Love me some ikea…so glad mine is 20 minutes from my house. My bank account isn’t.

  53. I was just at ikea today. It’s funny to see all the same kitchen set-ups which had me thinking all New England kitchens are now white on white. I also love the separate-but-equal vanities but think there’s too much open storage there for a bathroom any uses regularly. Where’s the toothbrush gonna hide?

  55. I LOVE me some IKEA. And they’re building one less than a mile from my house! My husband is scared…very scared. Our afternoon outings are going to be me dropping the kids at the play place and going to grab a cup of tea and cookie (with a good BOOK) in the cafe. Like, every day. Oh gosh, maybe I should just go get a job there instead.

  56. How is it even possible that not a single photo has not a single person in it?! Ikea is always rammed! Did they shut the store down for you? If so, then yes, please take me shopping at Ikea with you, pleeeease!

    I was just thinking about making the trek out there (OTP suburbanite here), to search for a small desk and chair for my toddler.

    Did you see anything like that while you were there? Worth the trip?

    Thanks!
    V
    http://www.lifeplus1.me

  57. I love the cabinets-above-the-bed idea in theory – what awesome storage! what a cute little sleeping nook! – but the only way I’d sleep under them is if Jeremy Bower himself came over and put them up, because he is the only person I’ve heard of who is more paranoid about that kind of thing than I am.

    I was hoping to get to Ikea today for a lampshade or two, but didn’t make it; now I’ll have to go tomorrow! You’ve stirred up that Ikea-enzyme in my blood.

  58. I agree – it would be so easy to lose a kid in Ikea! (In fact, I know of some middle schoolers who claim it’s a great place to play hide-and-seek.)

  59. Hey Katie, I love your blog! I enjoyed your Ikea shopping experience but your comment on the 2013 kitchen kinda bugged me. White subway tile and coloured grout have been around since the 1930’s or even before, especially in Europe. It’s always a classic!
    xo

  60. I laughed that the “cotton ball” backsplash made your list! I commented on it to my husband last weekend that it looked like dingy marshmallows melted to the wall – certainly NOT a design win. That circular mirror made my “must own this” list, and I can’t believe we overlooked the latitude pillow – that one is coming home with me the next time I go, which, btw, you can give a girl a heads up the next time you’re out since I’m only 15mins away…

  61. This post was just plain fun. Feel free to take me along any time! I think I actually see more through your pictures than I do if I am really there in Ikea! Let’s go shopping again really soon, OK? Maybe a farmer’s market or craft fair or in and out of the shops and cafes in your little local town of Monroe. Can’t wait! 🙂

  62. How does Ikea furniture hold up to abuse from small children? (From this blog, it sounds like you have experience.)

  63. We have a couple leather chairs and some bar stools from Ikea and both have held up GREAT. I think it all depends on the piece.
    xo – kb

  67. Question for ya KB –

    In the neutral pic with Sherry bedroom light….any idea what bed that is? I thought it was Hemnes, but it seems to have a bit more substance to it. Ideas?

    Cheers,
    Sarah from PA

  68. I agree, it most definitely depends on the piece. I have a 12 year old IKEA cabinet with glass doors and it still looks new. And that thing has been abused by kids, teenagers, and dogs ramming into it. BUT I had a little vanity from there for like two years that just fell apart. It’s not even a “you get what you pay for” scenario because the cabinet was on the cheaper side compared to the vanity and man that thing is tough.

  69. I love getting the chance to drive down to the ATL IKEA! But, it always makes me want to move back to NYC and live in a tiny apartment for some reason. Funny story, one time I was at IKEA and swore I saw you walk past – so I followed the person for a minute – turns out it wasn’t you. And now I sound completely creepy.

  70. Wow, Ikea Furniture rocks! It’s good to see how organized and costumer friendly they are (in terms of picking up stuff that fits to each other). Thanks for sharing 🙂

  72. This was such a fun post, I had a great time walking with you through Ikea! 🙂 Your comments made me laugh, I always question their bookshelves too! Who keeps 4 copies of every book at home?! Hmm….

  73. I have to admit that I have numerous copies of some books…but seriously Ikea has four copies of EVERY book…it’s like a bookstore!
    xo – kb

  74. Oh my gosh I wish I could walk through ikea with you! But I would want you to bring your kids too, cause they are just so cute! And now I sound like a crazy fan girl… and its funny reading this post and thinking, “Oh yah, I have been there!” cause I live a little ways outside Atlanta. But I love looking at kitchens, cause I just love thinking about what my dream kitchen would be, and laughing at your ‘young people don’t know what a book is’ comments, cause I am 16 and love books! 🙂

  76. Oh yes…loved walking through IKEA with you! I totally am with you on some of those decor choices…and that cotton ball wall…should’ve gone all the way up the wall! It is driving me nuts! And though I live in California, I must be a southern gal at heart because I LOVE white kitchens! I love IKEA but have to say by the time I walk out of there (with three armloads of stuff…I’m way to cheap to buy the bags!) and I am ready to put shelving up and down all my walls, add three bookshelves…well anywhere I have an open sq. footage and hang cabinets above my bed. But then I get home and breathe. It would really be too busy for me to look at all the time. We have tried to phase out some IKEA pieces in our home, but I will never be able to walk out of there without some cute (and cheap!) vase, plant, pillow cover, tea towel…etc!

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