A trip to Ikea is always a little exciting. It feels like a design center, packed with simple, interesting items that everyone can use and afford in their homes.

Last week I visited my youngest sister-in-law in her new digs in Charlotte, NC. On our must-do list was a trip to Ikea before I headed back home to Raleigh.

I won’t leave you in suspense about what I bought. This accent pillow, the Rodarv, is quintessentially Ikea. Cute, bright, easy to love and priced at $24.99, including the insert. I have a strong love of accent pillows, so had to have it. It looks great on our LR sofa - I’ll show you a picture at the end of the post.

I posted a picture of a wine rack about 100 years ago (click here to see it) and the response was huge. People love a wine rack! Who knew? Not me, because I don’t really drink wine. I want to, but it puts me to sleep so fast. Bummer. So I know many of you will like Ikea’s Vurum 4 bottle wine rack. Can you see the price? $12.99. So that’s an easy favorite.

Ikea kitchens are a big favorite for modernist homes as some of their cabinet styles are very European (sleek, minimal). But here are 2 kitchens that were on display the day I visited that would work in most homes, regardless of the preferred decorating style, because they can be so customized. And Ikea sells appliances, knobs, pulls, faucets, etc. You can do the entire kitchen at Ikea!

Look at this emerald green kitchen (wasn’t emerald green a Pantone color of the year a few years back? Oh yes it was in 2013!). Lordy, this is a pretty color.

Side note - I’m seeing green for home decor everywhere lately. It’s wonderful (you can still have your gray walls, just make them a warm gray).

And a disclaimer: as an interior designer who does a LOT of 2-hour design consultations in the Greater Raleigh area, I have NEVER recommended that anyone use Ikea for their cabinets, appliances, faucets, etc. While I’ve seen several complete Ikea kitchens in a couple of gorgeous homes on the Modernist Home Tour, I’ve never followed up with anyone about how they held up.

Also, I think you have to specify every single part of the cabinet. This front, these sides, these hinges….and then you have to put it all together. Ay yi yi. And deal with some returns for flaws, etc. That’s just not my jam, but if it works for you, let me know how it all turned out.

Another favorite thing about Ikea is how they’ve embraced kitchen storage solutions long before it was the big deal that it is today. The photo above shows a nice cabinet, closed. See below when I opened that door.

Pull out shelves provide a place for everything so that everything can be in its place! It’s easy to find a pull out shelf system that’s affordable and everyone needs one.

Another Ikea favorite has always been their ideas for using wall space. Look at this:

I never thought of slipping pot covers behind a mounted rod! They need to be against a tile wall, as shown. If you’ve got a painted wall there, it will look scuffed up and messy very quickly. But tile is such a pretty look in the kitchen anyway. Ikea calls these “rails.” Here’s a link, and here’s another.

Let’s move onto offices and study areas.

I’ve given a couple of design consultations lately for clients wanting help with home offices. I always mention the fact that rolling file cabinets are super handy and can slide right under the desk. Ikea has several choices for this kind of file cabinet and their desktops are definitely favorites.

That’s a nice assortment of choices for desktops, isn’t it?

Just beyond this shot is a cool blue desktop with a patterned top.

Another favorite is their choice of legs for your desk. Cute, cuter and cutest!

With these leg options everyone can have an attractive desk in their home office and students can feel inspired with a little color or shape.

Space saving is Ikea’s super power. Look at the way they’re displaying this desk area. It’s brilliant. Lots of functional packed into a small area.

Another Ikea favorite the day I was there was this Tertial desk lamp. A pop of color is ALWAYS a good idea.

ALWAYS!

Here’s a new Ikea favorite for me. I never thought I’d say this, but the sofas, and many chairs, were very comfortable. Several have the option to buy slipcovers AS WELL AS the option to switch out the legs. My issues with Ikea sofas were always these two:

once the upholstery was dirty the whole piece was doomed to the basement

and

they sit sort of low, so getting up out of them isn’t as easy as it should be.

Buying a higher leg and a slipcover resolves both issues. Everyone can use these options and they give the furniture better longevity.

It’s possible that everyone’s favorite thing about Ikea is the way they display their products. So many displays just make a shopper smile. Look at this adorable vignette that caught my eye, above. Their fake plants are awesome and they’ve got all kinds of containers to choose from. Heck, we all have books laying around the house, so this can be duplicated with absolutely no effort. I love to copy store display ideas. Merchandising is an art.

On to window treatments. I’m never going to tell you that $19.99 unlined curtains are a favorite of mine. However, Ikea keeps it coming with good ideas. Their curtains have tab tops (me NO likey), rod pockets (not a fan) and grommet headers (love them!).

In addition to curtains, Ikea offers these panels. They’re more of a screen than a drapery panel. They’re hung from a track to slide over the window when privacy or light control is needed. These are a huge favorite, everyone can use them and look at those prices - $10-15 per panel. A small window might just need one, but you can use multiple panels for larger windows. It’s a clean, modern look.

If you hire me for a 2 Hour Design consultation, don’t be surprised if I suggest these for at least one room in your house. I love them that much.

I didn’t find a favorite in the rug department. It’s not that I can’t see the appeal of these rugs, it’s more that I was running out of time and didn’t have time to really dig through the pile. Next time. But I did notice that they all have a backing of some sort on them.

Being the accent pillow freak that I am, I took a couple of quick pictures of the pillow department. Very nice. Much nicer than the rows of ghastly pillows I’ve seen at the local At Home stores. As we all know, there’s cheap and ugly and then there’s cheap and cheery. Ikea’s pillows are cheap and cheery. Good colors, modern patterns.

Some pillows come with the insert included, but others are just pillow covers. The inserts are right there in the same department, so you don’t have to go anywhere to find the right size. Saving time while shopping is another favorite that everyone can use and afford.

Let’s end this post right where a happy new accent pillow belongs, sitting on the sofa in our Living Room.

There’s the new Rodarv pillow on the far left, adding to my colorful collection. The others are custom and in no way cheap.

Which brings me to my last point about Ikea:

Take a look in Architectural Digest magazines - or just about any pricey shelter magazine. You’ll almost always find inexpensive Ikea products somewhere in those pages in very, very expensive rooms. I’m just talking about a pillow here, a rug over there, a light fixture, a blanket, a child’s table, etc. Not a lot, but a couple of things sprinkled in the mix. Ikea makes it easy to work that high/low vibe that’s so popular. Their products often show an eye for good design. Good design is not about cost. It’s about simplicity and function and that works everywhere.

And THAT’S why going to the Ikea store was exciting to me.

With sparkle and texture,

Anne