Rug Painting Progress

Remember 100 years ago two months ago when I posted about painting a rug I bought at Ikea? I've made progress.

Taping is the lame part of the project for sure. I taped. I painted. I taped. I painted. 

And then I finished! Well, I'm thisclose. I just have to go back and fill in any pesky little white spots where they're supposed to be coral. 

Next I get to do the fun part, rip off the tape! Woo hoo! I'll be back tomorrow with the full tutorial and final reveal.

Little Johnstone

This past weekend I was going through some old pictures that I found under my bed (during the big organization project I wrote about briefly here and that I will write about in detail later) and I found one that I particularly love. I picked up this black frame at Target to put it in. 

Target Black Frame 5x7 - $9.99

I decided to put it next to the TV on the new media console.

Can you see who is in the photograph yet?

The photo is of me, my Grammie, Uncle Don, and my brother in the foreground being very pouty. I love this picture. He was probably a little upset because the mosquitoes were so bad. I vaguely remember this day. Notice I have a mosquito hat on, so I'm all smiles. We were trekking around Little Johnstone Bay in Alaska where my Uncle Don has a cabin. I don't remember who took this photo, but I'm sure someone in my family knows.

Gym Lockers

A few weeks ago I added an Ikea PS Cabinet to the condo. I had been considering adding a piece of furniture to put against the wall with the front door to the condo.

Ikea PS Cabinet

I decided on this guy because he's oh-so-charming with his resemblance to school lockers, and he's only $99. Plus he locks up nicely, which is great for when I rent my condo to airbnbers. Not that I would expect anyone to steal, but it's just nice to have everything stored safely away.

Assembly wasn't too bad. Typical Ikea situation. The only tricky part is making sure the doors fit on just-so in order to allow them to close properly. At first I was thinking of spray painting him, but so far I like him in his nice, bright white clothes.

I thought the cold, white metal might be too much for my more vintage-style place, but I like the look of it. My other furnitures are excited to have their new friend!

Thanks to Ant for the extra special cord/electronics organizing!

Go Micke-y!

Thanks to my boyfriend, my nicely painted Ikea Micke desk now has one less hutch resting upon it! This weekend my boyfriend put anchors and screws into the concrete wall and hung up my Home Goods hutch. Here's my desk area before:

Youch! That hutch is heavy, right Micke? Never fear!

Ah, much better. Now I'm not worried about the hutch toppling over to squish me while I'm sitting at the desk!

Lenda Hand With These Curtains, Will Ya?

Bad Ikea puns aside, I figured it was high time I talked a little bit about the window curtains in the living room! You can see them in this picture:

They're from Ikea and they're called Lenda. They cost $29.99 for a two pack and include hem tape and tie backs. The tops of the curtains are tabbed and look like this:

I didn't want the living room curtains to look that way, so I just folded under each tab and sewed all the way along the curtains in a straight line. Easy-peasy. I also didn't use the hem tape because I don't own an iron. (Ew, ironing is boring!) So I sewed the hems up too.

Ikea curtains are a pretty stinkin' good deal because they're so long. These curtains come in lengths as long as 118"! The drawbacks are probably what you'd expect - the fabric quality is so-so and there isn't a fantastic choice of designer patterns. You'll mostly find solid colors.

Here is what the curtains look in the daylight:

And here is a better view that includes the curtain rod and tops of the curtains:

The curtain rod is from Target and its color is oil rubbed bronze. I recommend curtains from Ikea because they're cheap, of adequate length for tall ceilings and big windows, and they get the job done! Looking at the picture above makes me realize how badly I need to add art to the walls...the to-do list never ends!

Ikea Barbar (Toilet?) Tray

A few months ago I picked up Ikea's BÄRBAR Dotted Blue Tray for $5.99. It was so cute, but I wasn't sure how to use it. That's not exactly a good recipe for actually buying something. You should only buy things you need and know you'll use. But sometimes impulse buys lead to forced creativity, which can be good, right? Oh man. I think I still have clutter issues.

But anyway back to Barbar! Not to be confused with Babar.

No, no I mean this tray:

When I got it home, I realized it was the perfect size for the back of a toilet. My toilet, to be precise.

So here it is in all its toilet tray glory:

And may you too find the perfect uses for all of your impulse buys!