178 weeks and 6 days | An ode to IKEA

My name is Caro and I have a bit of a thing for IKEA.

There. I said it.

It’s been one of my favourite places to shop for the last 25 years, ever since the first time, when I joyfully accompanied my mum to choose stuff for university.

But when you find yourself suggest the IKEA café for a date-night with your love, you know you’ve got it bad.

Those iconic yellow and blue buildings are not only filled with fab things for the home but I have a real love of their meatballs too.

And bumper packs of mini Dime bars.

Food and homeware. For me — that’s a heady combination.

I also love the fact that their canteen is full of their own furniture —   plates, cutlery and glassware — ALL own brand.

And more recently they’ve started doing soap and hand-cream, so if you go into an IKEA loo the hand-washing facilities are also now their own product too.

It’s SO clever. For someone who has worked in brand development, these little touches certainly don’t go unnoticed ;)

You could literally move into an IKEA store and have everything you need.

Comfy beds, tasty food, an ever-changing supply of lovely cushions. I LOVE it.

Every time we visit our local store, I am heard (at least once) to say;

‘Aaah I could live in here!’

IKEA hacks have taken the western world by storm; people are creating bespoke items using their products as a base.

I created a bathroom bench from a shoe-rack, for example.

Most people you know will have at least one item from IKEA in their home.

We’ve got a fair few, even though some of them don’t look quite like they did when we bought them.

Their furniture makes such a fab blank canvas and sometimes is just crying out for a makeover.

The chest of drawers in our bedroom had a little face lift; it started out life as an unassuming little unit but with a lick of Annie Sloan — and some lovely new handles — it was transformed into a thing of beauty.

Our home is full to bursting with RIBBA frames, GLIMMA tealights, plants of the week — and I regularly get told off for ‘just popping in for one thing’ and ending up with a carboot full of stuff I never intended to buy.

So that’s it.

I just thought I’d put that out there.

I heart IKEA.

Do you have any shops that you’re a little bit obsessed with? Please tell me it’s not just me!! ;)