{12} Favorite Things from IKEA

Our nearest IKEA is about 3 hours away but we've still managed to make quite a few visits in the past 4 years (6, by my best count).  Which isn't a terribly large number but it's also not an area I'm in super often.  Conveniently, it's near where I went to college and still visit a few times a year to see old friends.  Not so conveniently, it's still 3 hours away.  

In honor of Indiana finally getting their own IKEA (which is still almost 2 hours away BUT somewhere I am more often!), I'm going to share a few of my favorite things to buy there.  Yes, there is some cheap junk, but sometimes you don't need something real expensive anyways.  It's a great place for basic staples, especially if you are starting out i.e. college student, living on your own for the first time, etc.

I am neither of these things, and haven't been in over a decade, but I've always walked away from there spending more than I plan.  Oops.  It's just that everything seems so inexpensive...it's very tempting.

We have bought two bigger items there, both of which we are still very happy with.  The first is our bathroom vanity which remains, of this whole massive project, one of the most complimented items in there.  I mean, it's a small bathroom so there isn't room for a lot, but the vanity, with double sink faucets, almost ALWAYS gets a comment.

I didn't find our lovely, lovely, double faucet topper but here is the vanity, no longer sold in the "high gloss grey" we have.  It's huge, offers SO MUCH storage, and gets us two faucets in a bathroom less than 6' x 6'.  Totally worth it.

The other large item we have is the PS Cabinet for our tv, which got a whole post 3 years ago.  The fact that it locks is still hugely appealing, even with a 4 year old who should know better but sometimes just wants to watch Curious George.  And can't because he can't reach the key.

Now most of the rest of these are under $10, all but two.  And exactly the kind of basics I like to buy there.

1) Bumerang wooden hangers

We spent about a year slowly switching our all our mismatched hangers for wooden ones and I'm still so pleased with the change, even countless hanger packs later.  More about this back here!

2) Papaja pots

I have A LOT of these, in a variety of colors.  A few have broke (blame the then 2 year old for that) but most of them haven't.  I have some with actual house plants in them, some just for decor.  I like having many colors to switch between, depending on the season.  I almost always get a few of these when we go.

3) Fejka fake plant

I have been trying to incorporate more real plants inside our home but I still have a pretty black thumb.  It's a good thing I'm much better at keeping my son alive than I am house plants.  I have this fake one (inside one of the pots above!) and it's fun and stays green no matter how little I touch it!

4) Ribba picture frames

I also have a lot of these.  They aren't great for pictures you are going to be switching out often because the backs are just the little metal tabs you have to bend back and those can break with too much use but for frames we don't switch often, these are great.

5) Sinnlig candles

Another one I almost always buy.  I don't like them as much as the soy ones I buy at Target but those soy ones aren't often on sale so these are good substitutes.

6) Vartatel throw

This was a complete impulse buy but I'm so happy with it that I'm considering getting a second if it's still sold whenever we go next.  It's cozy, a great size, and has a fantastic weight to it.  Mentioned it back here!

7) Gubbrora Spatulas

I think these are great spatulas, for $1!  I have some nicer ones that say they can go up to 500° or whatever that I always use when making ice cream, caramels, or anything that requires constant stove watching BUT these are stiffer which is great for scraping out peanut butter jars and such.  Definitely nice to have 1 or 2 of these in the kitchen (even if my second one is currently unreachable behind the stove).

8) Glass Jars

One of those basics that are cheap and handy.  These specific ones are Korken but they always have many varieties.  Another that I almost always pick up a few of.  I don't mind having a mismatched selection in the kitchen.

9) Blanda Bowls

These are our popcorn bowls for movie night!  Because of course we don't want to share! (And, also, all have different salt preferences).

10) Muffin Liners

I have not seen these sold since I bought mine 3 years ago BUT if you ever see them, they are totally worth it.  They are my absolutely favorite of all the reusable liners I have.  They are thin and peel off muffins super easily.  I always bake them inside a muffin tin and they fill the tin the best of all the ones I own.  I don't remember how much it was for a set of 21 but I'm sure it was under $10 and definitely worth it.  (Talked about them waaay back here.)

11) Trovardig frying pan

For almost a decade we have been using kitchen pots and pans that had already gone through two of my sisters.  We still use all the pots but have upgraded our frying pan to this one.  We've only had for about 6 months but so far it's much nicer than our double hand me down one and has held up really well.  We will likely upgrade some of our pots next trip.

12) Raskog cart

I was really surprised on the quality of this item.  It's part of my long brewing (and almost done!) craft area reorganize.  It was easy to put together and holds a lot!  So many places this could be used!


That's it!  12 (plus 2 more) of my favorite IKEA purchases.  I'm scared of crowds and so won't go to the new one soon, but these are things I'll be looking out for when I do!

Have you been to IKEA?  What do you like to buy there?