"Like everyone else, I had become a slave to the IKEA nesting instinct. If I saw something like clever coffee table in the shape of a yin and yang, I had to have it. I would flip through catalogs and wonder, "What kind of dining set defines me as a person?" We used to read pornography. Now it was the Horchow Collection. I had it all. Even the glass dishes with tiny bubbles and imperfections, proof they were crafted by the honest, simple, hard-working indigenous peoples of wherever." -Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
I totally get the appeal of IKEA: inexpensive, readily accessible furniture that provides a function with simple transitional pieces that fit into most design schemes. However, I have some issues that often keep me from shopping there...
Love: Prices.
Love: Clean, modern style.
Hate: Mass produced furniture. (Not saying I don't own any and I get that they have their place in the world. I am just sayin'...)
Hate: The maze of a store with only one way in and one way out! Torture. I have never had a panic attack but I imagine that if I ever do, it will be in an IKEA.
Hate: That to order via catalog you have to pay a shipping charge greater than that of shipping your entire house to another state.
Hate: That in the store when you see something you like, you can't immediately grab it. You have to write down the number and take it to the appropriate section. This never happens as it should for me. I prefer instant gratification.
Hate: Self-assembly. (I put this last because this doesn't totally bother me when you consider the price. Plus, I kinda like the satisfaction of breaking a sweat for my furniture. This is probably also why crab legs are my favorite food.)
With all that being said, I love the idea of taking a very simple and inexpensive piece from the IKEA collection and disguising it amongst other high-end pieces. Or better yet, "making it your own" (that was my best Tim Gunn impression) by altering it somehow. For example, here is a basic IKEA Lack table that sells for $7.99 (yes, I said $7.99)!
Check it out in a room designed by David Netto...doesn't look half bad does it?
Although they come in a variety of colors, you could buy the natural birch finish and have them lacquered to match a color in your design scheme for a truly custom look like this...
Or you could copy designer Nick Olsen and cover it in wallpaper (or wrapping paper or scrapbookpaper)...
Or get super creative a la Ruthie Sommers who covered it in fishnet (yes, I said fishnet) and then give it a clear lacquer finish for added texture.
Brilliant!!!
Now that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
~Images: 1) IKEA catalog 2) IKEA.com 3) Domino Feb 2007 4) Domino Oct 2005 5) Domino Nov 2006 6) Domino Feb 2007