Wow, am I really writing an entry reminiscing about some of the discontinued Ikea duvet covers? It seems I am.

I’m not losing faith in Ikea, believe me. They continue to pop out delicious things for the home and I continue to drool. I’m just not in love with most of their recently released textiles—specifically their duvet covers.

Other than the black and white one on the far left (which I suppose I could live with), I can barely even tolerate looking at these for more than a few seconds. I don’t know what’s going on with the one on the far right. Perhaps it was targeted towards people who sleep naked but are self-conscious about it? The tackiness  of it all makes my eyes burn and a part of me dies inside when I wonder how something so foul could come from Ikea.

I miss the old patterns, like the one above, with snow flakes. Tell me this one isn’t perfect for cuddling up in bed on a snow day.

I miss the bright and colorful patterns of the Bibbi line. The flowers (above) and the finger-print-like swirls (both Bibbi’s) are my favorite in addition to the red and white drip design and black and white pinwheels (both names slip my mind at the moment).

Maybe I’m just falling behind the times, but all I know is I’m not falling for all these beige/boring duvets. I thought Ikea’s thinking was “be brave, not beige.” What do you think?

While snooping around google image search, I came across these… Hi-res photos from the 2007 Ikea catalog (probably my favorite to date, to be honest) and I figured I’d share them. I mean, I have no idea why you’d want them other than to look at (constantly), like me, but whatever! (Click on the picture for the full-sized guys)

The first few are to blame greatly for my obsession with the Swedish home store. These five shots were used both in the catalog and an interactive online site and all come from a model home Ikea set up. I think a lot of my interior style is subconsciously drawn from this home—it’s modern but traditional, neutral but colorful, large but cozy. I wish the Ikea press site had more images from this home such as the bathroom, livingroom, or kids room. It’s really just perfect.

Here are a few more rooms from the 2007 catalog. The first greatly inspired my bedroom right now—especially the one black wall, which I have. It’s clean, modern, birch, bright, and colorful—just what I wanted.

As much as I love Ikea, I also hate them. Mainly for one little thing. Well, to me, a rather large thing: their shade of white.

Above, you see a bright/pure white. Something I wish all of their furniture came in. ALL of it. Instead, the majority of it (whether it be painted finish, foil finish, whatever) is a creamy, yellowish off-white (as seen below).

Some of their furniture is bright white. Namely high-gloss things like kitchen door panel. I mean, sure that’s a start. But putting those doors on the standard white frames (creamy white) looks stupid. It makes the less brilliant white part look dirty.

I originally had my heart set on white bedroom furniture, but opted for birch instead. I have light grey walls and pure white trim. My vika amon table which has a white top looks out of place against the walls and white trim. My white iMac (which usually sits on it) along with any other white object makes it look dirty and stained in comparison. Next time you go to Ikea, look at a white expedit bookshelf. I’m sure they have it filled with a bunch of white kasset boxes. The bright boxes clashes with the creamy white shelf so badly. It literally drives me up the walls.

All I’m asking is that their furniture to come in one standard shade of white. A real (bright/pure) white. None this cream colored. Until then, I will most likely be avoiding furnishing my house in white furniture from Ikea. Or i’ll sandblast the heck out of it and refinish it in a true white.

What angers me: Alot of Ikea’s catalog / room setup photos are usually retouched like I did above so that all whites look the same. It’s deceiving. At least, I think so. Maybe I’m just making a huge deal about something stupid, but it’s just something that drives me crazy. And always will. Anyone else?

/end rant

Ikea has broken into the new year with a new line of bathroom sinks, cabinets, and accesories. Here are some shots of bathroom setups from the Swedish site. I’m really in awe. I never thought I’d be in love with… you know… a bathroom.

It’s like they knew I had a thing for white/grey tiled bathrooms, birch, and bright colors.

I love the accessories that attach to the side of the sink in these pictures. The little towel hooks that hang off the edge are so cute. Functional, too.

Never in a million years did I think I’d love a 50’s-pink tiled bathroom. As usual, Ikea showed me up.

Check out these, plus a few other new bathroom designs at the Swedish page. Also, check out their little configuration tool that lets you mix and match sinks and faucets.

MORE Ikea talk. If you haven’t noticed, I have somewhat of an unhealthy obsession with the Swedish home store. Albeit they are absolutely no where near perfect, but there are so many things about Ikea that I don’t see anywhere else…like these pictures that show how how different a kitchen can look just by changing a few simple elements.

The last two really show how much brighter a white kitchen looks. The lighting and brightness of the backsplash is nearly identical in both, but the first kitchen feels to me, a heck of a lot lighter than the second.

I don’t know if anyone even reads this, but I’ll let you know that I’m still alive (and hopefully posting often). With my last semester of college EVER (…well for now) starting, I’ve been a bit busy, but I’m penciling in time to commentate on all the good things I find, so keep reading. Please? :D

I really really really need these File 920-925 birch plywood magazine holders from NC. So simple and clean, but functional at the same time.

Also, from NC, these Kiiku 470 chairs are adorably minimal.

Ikea PS is releasing a bunch of fun new things in 2009. I really love most of what I see, but what’s going on with the lamps in the second picture? The posts look a little like anal beads, or something… And no, I didn’t know that from a firsthand experience. Originally found on Husmusen.

The next few pictures are from Kråkvik & D’Orazio, which I discovered thanks to the style files. Definitely check out K&D site, and click through all their setups—some are extremely gorgeous.

That’s it for right now. I think…maybe.

No matter what design phase I go through, whether it be ultra-modern, vintage, or antique chic, I always end up coming back to Ikea. Probably because it’s a nice mix (well, usually) of all of the above. Here are just a few inspiration pictures I’ve had saved to my computer for sometime now.

Okay. White kitchen, grey walls, tile backsplash, green plants…SOLD. Seriously, this sort of style/scheme is probably what would make up my dream kitchen. Maybe.

Ever since the 2007 catalog came out, I have been obsessed with this model home (see past the jump for the kitchen and kids room that also go in this house). It’s the one in the first few spreads of the catalog. The entire house is mostly neutral colors and very cozy looking. You really have no idea how much i want to live in it.

AHHHHHHH. Abstrakt red, how i love your glossy, candy-like door panels. I would kill for a modern red kitchen like this, but I’m not sure how long I’d like it. I have a tendency to constantly change my mind, so I’m not sure how a bold move like this would work.

Once again, with the white, birch, grey, and green plants. Seriously probably one of my most favorite coordinations. With grey/white/neutral furniture, changing a rooms mood is as easy as changing the color of the curtains/towels/pillows/duvet/whatever.

Read the rest after the jump: (more…)

After fixing Windows on my iMac, I finally got to install the Ikea stuff pack for the Sims 2, that I downloaded like two weeks ago. As someone with an [unhealthy] Ikea addiction, I’m highly disappointed with this addon. Sure, there are alot of things I love: LACK, MALM, and STORM. But the number of things missing outweighs those that are there.

Where is PAX? I want some sliding STORDAL doors with frosted glass, and fun racks and drawers inside. And dining room tables / chairs? What about JAMSUNDA! FORSA! BJURSTA!

The biggest thing I would’ve liked to have seen would be an extensive Ikea AKURUM/FAKTUM kitchen cabinet selection. It would be nice if they included most of their frame options, with a ton of door panel options (a LINJAR blue kitchen in the Sims would’ve been a great memorial, seeing as how it is being phased out in the real world).

6/10 Overall? There’s a ton of stuff that I love, but is it really worth the $20? Not really. Maybe $10 at the most. Buy it / pirate it—just don’t get too excited.

I know I haven’t gotten into the rant here yet, but those of you who know me in the real world, know that I am obsessed with 1. getting my own house 2. Ikea.

After finally hitting up the heavenly warehouse that it is the other day, I got to see the sommar (summer) products hands-on. I think I’m going to buy a bunch on my next trip, even if I need to keep them until I move out. And here I go saying it: I want my own house.

I want a cozy little area in my backyard (maybe even a greenhouse) where I can string it to hell with lights and lanterns. I want to grow it into my own little forest with trees and plants in every nook and cranny. I want long panels of brightly patterned fabrics to hang from the roof like sails in the wind.

And when it grows dark, I want to dim the lights and let the fireflies take the lead accompanied by the sound of crickets.

I want to have camp-outs and run barefoot through the grass to a little hidden site where my friends waiting around the fire with marshmallow.

I want every summer night to be a mini-vacation—a getaway—and when it’s all over, I’ll lazily walk up the stairs, crawl into bed and get ready for the upcoming day.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

I’ve been waiting for this expansion all my life.

If you haven’t heard, the newest expansion pack for the Sims 2 (well, stuff pack) is going to be all furniture / home accessories based off real life Ikea things. All the favorites seem to be there: Malm, Poäng, Lack, Expedit, Klippan, and that creepy-ass heart pillow.

Naturally, I’ve been staring at the same screenshots and renders on the Sims site for the past week, drooling and counting down the days. There’s just one thing that bothers the hell out of me. Some objects are out of proportion. Take a look at the lack side table, in real life, it is slightly shorter than it is wide, but the Sims version is noticeably taller.

Also, the Malm beds aren’t as low as they appear in real life. I’m assuming there’s some sort of predefined height for all bed tops and table tops, so maybe that’s why they’re the way they are (perhaps if they were lower, objects set on top would hover at the preset height)? I have no idea how the Sims works, so that might be the reasoning—or the 3d modelers are just idiots.

Cue my friends reading this and calling me a nerd for bitching about this. But whatever. It’s my hot body (and birthday.