Help! I’m trapped in the IKEA showroom!

Oh wait, that’s just the living room– or what the rest of the room looks like other than the wall the sofa’s on. I’m really letting it all hang out here, so be kind. Because I know. It’s sort of terrible.

Try to ignore the mess of cords and the fact that Eva’s door is still waiting to be rehung. What you’re seeing is tempi-furniture, and I can’t wait until the permanent stuff is finally located. The coffee table and TV stand are actually two IKEA MOLGER benches that I bought to hack into something else (that project might be a while off, hmph), but I figured they could serve a purpose in the meantime.

Eventually, I’m hoping for a credenza, a real coffee table, a rug, and some dining chairs. The dining table is IKEA BJURSTA— it was pretty inexpensive, teeny-tiny, and it expands to comfortably seat 4 people. But I have to say, I kind of hate the way it looks. Maybe a paint job would help? And definitely some great chairs would improve things immensely. The ladder-back chair in the picture was dragged out of the trash purely to help me get a sense of furniture placement way back when. Perhaps when 3/5 of the furniture in this room isn’t that characteristic IKEA birch veneer, I won’t dislike it quite so much? Who knows.

So what’s the problem? Nothing new– just trying to find things I like at a price that doesn’t break the bank. Which is really, really, really hard, as I’m quickly finding out. So I’m scouring Craigslist and trying to frequent thrift stores in the hopes of finding something that fits the bill. But after living here a month and a half, consistently coming up dry is getting pretty frustrating. The price of patience is steep, people.

About Daniel Kanter

Hi, I'm Daniel, and I love houses! I'm a serial renovator, DIY-er, and dog-cuddler based in Kingston, New York. Follow along as I bring my 1865 Greek Revival back to life and tackle my 30s to varying degrees of success. Welcome!

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4 Comments

  1. 6.28.10
    misst said:

    Ahh, but it is a price well paid.

  2. 7.22.10
    lsaspacey said:

    If you live in an IKEA showroom well then I must live in the IKEA As-Is section…check it out.

  3. 8.3.10

    Wow a turntable – thats vintage