IKEA Mini-Haul

I've now done 6 of my 7 AS exams, and although I'm not completely free yet, study leave has ended and I'm back to school on Monday. My mum suggested a day out to celebrate, but I'm not a lover of big fusses or events so I wasn't sure where to suggest. But then I had a ponder while sat at my cluttered, messy desk in my cluttered, messy room - I decided to go to IKEA.

I love IKEA. I know some people hate how never-ending and stressful a trip there can be, scribbling down codes that correspond to endless big boxes in a warehouse of unimaginable size. I get that some people don't enjoy wandering through five hundred mock ups of living rooms only to end up in a maze of beds and office chairs. But I love that feeling of inspiration you get after a visit, where all you want to do is be productive and tidy and decorate. The showroom itself (is it even a room? Is it a show-building? What do you call it?) always has such weird and interesting stuff, and it's great when you find some strange product you just have to take home. We must have been in there for at least 3 hours - although we did stop for meatballs in the restaurant halfway through - and I bought some pretty useful and surprising stuff.

(All products are linked, click their names)

The first thing I picked up was a KUGGIS box with a lid, for £4.50. I got it to replace my cardboard box as a desk bin, and it's the perfect size and shape for that. It's plain white plastic, which matches my room and would probably match the 'office room' in our house too, and the lid works brilliantly as a little tray to hold revision guides or things like my MacBook case, as it's sunken in a little. It'll also be much easier to clean than cardboard!

I also got a couple more DOKUMENT magazine files (2 for £5.00). They aren't particularly decorative or pretty, but they're sturdy and match the other ones I bought last year. I needed some more for next year's revision guides, but since I now have four I've actually reorganised my (KALLAX) bookcase to have a section for each subject, each with it's own magazine file. The leftover one is currently storing my university prospectuses! I'm considering threading some wool through the mesh to make them a little nicer looking, so I'll update you if it works.

Since I got a new mattress recently, I really wanted to get a new duvet cover for when my favourite one is in the wash. I got stuck in a little corner showing the STUNSIG range (which I assume is new) and after much contemplation got the duvet cover with the monkeys. I can't find it on their website, but I really like the art style, and the monkeys with the cameras remind me of trips to safari parks we used to do when we went on holiday. It was a little steep compared to other designs, at £25, but the colours are soft and the pattern is busy, but not too much so. I actually really liked a different design on a cushion cover they were selling, but the corresponding duvet cover seemed too empty since the pattern was only in the middle.

My final purchase was just brilliant, and something I never expected to find. IKEA sell t-shirts now. I know. It was in that same STUNSIG section, and there were maybe ten or so designs hung on the wall. I liked a few of them, but settled on the Sea Foam and GLÖDANDE ones (although the branch one really tempted me). The GLÖDANDE ones aren't on the website but there were 4 different designs; I went for the tiger one because it really reminded me of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. The Sea Foam one should look nice under one of my many flannel shirts, but at the moment the print's a bit stiff and smells quite strong so it's going in the wash. Still, they're only £7, they're 100% cotton, and they're from IKEA - I'm pretty chuffed with them.

What do you think of IKEA? Is it heaven or hell? Either way, I had a great time and got some fun new stuff - and none of it was even furniture.