apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Mirrors! They have some nice, large unframed mirrors with beveled edges that cost a fraction of what you would pay elsewhere. They come with easy mounting hardware, too.

Their cardboard storage boxes are great...the ones with the metal reinforcements on the corners. The cardboard is glossy and once you have them all assembled and stacked in your bookshelf, they look like expensive leather boxes.

I have also had good luck in the kitchen department. My everyday dishes are plain white in a nice modern sillouette...4 piece place setting for 6 for $30. Can't beat that! (And the mugs have an ingenious little exit hole on the bottom so water doesn't pool on them in the dishwasher.)

If there is anything left at this point in the summer, the outdoor furniture can be quite nice, too. The cushions are too cheap, but the wood (a teak look-alike) has held up well for several years for us.

Billy shelves with the glass doors where you can insert your own paper or fabric. I haven't gotten around to adding paper, but it's happy to know I could -- and what a delightfully easy way to be able to update the "look" of a nursery as a child develops his or her own tastes. Or display kiddo's art.

Also, if you get lucky or clever with the dimensions of Billy versus the length of your wall, you can get the illusion of a wall of built-ins. If you're in your permanent home, your Wall o' Billy should still be going strong when kiddo goes off to college.

Kalas series of tumblers, bowls, plates and flatware. Perfect for little hands.

Definitely this coffee table that is no longer made -- I don't even remember the name.

I wish it was still manufactured, as I'd love to get a replacement.

Maybe it's silly, but the $.99 toilet bowl brush is one of my favorite practical purchases. It is actually a better quality and cheaper than what I can get at Tarjay.

The Minnen bed in the nursery and the Stolmen wardrobe/shelving line are my favourite purchases

I love to go to the liquidation department by the cash. It's usually all crap but sometimes you find something great for dirt cheap!

It's a bit of a project, but we just finished installation of IKEA kitchen cabinets and they were so affordable! Even with hiring a company to come and install them, we paid less than half what it would have cost from traditional cabinet companies. And we are so excited about all of the little features - like dampers on the drawers and trays that fit each drawer. Added bonus: if we ever want to change the look of our kitchen, it will be so easy to just change the door fronts. The web site www.ikeafans.com was a huge help in understanding how to plan this project.

The best Ikea purchase we've made was a children's storage unit (sorry, forget the name) with two roll-out bins and a slide. It's by far the most sturdy piece of Ikea furniture I've ever bought. It has survived through four moves, and two kids. It's no longer sold, but should be. We paid $40 for it (when they were about to stop selling it, it went on sale) and I still kick myself for not picking up a couple more.

Worst purchase? The $20 ($14 US, I beleive) children's table and chair set. It fell apart after a couple of months. If I had seen the display version in the kid's section, I never would have bought it. But I was woo'd by the price and just grabbed it.

If you see something you like, find it in the display section and give it a good shake. That's the best way to get a realistic idea of how long it'll hold up.

I love Ikea for their storage solutions, more than anything else. You can't go wrong with a pile of plastic bins and a modular system.

Picture and poster frames, and BJÄRNUM brackets:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40056976

And bedding! And all of the cheap kitchen gadgets! And the swedish meatball lunch! And like val299, I like to cruise the liquidation section!

On my IKEA wishlist is a little metal bar the size and shape of a ruler with three magnents. You hang the bar on the wall and can easily rotate artwork (children's or any other) in and out. I think it goes for less than $5.

Unfortunately we don't love anywhere near an IKEA and they won't ship it to us.... annoying!

I love it all but my favorites include:

Small storage boxes, Strikt, that assemble in seconds, look great, and cost a fraction of what you would pay at Container Store

Glass storage jars in the kitchen section.

Ribba frames.

I also am in love with my white king size duvet cover that feels heavenly and was about $50.

Curtains!

The 99-cent breakfast!

A white children's table they no longer carry (grr...meant to get a second one). I had been looking high and low for one, and it was a very elegant design, and only about $30 (kicking myself for not getting a second one). These chairs, but in a different colourway...http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/00101056

Grundtal bathroom shelves, toilet paper holders, etc.

Gulliver crib (still available in Canada!!! get 'em while they last!)

Plus, they used to have a paper pendant shade in a drum shape (papered on the bottom with a small circle cut out). A really elegant and versatile shade; I am pretty angry with them that they discontinued it.

The skyar pendant shade - that was it!

other than my kitchen cabinets (via my contractor) and all the drawer goodies, i bought several pyrex baking dishes. they have a very nice shape and color and were way affordable. Also, their plants and planters are ridiculously inexpensive. I bought a sago palm for 4.99 i think.

Textiles,

Billy bookcases with the new doors that can take a fabric insert. After a bit of learning curve for installation, they were a snap to create. (Cut larger pieces of fabric, tape them down, then use black duct tape to cover neatly cover the interior).

We have several friends with Ikea kitchens and they have very good things to say. Also, you can beat the Ode to the Ikea Kitchen in Dwell this month.

I can't remember what these patio chairs were called. They are my FAVORITE Ikea purchase ever... my only regret is that we didn't buy more. http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanlaeken/554415318/in/set-72157600493112526/

I recently noticed that they have some really cute crib bedding right now.