To Go For An Ikea Kitchen or Not To Go For An Ikea Kitchen? That Is The Question

I went to Ikea yesterday, waited in line for 20 minutes (forget about it on the week-end!), finally sat down at the computer (PC why do you taunt me?) and tried to recreate my kitchen plan on their software. It takes patience and precision because after 45 minutes I wasn't too far along. I got discouraged and left before finishing. I think I need to rethink this whole Ikea thing or borrow a PC and do the planning at home with a nice bottle of wine. Problem is, if your kitchen is an odd shape or size or needs custom pieces, you're kinda screwed. 

As for the quality of Ikea cabinets, I'm pretty convinced that they're just as good as many other suppliers. They use Blum systems for the hinges and drawers, they have a 25 year guarantee and they cost about half the price. You can go to this link which a friend of mine sent me (merci Françoise!) to read about satisfied Ikea Cabinet owners.

Buying Ikea Cabinets is a grueling process but if you have the time and patience and the know-how to install them (Ikea can also provide that service or perhaps an experience contractor can do it too), you can save a lot of money on the cabinets enabling you to put in stone countertops and a nice backsplash which will really give your kitchen the WOW factor. 

Not so good :

Better :

What you see on the right of the picture is the frontal view of the adjacent wall. At the bottom, upside down is the island.

Animal Print Pacifiers

Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate the invention of pacifiers. On more than one occasion, they probably allowed for a few extra hours of sleep, so they're a really great invention. However, I find that they can be kind of ugly and can overwhelm your baby's face.

That's why I like Mam pacifiers which are not as big and come in all sorts of cute designs like these animal print ones. (Plus they meet all the safety requirements and babies usually like their shape.) They are hard to find though; I've hunted they down in some Jean Coutu pharmacies, at Clement, and Goldtex Textiles 8875 Rue Salley, Lasalle, QC H8R 2C8 :

www.mambaby.com

www.clement.qc.ca

Go For The Gold

Joe Fresh makes really cute baby clothes and accessories and soooooo inexpensive! Everytime I go grocery shopping at Loblaws I end up buying more clothes than food (it's a great new way to diet, I guess!) I love these little ballet slippers :

Elsa's Furniture, Old and New

Elsa's furniture is a mix of new and refurbished pieces. We decided to invest in a sturdy well-made (in Quebec) bassinet (www.anaya.ca) which will transform into a small bed later on, as well as classic white bedding (www.boutonjaune.com).

The changing table and book shelves on the other hand, were old pieces we already owned which we repainted in a soft cream white colour. The lazy-boy belonged to my grandmother but did not fit with the decor so we had it reupholstered in a great polka dot pattern and my mom (so crafty!) sewed the matching drapes and cushions.

Elsa's White & Cream Dreams / Before and After

Not knowning if we were going to have a boy or a girl (a deliberate decision we made which made Elsa’s arrival an even more exciting event), we decided to create a neutral colour scheme of whites and creams for Elsa’s bedroom.

This is her bedroom before :

This is her bedroom after :

Bathroom Before

This is my bathroom. The cast-iron tub dates back to the construction of the house and is very shallow. I love having water up to my neck when I take a bath so this tub definitely doesn't work. The tile was adding on later over the existing one making the walls about 2 1/2" deep. It's kinda moldy so getting rid of it will be a major plus.

I love subway tile. It's a clean look that never goes out of style, but this one is in bad shape. The rad is also pretty nice and keeps the room toasty-warm. Hopefully we can salvage it and put it back in after the reno.

Kitchen Before

This is my 70's style kitchen. Right now, it's a very small space. The fridge is in a weird alcove which is not very efficient.

Most of the cupboards don't close anymore.