Ikea Ideas & Inspiration Part Two: Lighting, Chairs & Family Trees :)

Disclaimer:  I haven't been paid to promote Ikea or their products, just wanted to share our recent trip with you x

Hi Honeys
Welcome back for the second part of our trip around Ikea, this post is picture heavy with lots of lovely things so why not take a minute to grab a cuppa?  I'll wait, in fact I'll get a cuppa too... oh and maybe a cookie :)

Soooooo many lovely things to see honeys!  Let's get cracking shall we?

Lighting

I've always thought there's a reason a trip to Ikea can take longer than to any other store, for us anyway :)  There is simply so much to take in!  Of course items used to dress the room sets are noticed first and (again, for us) clever storage solutions but also worthy of note are details such as rugs, wall art and of course lighting...

We'd seen these pretty paper shades on our last visit and I loved them then too so naturally I had to snap another few pics this visit.  A favourite feature of these shades is that they can be made to hold any shape you'd like them to just by crushing the paper or separating the layers. I'm so loving their floaty, ethereal look. So pretty!

I've never been a huge fan of paper (or plastic) shades, preferring instead glass (love crystal!) or fabric but I have to admit these delicate shades have made me think again honeys.

Speaking of plastic shades...  What are your feelings about plastic shades honeys?  I think I've been guilty of being a shade snob, but again my thoughts are being swayed by charming shades like this...

This beautiful shade was hanging in one of the bedroom displays but I think it would look equally lovely in a dining room or living room or anywhere else for that matter :) I adore the shape, the layers and the way it diffuses the light into a soft, warm glow that filled the room setting, lovely.

I have to admit when I saw these next shades I couldn't stop staring at them....

 I adore the look and shape of these pendant lights honeys. They're made from a powder coated steel and the height can be adjusted to allow them to sit high on the roof or to hover lower over a dining table. This shade is just stunning and definitely far more than a shade to cover a light bulb. These are made to be seen I think. A talking point.

Another instantly noticeable shade is this one...

This gorgeous pendant shade with it's gentle copper coloured tinge (although it's also available in white) can also, in addition to gracing any roof space, be used as a shade for a floor standing lamp too.  My first thought was how lovely it would be to have one of these fabulous shades on a room's central pendant light as well as on a corner, floor standing lamp too.

Our last lighting fixture (for now) is a real show stopper...

Not a pendant or light shade this time but a chandelier instead.  No crystal drops in sight though honeys this chandelier is made of led strands I think it looks fabulous!  I really can't imagine this chandelier being anything other than the focal point of any room honeys.  The Ikea site describes it's design as resembling "fireflies flying in the air" and it's certainly attention grabbing...

Image & product details can found here

Chairs

On then to a book lovers best friend ... the comfy chair!  Is there any pleasure greater than to settle down into your favourite chair with a good book and maybe a throw to snuggle under?  

A chair like this is what it's all about... 

You've seen this chair on this blog before honeys, this and the next chair too, are mini obsessions of mine :) Isn't it beautiful?  The wing chair is a design largely unchanged from it's origins in the 1600s, maybe some things truly are timeless.

This sublime example, from it's lovely mossy green upholstery to it's solid beech legs is just perfect to snuggle up in and get lost in the joys of a thumping good novel.  There is a matching footstool available too, just to make it even more awesome :)

Which brings us to this...

Have I included this gorgeous chair in all of my Ikea posts honeys?  I wouldn't be at all surprised if I had :)  I'm in love.  If there were a perfect example of beauty in an armchair then this would be it. This chair, in this colour (it's also available in a lovely shade of grey as well as two patterned versions) it makes me smile just to look at it, it's so wonderful.  From the solid ash legs to the (adjustable) headrest and did I mention it was upholstered in velvet?  it's just perfect!

Speaking of perfection...

I don't remember having noticed these simply stunning chairs before and they really did stop me in my tracks when we were in store.  I love everything about them.  I love their beautiful birch frame, their design, which reminds me very much of a living room suite from my childhood home, and the calming grey shade of the upholstery.

Can I also say I was smitten by that sweet little side table sitting between the two chairs too?  It's adorable although (and this is such a Rosie thing so feel free to ignore my eccentricities :) I wouldn't have put it by those chairs because the dark tinted beech legs just seem to jar with the gorgeous birch wood of the chairs and managed to snag my attention away from them which is just unforgivable!

Do you remember my gushing over the perfect little reading corner we'd seen last visit honeys? 

I loved how they'd used a wooden picture rail and a Fintorp kitchen rail to make this cozy little corner into a book nook.

You might remember we used one of these picture rails in our bedroom, above the bed, as well as forming part of our book nook in our guest room.?  I know I'm being picky here but I would have used a bygel rail here instead of a Fintorp one because it wouldn't have had the middle bracket splitting the available space behind the bar.  This idea could be used for more than book storage after all, it could be used to store tablets, netbooks or even (if the bar is raised in height a little) laptops?

Miscellaneous Cool Things Seen During This visit..

On then honeys to stuff that doesn't really fit into the other categories but is just too cool not to mention :)

First then is a shelf...  A shelf! I hear you say, really though Rosie? it's Ikea you can't turn around without seeing a dozen shelves...." I know, I know but it's more to do with how they chose to display this particular shelf... 

This is essentially just a long shelf with half a dozen brackets to be sure but whoever decided to position this shelf over faux windows which look out onto a forest meadow and then complete it by adding terracotta pots, and the little steel pots too of course, well, whoever you are bravo! Wonderful!
I just stood in store staring at it and had to take a photograph to share with you honeys.  It made me smile and I hoped it might make you smile too :)  It's my little beach canvas all over again. It calms me, no idea why it just does.  Oh to have this view... <sighs>

Do you have a "gallery wall" in your home?  There are countless, literally countless articles and blog posts on Pinterest which describe how to achieve the perfect gallery display using your family photos but this one....  

Genius! This knocks it "right out of the park" to use a wonderful baseball term :) Did anyone else in the UK used to stay up late to watch baseball games on TV in the wee small hours? I know it's only (don't hate me) a professional version of "rounders" the game we played when I was at school (back when dinosaurs roamed the earth tee hee :) but I loved the uniforms and the drama and it was such fun to watch.  Why isn't it shown anymore? Channel Five quit showing it back in 2009 I think. Such a shame.

Back to Ikea's family tree, I mean seriously, who wouldn't want to have this in their home? It doesn't even have to be kept only for photographs either, it can also be used to show family achievements. As you can see they've added a certificate and I do like the bird stickers flying around the tree too. Congratulations Ikea, this is inspired.

As everyone knows (don't they?) you simply can't visit Ikea without heading to their customer canteen for a coffee and maybe one of their delicious cinnamon rolls yuuuuuummm!!!  This visit though there had been a change. Not to their coffee or delicious cinnamon rolls (phew!) just at the soft drinks dispensers.  Instead of the usual fizzy pop such as orange, cola etc we found these...

What a fantastic idea! These have to be healthier than sugar laden fizzy pop and yummy too!  Good job Ikea!

Last stop for us before we leave the Ikea store (other than Hubby trying to prise my fingers off the doors because I don't want to leave :) is always the food court downstairs, just past the checkouts.

Hubby always likes to pick up a bag of cinnamon rolls from their freezer section (there are no words for how delicious these are or how amazing they make the house smell while they're cooking) and we don't leave without a box (because a single pack just won't do!  Hey, as I said we don't get to Ikea very often :) of their ginger snap biscuits.

Heaven in the shaped of a biscuit and completely and utterly addictive! Honestly honeys they are just sooooooooo good! Try just having one, I dare you ;)

Also seen in the food court...  

You might remember I tried making this bread a while ago and both Hubby & I were both very impressed with it.  Arthritic shoulders meant I used my little hand mixer to mix it instead of shaking the carton as I was supposed to but it still turned out great.

I blogged about my attempt at the time and incredibly that post is my second most viewed post ever :) I hope everyone who's read the post had a chance to try making this bread mix. It's definitely worth trying.

Well, that's it for today then honeys. Thank you for keeping me company, it means more than I can say and I hope you haven't been too bored x  What's your favourite shopping place?  Do you adore ikea as much as I do? (obsession? what obsession? :)  I'll be back tomorrow with my last Ikea post for a while.. at least until August which is when I think we'll next be able to go back out :) Till then, smile lots but hug more dear ones, huggles always xx