See the responses to “Recognize This Blanket”?
Dear Apartment Therapy, I would really appreciate your help. I’m trying to track down the blanket seen on the chair in the image above. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you very much. -Alisa
IKEA sells many products made in the USA. These products include appliances, sofas, mattresses, shelving, storage boxes, plants, print art, cabinets, napkins, etc.
Making the Switch: DIY Decorative Switch Plates
Switch plates bug me. They serve a utilitarian purpose, covering electrical outlets, but generally add nothing to the decor of a room. There is an abundance of non-descript beige and clear plastic plates covering outlets sprinkled around the EcoNest. I stopped counting after more than 20 of those boring plates starred me down.
We have one unique switch plate that was picked up as a souvenir on a trip to British Columbia a few years ago:
I notice this switch plate when I enter the room and it serves as a reminder to turn off the light.
What if you took notice of all of your switch plates? Would you be more mindful of saving energy and remember to turn off lights when you leave a room? These questions led me on a search for an eco-friendly switch plate that would make the inhabitants of my EcoNest remember to turn off the lights.
Which Color(s) For My Kitchen Cabinets?
Apartment Therapy, I need your help! I love, love, love the layout of my kitchen but hate all of the finishes in it. The counter tops are white laminate, cabinets are white washed oak (and yellowing!) and the back splash is cheapo white and black tiles. I would love to redo all of them, but budget allows for probably only painting the cabinets. I just don't know if I should go white or another color. I feel like there is so much white already going on. I am open to all suggestions from the AT community. BTW- This is an old pic and all plants and misc items have been removed from above the cabinets. The TV trays are long gone too.
Cheapskate in the Kitchen
Whether or not today's tips submitted by our readers save time or money, one thing is certain: You're about to learn some very clever tricks and tips to make your life easier in the kitchen.
ICE-CREAM SAVER. You can eliminate freezer burn on your ice cream by storing the container upside down in your freezer. It really works! — Jan C., e-mail
QUICK COMPOST. Even though we compost our kitchen waste, it takes a long time to break down, and sometimes we need the compost immediately to start our garden. So we help ours along this way: In our food processor every night, we grind up produce peels, leftover coffee grounds and filters, and other items that compost loves. This gives the breakdown process a head start. — V.L., Texas
BONUS TREAT. Prevent ice cream from dripping out of the bottom of a cone by pushing a marshmallow into the cone before adding the ice cream. The marshmallow stops drips and is a little extra treat after the ice cream is gone! — Brenda S., e-mail
SHINY STEEL. We have stainless steel appliances in our kitchen. I always battle to get them looking nice and clean without buying expensive polishing cream. Recently I tried rubbing olive oil on them, and they look wonderful! My husband even commented on how nice the refrigerator looks. — Julie J., e-mail
MEATLOAF CUPCAKE. For a new twist on meatloaf, I fill the cups in a cupcake pan with the meat mixture and bake for about a half-hour.
This creates perfect individual-sized servings, and I freeze leftovers for quick grab-and-go meals. Cupcake meatloaf is also a great solution for singles, and kids love them, too! — Mary, Maine
OUTDOOR KITCHEN. My family enjoys eating outdoors. I've found a cheap way to keep foods chilled on the table on a hot day. I was inspired by expensive trays designed to hold serving bowls over ice, but I make my own for free. I save two-piece domed plastic containers from takeout meals. To travel, I pack the food in the bottom part of the container and cover it with the lid. I keep it in the ice chest until we're ready to eat. When I unpack the food for our meal, I take the lids off the containers and fill them with ice. Then I set the bottom part atop the ice-filled lid, and the food stays cold. — Lynn, e-mail
REPAIR WONDER. I had had my food processor for more than three years when I started having difficulty getting the cover off the bowl and the bowl off the base. It seemed as if the plastic parts had expanded, and I was beyond my warranty period. A new bowl, cover and pusher would have cost about $90. I solved the problem by rubbing the rims of the bowl and lid with vegetable oil. It works like new again! — Kris, Wisconsin
Kitchens can create memories
The kitchens in my life have left a vivid impression on my memory. The way they were and the cooks who reigned supreme in them continue to influence my cooking.
The aroma of bacon lingered in my grandmother Della’s Ada kitchen along with those of fried pies and simmering butter beans. She wore a bib apron made from a feed sack as she orchestrated breakfast. She used her apron to gather eggs fresh from the henhouse, then scrambled them in a well-seasoned iron skillet.
Next door on 14th Street lived my maternal grandmother, who loved to decorate things and served canned peas at every important meal. Her kitchen was large and white with a wall of sliding doors that stored dishes of every sort and size — some shaped like apples, some with Safeway dogwood blossoms and Lipton tea-green glasses. I use some of the pretty glasses for special occasions, which reminds me of the times I was allowed to drink ice tea like the grown-ups.
I wonder what memories our kitchens may hold for future generations. I hope we all keep cooking up memories.
Cottage Style Decor
Do you love simple, vintage, light, lived-in comfortable styles of decor? If so, you might be a candidate for Cottage Style decorating! The term 'cottage style' can be adapted to a variety of settings, and your home deosn't literally have to look like, or function as, a cottage to incorporate this decor theme into your lifestyle.
The color scheme you select should be light overall, with soft shades of blue, green, pink, rose, aqua, yellow and a healthy dose of white. Use these colors on your walls and don't hesitate to vary the colors from room to room. To add a little bit of drama to the area, use one of your chosen colors in a deeper tone as an accent.
The ideal floor treatment in cottage style decor is wood. If you are into the time-worn look, use wood planking or distressing techniques to make newer wood look old. You can paint the floor, stencil the perimeter, stencil an 'area rug' onto the floor or use area rugs to continue the cottage theme.
Furnishings can be handled a couple of different ways. If you want a little more elegance in your cottage style decor, use newer furniture and accessories, keeping the wood tones and colors light. Small patterned fabrics, mix and match prints, throw pillows, table skirts and the like will maintain the theme yet keep the overall look clean and fresh.
For those who enjoy true vintage, flea markets, antique shops and garage sales can be great sources for cottage style furnishings and accessories. Look for vintage prints, fabrices, accent pieces, and anything that tickles your fancy. Cottage style allows for a mix and match of accessories, whether you are showcasing a collection or all pieces are unique.
Window treatments are simple and informal. Wood shutters, plantation shutters and wood blinds are always a good choice. If you use fabric for valances or side panels, use an organic fabric such as cotton or a simple weave, or perhaps some lace.
As you can see, there is not one right or wrong way to decorate Cottage Style. If you keep your selections to light, natural, vintage (real or reproduction), organic materials and colors, you can create your own unique Cottage Style home.
Celebrity decorating - Which celebrity decor fits you best?
Anyone that has ever glanced through a celebrity gossip magazine has seen the AMAZING photos of celebrity homes. At one point or another, we have all been guilty of wishing that we too could have a expertly decorated home that would make our friends jealous!
Have you ever wondered what you're celebrity decorating style would be? Would your home be flamboyant and loud, or traditional and serene? Now you can find out! Thanks to the great folks over at iVillage, you can take a simple, eight question, quiz and discover what your celebrity decorating style is.
For the record, my results placed me in the same category as Mariah Carey! If you've ever seen her home featured on MTV Cribs, I'd say I did pretty darn good. The woman not only has amazing singing talent, but she's got great decorating taste as well!
Charlotte Interior Improvement Examiner
Budget-friendly ideas
Take tips on kitchen cabinets
Home and Garden Television
Author and HGTV host Joan Kohn provides budget-friendly ideas for improving your kitchen from her book, “It’s Your Kitchen”:
•Refinishing or replacing cabinet doors can make a huge improvement at a fraction of the cost of new cabinets. Noting that fine finishes cause cabinetry prices to soar, one shrewd home enthusiast I know recommends selecting less-expensive cabinets and then painting over the finish.
•Don’t fill all available wall space with cabinets. Buy only the cabinets you need. Don’t build so many that you are forced to shop to fill them when the kitchen is complete.
•In lieu of a wall of costly cabinetry, use the space for something other than storage. Create a seating area, office space or a place for the kids to play.
•Flush-overlay cabinet doors generally are less costly than inset doors. Open shelves are decorative, provide easy access and also save money.
•Plants and fresh flowers enrich any kitchen design. A bowl of fruit or a garland of dried chilies enlivens a space for next to nothing.
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IKEA: Most ethical
Retailer wins recognition for ethical business practices:
Home store Ikea was recently named one of the 2009 World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute, a research-based international think tank that evaluates more than 10,000 companies to determine winners. It is the third consecutive year Ikea has received the honor.
"Ikea has proven to be one of the world leaders in upholding high ethical standards, making it a true standout in its industry, especially as unethical business actions and decisions grab headlines each day," said Alex Brigham, executive director of the Ethisphere Institute.
The methodology used by the firm includes reviewing a business's history of ethics, litigation and regulatory infractions, evaluating its investment in sustainable business practices and looking at activities that might improve corporate citizenship.
Ikea was founded in Sweden in 1943 and offers home furnishings and accessories. There are 285 Ikea stores, including 36 in the U.S. and several in the Bay Area in cities such as East Palo Alto and Emeryville.
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Where has your blue bag been?
Innovative? That's IKEA ... even with contests! Green is becoming just as familiar a color to IKEA as their trademark blue & yellow.
Well, IKEA is having a fun, eco-friendly contest that you can create in the comfort of your own home but still get a little bit of that IKEA craving curbed for at least a few moments.
The new contest entitled, “Where has your blue bag been?” is an opportunity to share with the IKEA community photos, videos, or even blogs (me me me!) of how you may use or wish to use one of the IKEA blue bags. (Incidentally, for anyone who doesn’t know, the IKEA blue bags are the reusable shopping bags that you can carry throughout the store to put your super cool stuff in and can purchase for 59 cents.)
If you can’t get out there in the near future or you want to avoid the mania and go in a few weeks, the IKEA contest website even offers a download of the bag online so you can add it in to any picture you have or create. Think Travelocity gnome!.
Even though you are having a hilarious time creating these entries, there are still prizes to be had! You may have almost forgot about those in the process!
The prizes include a trip to an eco-friendly destination, a spa retreat or IKEA gift cards of up to $100.
If you are at a loss of what to do, check out what other entries have done so far here. It may inspire you to create something funky and artistic or maybe even eco-friendly!
To submit your entry or to check out the rules and regulations please go here.
Good luck and I can’t wait to see your entries! Post them here if you would like other Examiner readers to see them.
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Beyond the Beyond from Wired.com
“… offshoring its assembly labor onto the consumer…”
Now there’s a perspective I never thought of!
Denver IKEA ... 2012
Just received an e-mail from IKEA ... they put 2012 as the opening year for their store in Denver.
IKEA: World's most trusted retail brand
11,000 consumers were questioned in total - 1,000 each in 11 countries - and they were asked for their views on 20 companies. In all the countries except the US, where it was 12th, Ikea came in the top three. It ranked first in Canada, France, Italy and Spain, as well as its home market of Sweden.
How IKEA names it’s Furniture
IKEA furniture … everyone asks themselves, where in the world this crazy name come from? You’re in luck we have just that answer.
Join in on the IKEA craze: an eco-friendly contest with the famous IKEA blue bag
IKEA is having a fun, eco-friendly contest that you can create in the comfort of your own home but still get a little bit of that IKEA craving curbed for at least a few moments.
UTZ Award for IKEA
The 2009 UTZ CERTIFIED Sustainability Achievement Awards honored the IKEA Group, the international home furnishing company, as well as their entire supply chain including farmers, traders, and roasters; UTZ CERTIFIED Good Inside honored the IKEA Group for being the first retailer in the US to offer 100% certified and traceable coffee, at this year's Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) 21st Annual Exposition held at the Georgia World Congress Center.
IKEA lesson: DIY creates loyalty
“If you are willing to put furniture together yourself you get amazing deals,” said Megan Warner, a student at Valencia Community College in Orlando, where an IKEA opened in fall 2007.
“In our living room our couch, coffee table, end table, and rug all are from IKEA, our dinning room chairs are from IKEA, and our PC desk is from Ikea.”
IKEA creates 400 new jobs
Someday this headline will apply to the one in Denver!!!
… one of 400 people hired to help run the new 353,000 square foot store, with nearly half of the people working full-time …
IKEA creates 400 new jobs 10connects.com Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater
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