I'm no longer an IKEA virgin

A while ago I mentioned that I finally made my maiden voyage to Ikea. Now for those of you design professionals who live in your big fancy cities where you're practically tripping over shops with fabulous with cutting edge design, this might not be very meaningful to you. In fact, you might not even be that impressed with Ikea at all. But for those of us living in third world countries, such as Columbia, SC, relatively devoid of all fashion and style, it is a BIG deal to finally have an Ikea within close driving distance.

So, on my last trip though Charlotte, I dragged my loving husband with me to experience the wonderland of Scandanavian design. And let me tell you--it did not disappoint! Just driving up to the big blue and yellow building was an awe-inspiring event.

I knew that good, affordable design was finally within reach. Walking through the doors was an exhilirating sensation, although I was slightly disoriented by the enormity of the building. We headed upstairs to the showroom (other friends had made the pilgrimage before us and brought back tales of the expansive display of home delight and perfection) where let me tell you, I was NOT disappointed. I began to skip and dance through the rooms as an unspeakable joy coursed through my veins. (I really did dance through the rooms until I ran into a stranger who didn't seem quite as entranced as I, and in fact thought it was odd to see a 30 year old woman skipping about like a small child at FAO Schwarz).

As I made my way through room after perfect room, sitting on every hip, cool, mod, fabulous chair, opening drawer after drawer of slick modern storage compartments on super cool wheelie thingies, I realized that my entire home needs redecorating. I mean, why not? It's so affordable!

After about 30 minutes of wandering through the maze of modern, fabulous chicness, my husband said to me, "You've got about 20 more minutes til I'm done with this." What? I've only just begun! I could stay here another 3 hours! How could he not understand that this was the happiest I've felt in weeks.

And so, I raced through the rest of the showroom breathless with wonder and delight (also because I really was practically running), so as not to miss a single thing. I was patting myself on the back as I headed down the escalator because at least I'd managed to see everything, only to be confronted by another whole level with millions of other must-have items that would make my life so much better! And so, I swore to myself that I would be back soon when no one could stop me from soaking in every drop of the marvel that is Ikea.

I came out with only this set of curtains, which I love! I'm putting them in our office and wondering what accent color I'm going to use since they are so neutral. Right now I'm thinking a deep purplish red, the color of my red shamrocks. What do you guys think?