Hej Då IKEA

I suppose it is now time to let the blogging world know that I decided to leave my job at IKEA this summer.  My last day was actually July 25th, so I've been on true summer vacation since then.  It was a hard decision to leave, but one I knew was coming.  Between teaching, tutoring, and IKEA during the school year, I rarely had downtime.  Sunday was my only day or evening off during the week, and it was usually filled with house chores like cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping.  Then Monday morning the crazy routine would start all over again!

By about May of this year I had hit a wall and needed a break.  What most people don't realize is that even though the store closes at 9, my department was often scheduled until 9:30 or 10:00pm.  But really that meant nothing, because we had to stay until all the orders from the day had been processed.  Sometimes that meant I was at work until 11:30 at night on busy days. After having been at school since 7:30 in the morning, I usually got a little grouchy by that point! I ended up taking a leave of absence from my job for the month of May.  It was the best decision I have ever made! I got to do things and hang out with family, friends, and coworkers that I never had time to do before because I was always working.  I got to cook more meals at home instead of reheating leftovers in a work microwave.  But the best part was being able to come home from school and not have to rush out the door to go somewhere else.  I was home for the night.

While I was off, I got offered two new jobs, both in the music and teaching field.  It was like the heavens (or my friends!) knew I needed a change!  While these jobs will also keep me busy come the fall, the hours are much more regular and reasonable, and they are in the field that I studied and want to pursue.  I went back to IKEA in June and submitted my resignation for the end of July.

While my job was long hours and sometimes back-breaking work, I did enjoy it.  My coworkers were great, and I will miss them a lot!  They are what made the job bearable sometimes!  And sadly no more employee discount #boo.  I won't miss the crazy customers and the insanity that is IKEA on a weekend though!  Thank you IKEA Ottawa for a great three and a half years :)

    

Ikea Hack: Quilted Rast Dresser

My last Ikea Hack was so popular, that I wanted to try another one!  (You can read about my Lack Corner Shelf Hack here.)

I wanted a new nightstand for my bedroom that was a little bit bigger and provided some more storage.  The one I was currently using I'd had since I was a child and it was getting pretty squishy.  I only had room for a lamp, my clock, and a phone.  Anything else, like books I was reading, had to go on the floor.  I immediately thought of the Rast dresser from Ikea.  It's cheap and easy to customize.  I did some Pinterest searching, and came up with lots of ideas.  I loved the idea of covering it in a faux ostrich fabric like I'd found at Simple Details, but I also liked the idea of trimming out the bottom to make it look more expensive, like The Accent Piece had done.

I purchased the Rast over March Break.  I had every intention of making this my March Break project...that totally never happened considering I only just finished it!

Here is what my bedroom looked like before, and what the Rast dresser looked like before:

I'd say it was a pretty significant transformation!  Here's how the whole process went down.

I purchased the Rast model for $39.  It was super simple to build - took probably 20 minutes.

When you build the dresser, the piece of wood that runs along the bottom does not sit flush with the front of the two side pieces (you can see what I mean in the before picture above.)  My dad helped me out, and we drilled new holes above the pre-existing ones so the front would sit flush when assembled.  This ensures that you have no gap when you install the moulding.

Next, we measured and cut the moulding to go along the bottom.  (I will leave out the gory details we encountered in this step...in true DIY fashion there may have been a lot of arguing.  We even contemplated not doing the moulding anymore.  The moulding I picked was too large for our miter saw and couldn't be cut properly.  Lessons learned: measure how how high your saw can cut before purchasing wood, and don't start this step at 10:30 at night...)  We were going to nail the moulding to the bottom, but, of course, the nails were not cooperating, so we just decided to glue and clamp.  The glue worked, I recommend that!  We also measured and drilled for the new handles.  I didn't bother filling in the old holes as they were going to be covered by fabric later anyway.

I let the glue dry overnight, and the next morning I had some serious filling and sanding to do!  (I told you the cutting was pretty bad!)

I had two test pots of paint mixed at Home Depot for about $5 each.  One was colour matched to the fabric I chose, and the second one was just plain black.  I primed everything first.  Then I painted the edges of the frame black as well as the moulding along the bottom.  (Once it was painted, you couldn't even tell the moulding had been so crazy! yay!)  I painted the edges of the drawers, as well as along the inside of the frame, the fabric colour.  This ensures that when the drawers are closed, you don't see any of the original pine. Everything received 2 coats.

The splurge for this project was the fabric.  There are not a lot of fabric stores in Ottawa, let alone ones that sell quality vinyl.  I didn't want to go with just regular fabric as I was worried it would pucker once it was glued. I ended up finding some nice quilted looking vinyl.  When all was said and done, it cost about $56 for one yard.  Definitely more than I wanted to spend, but I realized I was going to have to if I wanted to achieve the look I was going for.  I measured and cut pieces for the front of all three drawers, the two sides of the frame, and the top.

I used some spray adhesive to glue the pieces down.  **Note: after about 24 hours the glue started to not adhere and the corners of the fabric were peeling off.  I recommend using a light coat of white glue instead of the spray.  I ended up having to go back and touch up the glue.

Then it was simply a matter of piercing through the vinyl to attach the new handles (I used a needle) and reinserting the drawers.  I wanted to purchase a piece of glass to put on the top to protect the fabric.  I shopped around for some quotes, and it was going to cost almost $80 to have a proper piece cut!  So not worth it!  I was palletizing a kitchen while working at Ikea the other day and noticed that the glass shelves we sell looked about the same size.  I purchased one of the Rationell 24x12" glass shelves and it fits!  It's a bit small, but I just centered it on the top and it looks fine.  And at $10 ($20 for 2) it was way better than getting glass custom cut!

I love it.  It finishes off the room really nicely.  I just have some accessories to tweak in the room and I think I can call the bedroom complete!  I'll add it to my house tour once it's done!

Happy New Year!

Can't believe 2014 is here already.  Tomorrow is my last day of vacation before heading back to school and tutoring on Monday (I've continued at Ikea over the Christmas break).  The holidays always go by so fast, and I'm always a little sad when I pack up the decorations for another year.  It was a great two weeks though - so much food and good times!  I do feel like I've had a break which is nice, but it will be tough to get back into the rat race again next week.

I wanted to share with you a little project I completed in the living room before the holidays started.  I had been researching wall decals for a LONG time, and when I found this tree at Ikea, I decided to give it a try.
It is the Mossen decorative sticker and is super easy to apply to the wall.  It goes on like a paint by number. You peel off each individual piece and match it to its other corresponding piece on the wall.  Here it is completed!

The little birdies on the branches are my favourite part :)  I didn't want to put more shelves or more art on the walls so this is an interesting alternative.  This pretty much completes my living room now.  I think I'll wait and do some living room tour pictures come the summer when there is more sunlight coming in through the front windows and the Christmas decorations are down ;)

I have also started using Instagram.  Those of you that follow me would have seen the wall decal up a few days ago already.  You can find me here: http://instagram.com/livefromb5.

Here's wishing a happy and healthy 2014 to you all!

Meet My Big, Yellow Bird

Not this big, yellow bird....

but this yellow bird!

He's the new Kladsam mobile from IKEA!  I call him Iggy.  Originally, Iggy was meant to go on my balcony where he could swing in the breeze.  However, I didn't realize how high the ceiling is out there and I couldn't reach...even with a ladder and a chair... I knew his winter home was going to be in my living room, so I put him there for the time being.  Turns out he looks great there and I think he's found a permanent home!  

Iggy is not very heavy, so he's just suspended by some extra manila rope I had and a 3M hook stuck to the ceiling.  So far there's been no danger of him falling down and he has great conversations with his woodland squirrel friend too...  Is it possible to have too many animals in one location?

I love his bright, yellow colour, and he matches a lot of the other decor in the room, while still being original in his own right.

Best part is, it's like having a pet, but he doesn't make a peep, hehehe...

Makeup on Shelf, Not on Toilet...Check!

So, if you've been around these parts for a while now, you know that I have been working on fixing up the bathroom to include better storage and give it a more personal feel rather than the generic standard condo bathrom layout.

If you're new to B5, here's what my bathroom looked like before:

You'll notice the complete lack of storage, and my makeup was being stored in a basket on the back of my toilet.

Well no more!!

I put up some Grundtal glass shelving from IKEA and installed them over my toilet.  They don't stick out too far, and you can see through them.  This helped to keep the bathroom feeling open.  I was worried with the Lillangen shelving unit across from the toilet and the shelving it would seem too closed in, but the glass just disappears into the wall!

Here's a few shots of how it looks now:

I love that my makeup and bath products now have a real home where I can access them easily. 

Here is how the list looks now, with links to the completed projects for you to check out:

• Add a piece of fabric to the bottom of my shower curtain
• Update the shower head
• Update the light fixture
• Change out the mirror
• Add some closed storage
• Add towel hooks
• Add some open shelving over the toilet
• Paint

So close to being done!  I think I may even have a lead on a new light fixture...the end is in sight!

   

Tackling the Bathroom: Update

Last time I filled you guys in on the bathroom, we had just given the shower curtain a much needed makeover. About a month ago IKEA had a bathroom event and after lots of measuring and time spent on the IKEA website, I decided on the Lillangen mirror and mirrored cabinet to add the much needed storage in my bathroom.

I didn't get the legs for the tall cabinet since I had two Capita legs left over from Bert's installation, so I used those instead.  I also didn't put the two side hooks on, but decided to save them in case I needed them later.

As a reminder, here's what the bathroom looked like before:

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This was after we removed the mirror and painted.

And here's the bathroom now!

I also picked up two hooks which you can see in the picture above to hang towels on.  I've never been a fan of towel bars.  Hooks are more convenient I find!  I LOVE that my makeup is no longer on the back of the toilet! It's so much cleaner and less cluttered.  The Lillangen series is made with smaller spaces in mind so they fit great.  And their black-brown colour matches perfectly with my existing cabinetry.

So here is how the list looks now, with links to the completed projects for you to check out:

• Add a piece of fabric to the bottom of my shower curtain
• Update the shower head
• Update the light fixture
• Change out the mirror
• Add some closed storage
• Add towel hooks
• Add some open shelving over the toilet
• Paint

Making progress!!

Tomorrow is the last day of school before Christmas break and they are calling for a big snowstorm with 30cm of snow forecast. Looks like it's going to be a white Christmas here!  Stay safe if you're travelling this weekend!