Where Learning Meets Play: Photos and details of one Ikea experience. An example of how to survive and conquer.

Having read my last post about the how and why of an IKEA experience, you may have been left wondering with some questions as to how it all comes together and plays out in reality. I hope to address this here with a specific example of one trip. Additional photos can be found in my quick post about my trip.

I went with certain focus areas: kitchen (especially pantry and the annoying recycling items found on our counter,) Christmas items, outdoor chairs, fabric, 'design a gift items,' and a replacement full length mirror (mirrors on doors need REALLY secure fixings:/)

On arriving with my mum we headed to the returns section (part of the reason for the trip.) I love the set up behind this area, with all the fabrics hanging down.

We glanced over the catalogue as we waited, then went to the escalators. Next was breakfast and we were ready to begin. We travelled through the initial areas quickly as the living room section wasn't a focus for the day. Once in the kitchen section we had a look at pantry set ups for ideas. I noted these handles (the top long one) for the future as we would like to replace ours with ones that don't keep hooking onto Craig's pockets.

I really like these trolleys, but have no use for one, so I just took a photo instead. Never know when I might need one!

We are considering extra seating in our dining room, so I took a photo of this option which I have liked for a while now. Our dining table is the largest of the Norden design.

Our outdoor chairs have disintegrated! So the aim was to find chairs which allowed for more people to sit down around the same table. Our grey metal and glass outdoor table may not be very pretty, but it is extremely functional, especially considering the amount of painting the kids do. I took photos of the bench and chair I needed so I could collect them from the warehouse. I bought 2 of each.

I really love this cabinet. It would make a great sewing cabinet, but it is not on my focus list for today.

Once Daisy has moved out of our room, Craig and I will be purchasing new bedside tables and a set of drawers. Our old bedhead-that-is-a-bedside-table was great in our last house, but 4 years on in this house it is getting annoying because it just doesn't work with the dimensions of the room. Craig and I have been considering the Hemnes range. I took some photos to show him a few options. He liked them as much as I did!

The girls have been asking for bunks for a long time. We are still unsure about what the rooms will look like once Daisy leaves ours. So I'm definitely researching this! I like this design, but would prefer white. Solid wood is a must for this item.

We have the shoe cabinet seen below. It is one of my favourite Ikea purchases. It really helps our entry stay at least mostly trip-free.

I thought these baby/toddler quilts were really cute. It will be a good option for Miss D if I take too long to finish hers!

I bought a potty for Daisy. I don't expect her to use it any time soon, but I like it to be just a normal thing, that she can choose to use whenever she feels ready. I am learning not to underestimate her. I thought the blue chalkboard was cool. It's a shame we don't have an undercover area to use it.

These are some of the art and craft things available. The only thing is that I'm not sure if the paints and textas are washable. We only do really washable here. I did make an exception for Isabel. She has been part of a visual arts group at school this year and loves it. Her watercolours ran out a month ago, so I bought her some for Christmas. They will either make up part of her 'design a gift' or Santa sack. I also purchased the paint brushes, which are just lovely, and some corrugated cardboard (for the 'design a gift' project.)

There are many great, simple toys available. No need for them here though! The Ikea kids kitchen is so cute, as are all the tiny implements to fill it.

Downstairs, we grabbed a trolley. Impulse buy: straws. These will be great for summer to encourage lots of drinking water. A couple of mine are too busy playing to drink! My sister has these so I know they are great quality. Daisy sat chewing on one (bottom eye teeth coming through) for a long time and it didn't crack. I will put them in the kid's 'welcome to summer' box.

We briefly looked at curtains. I do this every time because I would love to buy curtains for our living area, but there are soooo many big windows (yes SUCH a big problem, and my wallet can't fit my 100's and my diamond shoes are too tight! hehehe) So every time I go to Ikea I look. And never buy any.

It was my first time buying fabric! I love that all I had to do was cut it myself, then it was weighed and I was charged accordingly (and given a sticker to stick on the fabric.) I plan to make something for the girls with the fabric. The red will also be useful for Christmas-making. We had a chat to the sales assistant and she said they will keep running out of it as Christmas gets closer.

The fabric below is the plastic kind. I took a photo just in case anyone else is in the market for this.

Both of the vanities we inherited with our house have slight cracks in them. We are always looking at new options. For later, not right now.

I don't need towels right now, but if I did….

I bought both items below. The green container is for recycling under the sink (so I can say "please empty the green container" and the kids will know exactly what I'm talking about.) The white metal thing with slides is something I already have (but I reversed the slides so there are no flaps) for organising homework and school notes. I bought another to organise our white and coloured paper. It fits perfectly in the Billy bookcases in the study.

I repurchased the mirror below. We put the original one on the back of the door and it was a bit loose. It fell out sideways. It didn't smash but one of the corners broke off, so we are replacing it (more securely this time.)

I chose two orange clip lamps for the boys. I've been considering lamps for a while but bunk beds make it a bit tricky. This was an impulse buy.

There was a great deal of Christmas items available. I purchased some. I chose some wrapping paper to go with the brown paper I mostly use at Christmas. This paper will also be great for Christmas craft because it is thick and doesn't tear easily. I purchased decorations to add to our advent calendar, gift tags and a few other items. If you are in the market for a very easy advent calendar, they have a pack that includes small gift bags and 24 number stickers.

These are the trolleys ready for the register (it's not all mine!!)

Once home, Craig left for afternoon shift so I didn't do anything with the items. When I first started going to Ikea I hated that there was always this lull after returning home. I wanted everything done right away! So completely unlike me, I know. Now I'm okay with the new stuff hanging around for a couple of days, unopened and unassembled. It gets done in time. A fabulous lesson in patience!