Our possible new sofa bed thingy.
We’ll be checking it out tomorrow morning. With a storage drawer option that fits underneath it (for blankets, bedding, etc).
Really quite excited about finally getting a new sofa, since my dear departed Lua totally ripped the old one to smithereens so that it is now just shreds of upholstery barely holding in the stuffing (cleverly hidden under cotton throw). And although I’m not really pleased about the new sofa not having any arms, I think the advantage of having a futon-like sofa bed with storage space at a very reasonable price (about 250€) makes up for that.
So now gearing up for that Total IKEA Experience … and seriously not looking forward to it. In part because I almost never make it through the kitchen section without buying loads of stuff I never knew I needed, but mostly because IKEA stores are not at all user-friendly for people who don’t own cars. And that half the time you go there for something specific it’s out of stock. So, fingers crossed …
casa azahar 
J would rather tear off his arm and eat it than visit Ikea.
I haven’t told him that we’ll be going to look at rugs for the new dining room :evilgrin:
Actually – I think that’s one trip I could do on my own since heavy lifting won’t be involved.
Wishing you many happy hours on your new sofa/bed thingy. The colour’s fab.
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Ooooooh, I could LIVE in Ikea. And the kitchen section is the best part. A dozen glasses for five bucks? Bring it on!
Just call for a van/station wagon taxi when you’re done. In Vancouver at least they’re very used to getting Ikea calls. A friend of mine called for a Sunroof taxi when he bought a palm tree there, and they had one. It was $15 extra, but still cheaper than paying the delivery fee.
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I am totally knackered. Four hours in IKEA today has left me all limp and frazzled. But we did get the sofa bed and the drawer thingy. And although I also like the colour of the sofa in the pic it would have seriously clashed with our one ochre wall – and anyhow, it was corduroy. Corduroy and cat fur is not a good idea.
So we opted for a ‘boring’ natural offwhite cotton sofa cover instead (which was also half the price of the corduroy one). But while we were in the queue at the delivery counter I took another look at it rolled up and realised that it would never fit in my washing machine (and what’s the point of having a washable cover if you can’t wash it?). So we returned it – something I’ve never done before, return something before I’ve even left the store with it – and decided to just use the borning natural offwhite cotton throw we already have until we can think of some other option.
And no, didn’t make it through the kitchen section without getting a few things I didn’t really need, but the best find of the day was 100% cotton king-size fitted sheets for just 10 euros! Hell, at that price they’re almost disposable (and it won’t hurt so much when the cats begin shredding them to, um, shreds).
We ended up going with the delivery service. It cost 28 euros and a normal taxi ride from there would have cost that much. Also, it means that they have to lug everything up three long flights of stairs (no lift). And that metal sofa frame weighs a ton.
So other than my yoga class first thing this morning and a couple of classes this evening that’s pretty much all I did today since just getting to and from IKEA added another hour and a half to our excursion. Not to mention the extra half hour writing about it. 😉
Why is shopping so bloody exhausting?
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IKEA *sigh*
Luckily I’ve lived most of my life far away from IKEA stores. The few times I’ve been in such a place it has been with an increasing feeling of horror.
It’s like a labyrinth where cart clad people moves like they were track bound zombies….
But it must be something with those stores I’ve never got the hang of. The Noble Knight is also keen on IKEA. Mum just LOVES to go to her nearest one.
I prefer my local furniture dealer.
OK, the “start kits” I bought at IKEA for the kids were well worth the money. It also saved me a lot of time chasing for cutlery, cooking pans, knives and such.
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I have a kind of love/hate relationship with IKEA. As I say, I love their kitchen section, and they do have great prices for some articles as well as some very cool designs so I was quite thrilled when they finally opened one here (well, nearish to here) a few years ago.
But things pretty much fall apart after you get to the check-out. Weirdly understaffed, gauging by the typically long queues. Like, why? And if you have to pick up something you’ve purchased that wasn’t in the store or the self-service area, this usually requires about a half-hour wait. Then if you want to have anything sent, at least another half-hour. And we’re talking mid-week mornings (the only time I’ll go to IKEA). I shudder to think of the queues and waiting time on a Saturday.
If it were closer to home I’d probably stop in more often for small items I could carry home on the bus with me, but I tend to only go there about once a year for something big and heavy.
Anyhow, the IKEA experience hasn’t ended yet as we are expecting the bedframe, mattress and under-the-bed drawer to be delivered sometime this afternoon … and then it’ll be ALLEN-KEY TIME. Gaaaaa!
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I spent a lot of time in IKEA when we lived in Vancouver…there was one a few minutes from our place (the largest in NA, with everything in stock from their catalogue), and I’ve come to love and hate it. I love wandering the show floors, I love browsing the ‘stuff’ in the Marketplace (yes, the kitchen stuff)…but then I look at the design, and realize that they often sacrifice function for style. My mother-in-law has a watering can from them, that leaks water out the sides when you pour. Looks great, but…It’s like they decided to stop the design process halfway — at “oh, that looks cool!”
So, everytime I go to buy something at IKEA, I wonder and ask myself if it’s one of those halfway things, or if it’s completely what I want/need.
And the picture frames are always just wrong. Maybe it’s the North American sizes, but if you have a 5″x7″ picture, the frames at IKEA are 4.8″x6.5″…the only pictures that fit in their frames are their own, or you have to get larger frames and get mats cut (don’t use theirs!).
But Azahar, congrats on the successful shopping trip!!
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Whew! After two hours of struggling with allen keys and whatnot the thing is set up – even with the drawer thingy underneath it (excellent idea that – it’s already full). It will take some getting used to as it’s quite a bit longer and higher than the old sofa. Also, it’s weird not having any arms, but I did purchase two square-edged rectangular bolsters that could also function as arm rests. I just need to make some covers for them.
Meanwhile, that photo above is a bit misleading as clearly they were using a much thicker mattress than the one we bought – or even saw available for purchase. But all in all, we’re quite happy with the new purchase.
Now we need to figure out how to dispose of the old sofa without our landlord seeing us and without me doing serious damage to my back carrying it down three long flights of stairs.
Lori, might the picture frame problem be a metric thing? Meanwhile, I thought Canada was pretty much metric by now. Hell, I remember them switching to Celcius temperatures back when I was 17.
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Well that’s done!
As usual, Nog & I went out for our Wednesday night tapas and then decided to get rid of the old sofa under cover of night even though we were both dead tired.
On the way in there was a group of young people (gosh that makes me sound old) sitting on and around our front doorstep, drinking beer and playing guitar. This is quite usual as there is a very popular bar just across from us. Anyhow, everyone very politely made way for us to open the door and enter the building … and about 15 minutes later they were quite surprised to see us opening both front doors (massive wooden things) to get the sofa out.
In fact they found this so amusing that they composed an impromptu flamenco tune about our sofa which was quite funny (something about us bringing it down for them to sit on). And a couple of them were about to help us carry the thing away when a student of Nog’s from the hospital (who’d been having tapas at the bar) came over and helped us.
So that’s over and done with. With only one unpleasant incident. When we were getting the old sofa out the front door of the apartment I stupidly left the livingroom door open and – yep – Sunny raced straight into the bedroom and attacked Azar. Pee and cat fur everywhere! Which is mostly cleaned up now – just waiting for Azar to come out of hiding to give him a sponge bath (Sunny’s had his already). Ah well.
Which reminds me that I should buy a waterproof mattress cover for the new sofa bed…soon!
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Metric…Canada is still really confused in the measurement department. I’m 5’8″, but the temperature is 8 Celsius. I buy a litre of milk, but a pound of butter. Pictures are still printed in 5″x8″ or 4″x6″ measurements…but we travel in kilometres. So, yeah, the picture frames at IKEA are metric, and almost useless to us in Canada.
Your cats are still not on friendly terms? That’s sad…
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No way are you five-eight!
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When people tell me they’re going to IKEA, I always warn them to bring some bread crumbs, to find their way out again. 😉
I *love* IKEA, but… Sometimes when I go there, I can actually get what feels like an insulin reaction, but isn’t. I get dizzy, a headache and disoriented, and have to sit, with my eyes closed for a while until my head stops spinning. Other than that, it’s great. Got my favorite duvet there, dirt cheap ($7), and it’s more comfy and *much* lighter than my old down one.
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forgot to say, I love your new sofa — so much that I’d already decided a while back to get one just like it when I’m working again… 🙂
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Excellent taste, SC. 😉
And if you get the drawer thingy it also doubles as a cat hiding place! At least that little devil Sunny thinks so.
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That little rascal! Figured out how to get in there quick enough, didn’t he?
I think if I opt for the drawer thing, I’ll have to regularly go through it looking for little plastic dinos, as there’s someone who likes to hoard them under couches and such. BTW, let me know how it holds up without the “washable cover”, okay? I probably wouldn’t spring for it, either.
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Well, it comes with a thin zip-off washable cover but it’s not exactly decorative. And as I said elsewhere, we’re going to be getting a waterproof mattress cover for it soon – which is really ugly but will protect it from getting soaked with cat pee.
I’m not sure what sort of cover we’ll end up with. If it doesn’t come from IKEA I think I’ll have to make one because 140cm x 200cm without arms isn’t a typical sofa size.
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Hello
I am Rev Lennonx Farrell and i will like to order Sofa. Do you carry HUGO Sofa 88″(W) x 35″(D) x 32″(H) foam seat back provides comfort and durability in stock.What is the price also what type of payment do you accept.Thank you
Kind Regard
Rev Lennonx
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Best comment ever? 😉
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Well quite! 🙂
Um, sorry Rev Lennonx … I’ve just got the one sofa and we need it.
I have to say that I get tons of clicks every day to this post. The Power of IKEA?
Meanwhile, never did bother making a new cover – we’re just going with the cotton throw. But when we bought the sofa I did buy a couple of what I thought were bolsters, to put behind my back when I’m sitting on the sofa … the covers for them were way too expensive so I thought I’d make my own. Which I only did a couple of weeks ago.
It was then I discovered that these foam thingys weren’t bolsters at all – they were meant to be used as sofa arms! So I finally made some covers for them … they ended up looking like large sugar cubes, but they are quite handy and comfortable. Check it out.
Sofa Arms
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Ooooh, very cubey! Do you like that you can move them around a bit, and do they stay put?
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I know, they’re really quite stupid looking. I honestly thought they were bolsters (like in the thumbnail pic) but after the plastic wrap was taken off they kind of, um, expanded. And then went all cubey.
But they are actually quite functional. Good place to put snacks when we’re reading or watching tv. And no, they don’t move around – I was surprised about that – and are quite comfy for leaning on.
The other good thing Nog has discovered about not having (permanent) arms on our sofa is that he can really stretch out when he takes a siesta.
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