IKEA TALES–PART TWO!

Here’s an update on Elisabeth’s apartment:   We made it to Florida and thankfully for us, but not for them, the hurricane is headed up the east coast, although it was so windy and rained so hard, it felt like Irene landed here. Can I just say something right off? I HATE IKEA!!   How they stay in business I will never know. Yes, I know. They are extremely profitable worldwide and even on a Tuesday night, they were so packed it was like the Russians were in the Bahamas, but boy, they don’t make it easy on their customers. What an ordeal!!! OMG! I had no idea how awful it was going to be. We should have been filmed for a reality show. By the time we made it to the checkout, Elisabeth and I were cussing each other out – “I hate you!” “Go back home!” “Fork you!” and other such niceties.

We almost tore each others hair out we were so aggravated with each other!

Seriously, when you are buying a lot of furniture at IKEA, it gets pretty awful. Here’s what we ended up buying:   sofa with chaise, chair, ottoman, dining room table, 4 chairs, chest of drawers, and an armoire.   When we first got there, Elisabeth looked up our order on their computer and declared that everything we wanted was out of stock. I almost blew a gasket because it took us over an hour to get there during 5:00 rush hour traffic – and then to find out it was all out of stock?? Well, I was not a happy camper.   But, the nice man (and he was really nice) at IKEA told us she was wrong and it was all in stock.   So, armed with our helper that we brought from home, Ben’s trusty 300 pound, 6’4” employee James, we tried to load all these huge boxes on the carts. The boxes were so high that even James couldn’t see over the top of them. Nor, could he lift them on the cart they were so heavy – of course we had to ask for help. I kept thinking if James couldn’t lift the boxes, who on earth could? I mean, James is built like a wrestler and he was beaten down by these huge IKEA boxes.   Ben, as predicted, stayed at the hotel with the puppy, who by the way, was extremely well behaved on the plane ride.

Poor Lucy. Poking her head out from her carry on case, under the seat during the plane ride. She did really good though, after we tranquilized her with pills from the vet.

After three hours at IKEA, we finally limped out, having arranged for everything to be delivered two days later. Elisabeth was mad at me for not trying to load up our car with the boxes. How in the world she thought we could carry those behemoth boxes into her apartment, I have no idea.      Once the boxes were delivered on Thursday, much to my shock, Ben and Elisabeth quickly put together the sofa and chaise, chair, and ottoman.   Elves found on Craig’s List came on Friday to put together the table, chairs, chest and armoire.   On Wednesday, Ben, James and I did the Home Depot run and on Thursday night Ben and Elisabeth did the Target run.   Can I say exhausted?

Everything is slowly coming together.   All the slipcovers we ordered came in so wrinkled, but thanks to the advice of Julia from Hooked on Houses, we bought wrinkle remover at Target and boy, that stuff really works.    Her apartment doesn’t have a pantry or utility closet and the clothes closet is miniscule, hence the IKEA armoire.   She may even need to buy another armoire if one isn’t enough.   And she plans to buy a buffet to store her dishes in.    I totally misordered the dishes from Cost Plus.   She is now the proud owner of a service of 48 plates, 48 bowls and 48 salad plates. Oops!!!!   But I must say, Delray Beach, which is where her apartment is, is the most charming little beach town. What a huge surprise. Her street is lined with cafes, coffee shops and bars – all with open, outdoor seating. It’s like a bit of Paris – except with surfers instead of fashionistas. She’s about 1/2 mile from the gorgeous beach and she’s right next to a Starbucks. How she is ever going to make it to school and study, I have no idea. Personally, I want to move here myself – I might send her home and trade places with her. Here’s a few pictures of her apartment:

The living room with all the Ikea furniture.

Can you see Lucy sleeping on the dhurri rug? It’s like she’s camouflaged there. She’s sooo tired from all the action!   The linen pillows are from Restoration Hardware – word of warning, they shed more than the puppy.

This is the coffee table that hasn’t arrived yet. It’s from Zentique. Once it comes the ottoman will be put across from the sofa.

The side tables and mirror are from Wisteria and the lamps are from Ballard Designs.

The dining room area – it all came from IKEA. The stain is a gray color – IKEA goes Belgian.   The table actually gets bigger when you pull the top out.    The clock is from Restoration Hardware.

Elisabeth resting! Ben’s in the kitchen doing something, not sure what. Probably adding up all the bills, getting ready to shoot Elisabeth and me.

She’ll probably buy this from Ikea to put in her dining room to use as a pantry.

And she had to buy this armoire from IKEA – the Hemmes line which is a great gray color – because the closet is teeny-tiny. This piece actually looks cute in her bedroom. Unfortunately, I can’t show you pictures of her bedroom because the bed wasn’t made (putting it nicely) and there were suitcases with clothes thrown everywhere.   Maybe next time!

After finishing up with Elisabeth, I went to meet up with two fellow bloggers Renee Finberg and Claudia Strasser.    Renee lives in Boca Raton and is getting ready to open up a showroom that is located very close to our hotel.   I set off to find it and almost stopped off here – the shop right next door - for a quick little botox treatment.   hehe.

Actually, here is the showroom – The Trade – located in the Mizner area where there are the cutest shops and boutiques all around.

Renee, on the left, recently teamed up with Claudia who lives in Miami.   They’re now partners in The Trade which is set to open up October 1.

Renee Finberg writes the blog Tells All HERE which is about fine design.   She’s a great interior designer, so opening this shop will be a wonderful asset for all the people who live in the area.

Claudia writes the blog, The Paris Apartment HERE. She’s a published author, designer, and travel guide – she takes groups of shoppers to Paris and is getting ready to leave on a trip next week! Some of her guests stay at Paris Perfect apartments – the same ones that I featured a few weeks ago. I wish I could go on a trip with Claudia, but I just hate flying over a large body of water like the Atlantic. Plus, such a long flight, I think I would get claustrophobia.

Inside The Trade, the furniture is trickling in. Look how cute those curtains are! Renee designed them. The chandelier is beautiful.

These gorgeous antique French bergeres were found by Claudia in Paris – she told me they are in the movie “Midnight in Paris!!!” I’m going to watch it tonight in the hotel, so I’ll keep an eye out for the chairs. They are in a scene that takes place at a market. God, these chairs are so beautiful, I was drooling the entire time I was there, just wanting them sooo badly! Their lines are so feminine, so curvy, so French!

The showroom’s floor is painted in bold black and white stripes with café colored walls – such a great combination. All the chairs were upholstered in white with black accents so that they really popped in the space. The three of us sat around this “skirted roundtable” and had a laugh. Then we went shopping in the area.   Costly idea.   Renee described for me all the custom furniture she has designed for the shop and it alll sounds fabulous.   I going to come back and see it the next time I come to visit Elisabeth. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the best thing about blogging is the friends you meet, online and in real life!   Renee and Claudia and I have all been blogging for about the same amount of time and it felt like I was meeting old friends.

You can buy Claudia’s famous book on Amazon HERE.

Thanks girls for meeting me today! Can’t wait to see you next time I’m in town.

If you are visiting the Miami, Boca Raton, Palm Beach area, be sure to stop by The Trade and say hello to Renee and Claudia!!! For directions, contact Renee on her blog HERE or at 561-613-6800.