I admire the ancient look or rustic feel of things, especially furniture and buildings. So, when I first visited IKEA, Kuwait (I’m talking more than 15 years ago), I was not impressed with the ‘boring’ white-coloured furniture and other household items from IKEA. I wanted the antique furniture look. But after I got married and had to take care of the house myself, I changed my mind. I realized the importance of having simple furniture with little or no hidden corners. The simpler the household items, the easier they were to clean. Now, despite my love for antique items, I have settled for the simple and elegant household items from IKEA, Bangalore, as they are space-saving and affordable, too.
These flower pots are merely for show. You will need to get pots with holes to put your plants in and place those into these pretty white flower pots from IKEA. You may want to check on them every month as they tend to fill up with water, especially if your plants need to be watered daily. We only use them for our mini snake plants that require minimal watering.
Our favourites are the white rice paper lamps from IKEA. We have previously owned table lamps, ceiling lamps and floor lamps of the same type. Right now due to the presence of ‘kids with balls’ in the house, we have chosen more sturdier lamps for our study room and bedside tables. Our elegant floor lamp is still the rice paper one from IKEA and has been standing tall for two years now. Let’s hope it stays that way for a longer time.
We hadn’t thought about buying these tables when we went shopping earlier last year. We were looking for a centre table. But these tables looked convenient to move around. So now, besides our heavy centre table in the middle of the living room, these elegant-looking white tray tables from IKEA are the ones mostly used, especially by the kids.
Since we were small, we would hang our clothes (to be worn again soon without washing) behind the doors that would not open properly due to the amount of clothes hanging there. Now, we have an elegant hat and coat stand from IKEA that we use for our clothes. It does not look shabby in the corner of the room but it always helps if you limit your items hung on it.
For those of you who love decorating your balconies with undergarments, please check out this drying rack for hanging wet clothes. You can fold it and keep it in a corner when not in use. And, you can use your balcony for other things like having a cup of tea or just standing and enjoying the view outside. The foldable laundry basket from IKEA also has an elegant look and can be kept anywhere in your bedroom or laundry area.
In India, we mostly used steel or plastic racks for drying our dishes. Now, we use a dish drainer from IKEA. I just learnt this term while I was looking for this item on their website. Yes, it may be small for joint families but for nuclear families, it can be the most elegant thing in their kitchen. Of course, this is probably only good for those who don’t have a dishwasher already.
We currently have a lot of rags that we use as hand towels. But, we are soon planning to purchase a new set of white hand towels from IKEA. They come in various colours, so yours need not be white. They also have bath towels, hair towels and something called ‘tea towels’ that I have yet to check out. Yes, another trip is coming up!
Instead of those plastic bins that we normally get at local stores, we have switched to elegant-looking waste bins from IKEA that look stylish in the restrooms. They have an inner bucket that can be removed and easily cleaned. They also have a soft closing lid, so nobody knows exactly when you’re done with your job. Hahaha!
Mostly, the products in IKEA are ‘cheap and chic’ and long-lasting. Besides these new household items, we have some furniture that has been with us for over 15 years already. Maybe those will make an appearance in my next blog post. But for now, I hope you liked my little informative article on how you can make your house look simple and elegant with household items from IKEA.
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38 Comments
You are fortunate to be living near an IKEA! I wish I did!
Love the lamp. Would perfectly go with my room decor.
I like IKEA for their huuuuge variety of creative household items and their pricing. Ofcourse their furniture isn’t as sturdy as solid woods but they do the job anyway and look elegant and classy.
I must say, you have a great choice for home design items. I loved each piece here, Cindy, especially the white table and the table lamp. It looked so elegant and amazing. I would definitely check out IKEA products.
I love IKEA too; their range of products not only look good but they are useful too. I’m going to check out the centre table and the bin next. Thanks for your inputs.
IKEA have changed the definition of home decor. ..items …I loved the table …as I have it. And I am in love with it .
I will surely try other products of IKEA …any how i was looking for some of the kitchen storage stuff ..will look in to IKEA website.
I agree while the rustic and classic looks really pretty in the magazines, actually maintaining them and keeping them clean every day, especially in the dustry city that I live in proved to be a lot of work added on. so now I too buy pieces that are easy to clean, have classic straightforward design and long life. I add decoration pieces to add some story to my spaces.
What an amazing post you have written. much needed in these times when the space is less and thing we need are of course not less and we all love that clean, simple and elegant look. I have this similar stand which we use to hang our clothes, mainly Jackets as we can’t wash them after every use and can’t be worn in continuation either.
Being an ardent home decor enthusiast, visiting IKEA is like an amusement park for me. I so look forward to it whenever I can! I love all the products that you have listed. My house has a coastal decor, and I need more lamps. But the dish drainer is definitely something that my kitchen needs badly.
I love and admire Ikea, but I prefer the local things most of the time. I think, at times, IKea becomes very common. Though I do appreciate the look. I think from this post, I love the look of the lamp. My personal favourite is the stand, which I got from there. It is a game changer for my living room.
I too love the paper lanterns. I have a lot of kitchen and dining stuff from Ikea as I am a food blogger. They have some really reasonable baking bowls, glasses and other crockery which I cant resist picking up.
Nice post Cindy. Useful collection of items for the home. Maintaining cleanliness is the best part of making the home look beautiful.
Those rice paper lamps from IKEA are a classic choice! I love how they add a touch of elegance to any room. And your floor lamp lasting for two years already? That’s impressive durability!
IKEA has changed the game of furniture and knick knacks in India. I simply love visiting the store just for fun and to see the new products and arrivals. Love your home essentials as they are similar to mine as well.
That’s awesome, Zenobia!
I also prefer a rustic feel in interiors. These look too simple. Our home is full of carved furniture. It is sure difficult to maintain but it is worth it.
I’m a fan of IKEA products, but I mostly browse them online. Your collection looks elegant and nice. Since I don’t have one here at my place I’ve not ventured but not the kind of person to travel to the IKEA location in the other state, I hope they open one here soon.
Wow, these IKEA finds are spot-on for creating that perfect balance of simplicity and elegance in any home. Absolutely love that lampshade dear It adds such a cozy yet stylish touch to any room. IKEA truly knows how to add functionality with aesthetics. Can’t wait to grab one for my own space.
YOU are right, they are a little too minimalistic, but I like the clother hanger, the utensil drain and the tray table. These are useful and don’t take up much space, considering we all now live in smaller spaces. Easy to clean also, as the most difficult part of Indian furniture is cleaning the crevices.
True, Ambica!
I often joke that our house could work as an IKEA show space. Not unlike the ones they have in their own stores. Every other item in our household is from IKEA and I absolutely love them all. Even from this list, we’re using 4 already. I’ve had my eye on the white rice paper lamp for a long time as well but I don’t see its utility (as least not just yet)
This post was like a walk through my own utilities list and I would for sure vouch for most of these products
Thanks, Manali!
I love IKEA products especially the lights and storage and organizers. I have a bookcase from ikea and its so beautiful and reasonable.
I love IKEA products because they look simple and minimalist. Though I didn’t yet visited IKEA but I guess I can buy from your link. I like tray table and flowers pots. Thank you for sharing these simple but elegant household items.
You’re welcome, Neeta!
I was in love with Ikea products even before I visited their showroom. Back in 2017, I wanted to decorate my son’s room with Ikea furniture and decor items but we had no Ikea showroom in Noida. But when it opened in Bangalore, I got everything I had wished for. I have everything from the list above except the lamps.
Wow, I want to come over and check it out, Neha!
Ikea I am not sure if its there in Delhi NCR region or not but I am really interested to take a tour of it whenever possible after checking out this post and the products you talked about. I believe quality with affordability is the USP of Ikea and one must visit it atleast once. The lamp is very classy and sophisticated one which I will love to have on my work desk. Let’s see when I can finally make it to IKea and that too in which city.
Come to Bangalore, I can take you there!
IKEA products do give a minimalist and stylish look. For some products, it is the joy of assembling them and an achievement of having built something. Out of these, the coat and hat stand is one I think I should consider. Agree, hanging them behind a door causes them to not open properly.
Nice collection of products and I see that you have a bent towards white. Nothing classier than white! I quite like IKEA products too. Simple and elegant.
YA white goes well with my walls.
Ikea has been on my “Places to visit” list ever since I heard the news of their Mumabi place. And yet it’s still on the same list. I have seen dish drainer being very useful and pots look quite elegant. I am so looking forward to visit the store now. I think I need to make that trip soon.
First of all, IKEA is a rabbit hole. It is really hard to get out of their store in Navi Mumbai. In fact, I have the exact same white lamp and tray table. This is a great recommendation list. Probably time to revisit them.
I too have a few IKEA items in my home, I like them because most of them have simple but functional and minimalistic designs and have a long life. I have a few baskets and some pegs that I use for saree draping ( they were much cheaper than Drapediva’s ).
Oh! That’s nice, Preeti!
Ikea has some very good products. All the items that you have shared are really elegant and simple and the one which I have been looking for is cloth stand. Will definitely go and grab this for myself.
I like the clothes hanger and the lamp. They are very classy in style and go with minimal decor. I too like to shop at Ikea, mostly for my kitchen. I have seen other decor items but I think its high time I invest more on such affordable and long-lasting items for home from Ikea.