Fallen out of love?

I was just flicking through the latest issue of Ikea Family Live, and besides all the lovely homes they feature (and every time I say to myself "that can't be ikea") they had this hilarious article about falling out of love with your home. Here is an exert from the article:-

"You've been together a long time. A long, long time. But suddenly, you've realised there's no spark, and you feel like the fire's gone out. After all, when you're not actually lighting a fire in your fireplace, you're obviously not enjoying time spent around it. As you walk around the void you deludedly call home, you might notice some signs that scream "hey, where is the love?".
taken from Ikea Family Live winter 2011

The article goes on to talk about preferring to be apart from your home as the relationship starts to die ..... it got me wondering, what do you do to bring back the spark in your home? For me it's new cushions (I have cupboards full of them), and perhaps a visit to ebay or the local second hand shop for a bit of an added eclectic injection. Lets face it we can't love everything about our home all the time - can we?

Michelle

To Ikea, Or Not To Ikea?

Hope everyone has had a wonderful week! This week, in Brisbane, we had a public holiday for Ekka. We decided it was a good idea to go to Ikea .... (ahh)! Not a good day to do this as half of Brisbane had the same idea!
Anyway, I very rarely get my husband to shop at all (let alone at Ikea) so I eagerly took this opportunity, popped no. 1 daughter into the kiddies play land, strapped no. 2 daughter into the pram - constantly watching the clock as I know it normally takes me around 3 to 4 hours to get around that place - not a chance with husband in tow! We had 1 hour before daughter no. 1 had to be picked up so the race was on! Breezing past the isles I would normally linger at .... then, my husband said - what about an Ikea vanity for our ensuite renovation? What? Shock, Horror .... then I took the time to look ..... they actually don't look that bad, and an entire double vanity with taps for $1600!!
So, I was wondering ..... To Ikea, Or Not To Ikea .... has anyone else dabbled in an Ikea bathroom before? If you have, what did you think? Was it durable? Can I make it look expensive? Anyway, my head is full of questions. Of course I went straight to Google and here is some inspiration ...

The Smartest Fish

Love the image above - in this bathroom they have painted an Ikea island bench and used it as a vanity .... who would have thought??

pics digger

Ikea with marble ..... may just be the right balance?

Ikea Fans

The image above shows a similar vanity to the one we were looking at - it comes in other colours and finishes.

Plastolyx

The vanity above shows an Ikea carcass and a concrete top - possibility?

Bathroom Furniture Reviews

Lastly .... is this really Ikea? It looks a little bit minimalist for us, but still can't believe it's Ikea!


Think I need to do a little more research but potentially we may be able to create style on a budget! What do you think?

Hope all you Brissy followers had a fantastic People's Day, and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Michelle

p.s. I left without my usual "I've been to Ikea for 3 hours" headache so maybe there is something to be said for having my husband in tow!!