The Ikea Challenge
Decorating shopathon: The room makeover duo hits the store and encounters avelvet divide
The pièce de résistance: a Trollsta side table.
This lamp looked like a bong. So we bought it.
The wall tapestry debate lingers.
It was shop 'til you drop at IKEA day as we piled into the car and made our way to the Swedish superstore. Having mapped out what our CultureMap co-workers want for our new office lounge makeover (and basically thrown those wishes out the window), we were prepared to tackle the multi-football field-sized space of IKEA Houston's mammoth store and embrace a few of its promised life changes.
We spent the following hours wrapped up in pillow fights, hiding behind bookcases and taking the occasional CultureNap. Of course, we also dug into the depths of our design intelligence and picked out a few prime pieces. After we only have 30 days to complete this lounge remix and 11 of them are already gone. Time tends to get away from design geniuses.
We're detail people (you won't catch Caroline misplacing an m-dash), so we found ourselves perusing the smaller items, trinkets that will complement our dark brown and white palette. So far, we're most pleased with a Trollsta side table in a rich yellow hue. It's got the perfect mod-decorative dichotomy with its sleek box top and slightly more ornate legs. The brash yellow will be a nice punch of color.
Creating a comfortable refuge from our desktop lives is a priority, so we devoted ourselves to testing out pillows and accompanying fabrics, reaching an uneasy "consensus" that the velvet trend will not be penetrating our CultureLounge.
One thing that we have yet to agree on, however, is the presence of plastic flowers in the room. While Caroline had fake sunflower-studded coffee table aspirations, Steven found himself more inclined to living orchids in ghost-white vases. The jury's still out on who will win the war on the finishing touches.
One agreement was reached, however: the cowhide we toyed with would certainly offend vegan officemate Fayza Elmostehi. We couldn't stand her tiny tears, so we left it.
Although we tried to stick to strictly business, it was difficult to not dally in the store's mini-mart of Scandinavian delights. We were at IKEA to mastermind a multi-use office living room, but that didn't stop us from prying into the shelves of imported mustards, lingonberry-everything and Caroline's favorite, the prawn mousse.
And while IKEA tapas are not yet available in Texas, our rumbling tummies couldn't resist the obligatory Swedish meatballs at the upstairs cafeteria. Tip: For added indulgence, ask to replace the roasted potatoes with mac 'n' cheese.
We're looking forward to picking out some plush couches next, if merely to cocoon upon during our future post-mac 'n' cheese comas.
Coming up next on Thursday: Caroline and Steven's design philosophies clash
Other articles in the IKEA Challenge series:
Creating a lounge in 30 days without killing each other
Sizing up the room specs, spots for the Shelby Hodge statue & kissing booth
The meddling begins: Our room makeover designers face opposition in the office
