Thursday, September 1, 2011

Liatorp Love


Before I go any further, I am not getting paid by Ikea to endorse their products. I WISH!! But I definately have placed quite a few orders with them lately, and alot of it has been large items (the buffet, this unit, a benchtop for the Laundry, chest of drawers for Stella, a bookcase) and to make the order worthwhile (just because no order is complete without all the little things) I like to add baskets, boxes, hooks, hangers . All the good stuff.
We have found the freight from Perth to Geraldton, really reasonable aswell. I think our largest order was only $150 for the freight. Sounds expensive, but when you add up a round trip of fuel (with a trailer) food, wear and tear on your vehicle and accomodation if you are staying, its much cheaper!! Not to mention fast!! I have ordered on a Wednesday morning and had it delivered to my garage on a pallett on Friday!! Perfect for weekendd DIY projects!!

Right, enough on the Big blue store, and onto my new love  ( or one of!!)
We have been meaning to, wanting to, saving for, a new TV Unit for a while now, and with having the salon, and me working Saturdays, we just never got around to doing anything! A bit like all the jobs really!
Thats why we have achieved so much, and made so many changes in the last few months around our home!

It took awhile, and we hummed and haaaa-ed about what sort of unit we were after, and we finally settled on the Liatorp series from Ikea. Well actually Noel was very passionate that he wanted it , and I didn't take much convincing. I was just worried that it would be too big and offensive in our living area, however, luckily, its not.
Since losing the sewing/scrapbooking room to make way for another baby , I needed some storage for all my bits and bobs. My scrapbooking gear is now stored in a Expedit 2 x 4 behind our bedroom and that seems to be working so far, as I now scrap in our bedroom and can leave things out and close the door from the kids. But my sewing stuff and machines needed somewhere too. As did the printer, laptop, and some stationary!!

So this came about;


Isn't she lovely?! OMG!! So gorgeous!!
We ended up buying the tall bookshelves for either side, and the sideboard for the TV( (instead of the TV unit as it was shorter and little fingers touch more) , and the Bridging shelf for the top so it all fits seamlessly!
Then we added solid doors to the top and bottom.
NB: whilst undertaking this project, we found out out that the glass doors for the top have been discontinued (and I wanted solid anyway) and they don't make any others. But, luckily , by drilling a few new holes and it fit (not as perfect as the real ones would have but good enough for us and you can't tell anyway).

Here is the sideboard, only half filled , but it looks fantastic. We are able to store the Portable DVD player and chargers , DVDS, cords, etc in the boxes and baskets and still have it look uncluttered and organised.



And this is what is in the left side bookshelf. Buttons, scissors, small sewing kit, zips, beads, wool, ribbon. You name it, its there!

And my Machines are at the bottom!


The bottom of the right side has large boxes of materials, stuffing, wool, plain tshirts for appliquing.
(And see my new friend there on charge, isnt she lovely?)

 


And the top of the right side. Small boxes at top for blank CD's for photos, stationary, spare cords, Ipod accessories and under the printer and space for the laptop to sit (Noel needs to drill a hole on the back board to slide the charging cord through and we are set). I generally move the laptop to where ever I am, the kitchen bench, the bed, wherever, so I don't sit at a desk and blog/type/work/gossip!
The setup for the printer is not the best, but its a really wide printer, but I am happy to take this to the bench and plug it in also.

So thats it for now, lots of labels to be put on boxes (I ran out of tape) , some more boxes to be purchased when the budget allows, and we are set. I am sure I will be moving things around over time, but I always do that and I think you need to use a space or item to know what works.
All in all, we love the new unit. LOVE the storage it has created for us, but still mainting a streamlined and classic look to the house and love the quality of the Liatorp series in comparison to other Ikea furniture items we have bought in the past!!

NB: We realise the door knobs aren't on the bottom cupboards, this is on purpose , door knobs mean kids can open doors, so until we get to the shop to buy childsafe locks, they will remain off!!

9 comments:

  1. Oh I do like it so much! Don't you just love having a place for everything :-)

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  2. looks fantastic Liz, sigh if we just had the space for one!

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  3. LOVE, you've done a fab job Liz and everything looks beautiful! I love being organised!

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  4. WOW how divine! Fantastic job...but I have a question for you. Your new little friend (the one charging), which brand did you opt for and are you happy with it?

    I'm about to purchase one of these little gems myself and thought I'd ask :)

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  5. Thanks guys, we are loving the extra storage, and all behind closed doors!
    Amanda, we purchased a Robomaid, and I absolutely LOVE her!! I use it a few times a day (with littlies it is possible) and the battery life, and sucking power is amazing! YOu won't regret your purchase!

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  6. Cheers Liz. This is the one I've been looking at but there's so many it's a bit mind boggling!

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  7. Looks great! Wish I could convice my hubby that we need some IKEA storage . . . we are in the process of (slowly) combining a very full study with a very full formal lounge area to give my son a room (he is still in our room at present).

    Birdie

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  8. Beautiful Liz, I have the exact same setup except the bridging shelf and the top doors. It makes me happy every time I walk in the room. Love that little draw for remotes etc..Agree the liatorp is excellent quality and we got ours over a period of time, started with one bookcase and worked from there.

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  9. Hi - I hope you are still reading this post as I see you did it a while ago. I am looking to do the same thing but cant seem to find the solid doors. Where did you find them? Thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!! Laura

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Thankyou for taking the time to read and more importantly comment on my blog. They are all so appreciated! Liz x