Floored

We landed in Durham exactly one week ago today and have been unpacking and settling into our new home every waking moment since. I can't wait to share photos of the place once we have painted the walls and battled the massive heap of empty cardboard boxes that has taken over the back porch. Even though we filled a 16-foot moving truck to the brim with all of our worldly possessions (ok, mostly MY worldly possessions), now that we have a bit more room to spread out, I'm noticing some holes around the place. Specifically in the living room. I have spent every relaxing-post-unpacking minute searching online for something to soften up these hardwood floors. Especially with Graham on the verge of crawling any day now(!!!), we need something to protect those little knees STAT.

I've torn through West Elm, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel, CB2, The Land of Nod, Pottery Barn, Target, Home Depot, Macy's, Sears, Amazon, Craigslist, Ebay, and something called RugStudio.com, all to no avail. Everything is beige or floral or Persian, and we are having none of that. Oh! We also don't want to spend more than 150 bucks since Graham will probably be staining it up like WHAT, so that too has narrowed the carpeted field significantly.

And then IKEA rugged up and totally blew everybody else off the floor:

It's colorful! It's geometric! It's got a high pile! And selling for $129!??! You really cannot beat it. Only problem is the nearest Swedish purveyor of particleboard furniture is over 2 hours away! Long gone are the days of hopping on a quick bus to Red Hook for cheap home goods in Brooklyn, I suppose. Sigh.


- Cathleen

Who Gets the Credit...?

Above: Ways To Spend Your Budget on a Kitchen at Ikea 

Above: Homemade is Best campaign for Ikea's Cookbook. 

The first set of images were taken by photographer Carl Kleiner for an Ikea project to direct consumers on ways to put together items when purchasing them for their kitchens from Ikea. 

The second set of photographs is a little older and was taken to promote Ikea's cookbook Homemade is Best. 

However, it needs to be said that this was a collaborative project with stylist Evelina Bratell. Bratell arranged all the items and Kleiner took the photos. Who do you think should get more credit for this series? Do you think it's an even 50/50 split of labor? 

More images of Homemade is Best can be viewed here. 

- Grace