When I first started sharing pictures of our home, a friend commented, "IKEA much?"
Um, yes. Is it too obvious?
We had IKEA shelves in just about every room, IKEA tables as desks, an IKEA bed and bedspread, and probably more, but you get the idea. IKEA is in our price range, and in my minimalist-inspired style. And we lived twenty minutes away from one (not anymore). I couldn't help myself!
Moving this summer gave us a chance to rethink things a bit. We decided we wanted to have an actual stand-alone shelf under the TV rather than the wall-mounted one we had in our previous apartment. It's hard to get chords properly hidden when you're renting and can't cut holes in the wall.
When my brother offered to make us a piece of furniture as a house warming gift, I knew that's what I wanted--a stand for under the TV. So he and Daniel went to a repurposed home supply store, and found some great reclaimed extinct wood. My brother was able to make a TV stand and two matching side tables, which did away with both IKEA shelves we previously had in our living room. And so much more beautiful!
We still have a ways to go in finishing up the living room--curtains, guitars, and pictures to hang. But there's something about this furniture--the love my brother put into it with his time and handiwork; the story behind the wood and how unique it is; the bit of nature it adds instead of the faux wood we bought for cheap. It's definitely feeling like home.
