Eula’s room has had many setups over the last few years, I’m forever in search of “the one”, which will make the small space work best for us. In the past I have favoured vintage cupboards, for their character and the ease at which you can change them up with a lick of paint.
But practicality wise none of them met our needs. They would be jumbled and messy just moments after I had sort it out. There would also be a lot of wasted space, as you can see in the image above, in and around the boxes containing all her folded clothes, space – unused space in a tiny room is a complete no no! So you can properly picture the space, it measures approx 5ft x 9ft.
I wanted something that would be easier for Eula to learn to maintain, but I also wanted longevity, something that would remain useful and the right size as she gets older and as her clothes get bigger.
I really love the focus on natural materials and tones in this room and it was something I was keen to continue with the new storage setup. The IKEA IVAR range was forefront in my mind, as I have a little bit of a style crush with it. It’s the simplicity and celebration of the wood which does it for me, as well as it’s no fuss design and practicality. For some the range looks unfinished (or so I’ve been told), for me it’s unashamedly basic and timeless.
Pyjamas – essential flat pack attire.
During the period between Christmas and New Year our house got pretty chaotic, we were here, there and everywhere and so things got pretty ugly around here!
The perfect setting to put together a ton of flat pack furniture!
When I visited IKEA (solo,with both children, on possibly the busiest day of the year) I was utterly thrilled to find the half of what I had made the journey for had actually gone out of stock during the hour and a half journey there. So I came home slightly (VERY) miffed. I made a start with what I had, which wasn’t much!
It was then another few weeks before Eula’s room progressed on from this stage.
But finally I had decided upon the configuration I wanted, ordered the cupboard and found the time to carry on.
We went for the set of 3 drawers, with the larger sized cupboard to be stacked on top.
We mounted the chest of drawers on the wall, using a wooden batten to sit it on on the wall. Securing it top and bottom, screwed into the wall.
We used 2 of the little metal shelf posts to create a link between the chest of drawers and the cupboard above. They both have holes in the same place, so they sit on each other perfectly. I’m pretty sure there is an official piece in the bag of bit that you get, but most of that was lost by this point!
We floated the chest of drawers and cupboard at just the right height so that a few KNAGGLIG crates, with coasters attached, could fit underneath.
I’ve done the same for book storage in both the girl’s rooms.
Ikea sell the wheels, in store there right where the crates are.
Next comes organising the organisation. Initially I bought the set of 6 SKUBB boxes, to do a spot of compartmentalisation, but the IVAR drawers are quite shallow, so they were too tall.
These HÖFTA drawer dividers worked better, though they aren’t fantastic to be honest – VERY flimsy and only work their best when the drawers are full.
Stu added a rail (or in this case a left over piece of batten), which does the job just as well.
Eula loves that she now knows where everything is and it’s all much easier to view/ choose from. Currently she needs a step to access the top, which works fine and means as she gets older she isn’t going to outgrow this set up for a good while. The step is the VILTO step stool from IKEA, which we have a few of dotted around the house.
