Five IKEA Favorites (for Under $10)

Hello and happy Good Friday to you! I hope you have a wonderful weekend planned -- we have family visiting for Easter dinner but it will be low key and relaxed, just the way we like it. :)

Last Sunday I got a wild hair and decided to take a last minute trip to IKEA -- I called a girlfriend and we packed up the kids and headed out. The two hour drive is much more bearable with someone to talk to! We got the news a few months ago that Indiana is getting an IKEA (I may have cried with joy) but we've got another year and half before that one is ready. 

I've purchased a number of items from this wondrous place, from less than five bucks to furniture for a few hundred, and I've been really happy with every one. I can't think of one thing I was disappointed with. I like mixing in pieces from IKEA around the house and I think my favorites are some of their most inexpensive. 

I've pulled together a list of my five favorites and it turns out all are under $10. Actually all but one are under $7 -- so good! 

I LOVE love love these FRASERA glasses. I grabbed a few of the smaller ones a few trips ago, then got the taller versions on the next trip. 

They call the smaller one a whiskey glass but we use it for juice and milk: 

They are really beautiful glasses. I just love them. I replaced most of our mix matched glasses with these. The price is great -- $2.50 for the smaller ones and a dollar more for the large. 

They are nice and heavy too -- very substantial feeling. The taller ones are perfect for margaritas. :) See how pretty they are?:

We've had them for about two years now and they've held up great -- although I did find a small chip in one literally within an hour of getting home from IKEA. Of course.

I think faux plants are coming back! That's a whole other post but these little faux FEJKA plants have always been a favorite!:

They are honestly some of the most realistic faux plants I've ever seen. I especially love the one on the right -- it has fuzzy leaves that look really natural. That is one I have in a couple places around our house. I love it in our laundry room that has no natural light!

Of course they have super cute planters that these fit into perfectly:

This next one is a new fave -- I got it just last weekend but as soon as I placed it down on the floor I fell in love. It's the SINDAL door mat:

I don't find this photo that they use to be a good example of what it looks like. This picture looks more like a jute woven rug, but it is actually much thinner than typical jute. 

This is exactly what the texture looks like: 

I love it because it is so thin -- it makes it easy to open doors. Also, the fibers don't slough off like some natural rugs. And it has a backing underneath that prevents water from going through to the floor and keeps it from sliding around (no rug pad needed!). 

I am kicking myself for not grabbing at least one more -- next trip for sure! And oh yeah, it's only $5!

Here's one that's purely functional but I love it. The VARIERA iron holder works great: 

We have two irons -- a nicer one for clothes and a cheaper one I use for sewing and craft projects and I use this in a closet upstairs for that one. It's so easy to slip the iron in there and the cord hang on the bottom part (it looks like it would hold a ironing board but it doesn't). I also like that it holds the iron upright -- it's just easier to stash it away with this.

And finally, one of the best deals you will find at IKEA -- the FJADRAR feather insert. I only use feather inserts in our throw pillows (I just think they look better and are more comfy) and the day I found this one at IKEA I swear I heard singing:

If you go to a fabric store (or somewhere like Pottery Barn) to buy them you'll pay around $20 for a 20x20 insert. These are SIX BUCKS. That is crazy, crazy good. And I'll tell you what -- I actually like these better than the more expensive versions because the feathers on those will poke through the covers. It drives me crazy. IKEA inserts will do that occasionally but not nearly as much. I LOVE them. 

There you go! Five of my IKEA favorites for under $10! Have you tried any of these? Any inexpensive items you love that I didn't have on this list? Do tell! 

By the way, here's how I use the $6 feather inserts to make "Pottery Barn" pillows (for way less): 

Have a great holiday weekend!