Ikea Curtains

What do you call a house with no curtains - ?
I think it must be somewhere in the Netherlands - they dont have curtains like we do. (maybe they think its immoral - or that people with curtains have something to hide)
Anyway Ikea have some very tasty (ad cheap) curtains for your delectation.
I am sure you will find something here that you will just love !

This is a banned Ikea video ad..
Do Tidy up -or you might lose something Valuable....

Is your house safe - really safe ?
Many people have front door locks that were installed in the 1950s or earlier.
The back door lock is even worse - all too often people have a very old basic lock on the back door. For a while I employed an ex-burglar (reformed) for a painting job and he told me what he used to look for :
1 - a tall hedge at the front of the house - its perfect cover for making an entry.
2: an open side door to the back of the house (then he could work in peace)
3: a dustbin to use as a ladder
4: an open small window to a bsthroom (easy to get in through there..)
5 Yappy dogs - all burglars hate yappy dogs - they draw attention to what they are doing.(I have TWO !)
If you have a tv,video,computer,hi-fi then please consider installing MODERN Locks.

Smoke alarms can seriously save your life.

No locks will stop a determined burglar - and neither will a burglar alarm.
What you will gain is TIME - a burglar wants to get into your house and remove valuables in the shortest possible time.The harder you make it for him, the more likely he is to try elsewhere.

Door Bolts are a great idea too - they stop a burglar kicking down your door.Always fit door bolts on your BACK DOOR - that is your most vulnerable area - oh and close that open bathroom windw - just get an aerosol instead !

If you keep valuables at home then get a SAFE !

No one would blame you for keeping cash or valuables at home with the current distrust of banks !

A Safe (if well hidden) is your best security option.

Flatpack Furniture from Ikea
Although Flatpack furniture does not seem to have taken off in Wales  (according to reports),it is really popular everywhere else.

Ikea  has made buying a new wardrobe or desk affordable.
Flatpack is much cheaper than ready assembled furniture - you simply do not have the labour charges.
But is the quality good enough - the answer is a resounding YES !
Ikea has been very careful about their quality control and has sourced much of their raw materials  from the Baltic States to keep costs down - and they pass that saving to you.

Many supermarket chains are looking at Ikea with a view to copying their strategy.
(whoever thought that Woolworths would close down ?)
The credit crunch has drastically affected companies around the world and every remaining company is now cutting costs (and staff) in an effort to stay afloat.
 

It is likely that flatpack furniture may well take over the high street and I foresee a huge explosion in service industries of delivery and assembly of furniture in your home.

Flatpack furniture of the past was indeed a little on the shoddy side with fibreboard frequently falling apart and many of us older folk remember the unexpected nausea
 that came from discovering that vital fitting and hinges were missing - but not from IKEA !

The great designs that come out of IKEA ensure simple assembly and good quality furniture.
With the added thrill of knowing that you built it yourself - and saved money.
Here is one of the IKEA Bestsellers - the Billy Bookcase
http://www.all4yourhome.co.uk/Store/billybooks

The big Blue and Yellow Supermarkets look like they will expand while their rivals look on enviously.

The most common mistake I have seen at IKEA is that people underestimate the size of their car.
This means that when you get flatpack furniture it may not fit inside your car - at least not with you and a passenger too ...
No seriously - people do forget that they have to be able to get into the car and drive it

(Thats why you often see Police cars near IKEA (you thought they were smartening up the police cells ? No they are waiting for an easy booking of a car being unsafely
laden.)
The trouble with IKEA is that it is SO tempting you think thats accidental ?- no - just a great bit of marketing !)

The other mistake many people make is to park too far from the loading area .
Then you have to carry big stuff to your car - not a smart move.
Take a friend with you and get them to wait in the loading area while you get the car or van ( really clever people get a friend with a van to go shopping with them .. I must try that sometime !)

Saving the Planet is really important and its up to us to do our bit.

We have all bought energy saving lamps but which one really is the best ?

Its the IKEA 20 watt Sparsam Stick which was the winner of the extensive WHICH test in November 2008.
In the test the lamps were switched on for a total of 8000 hours (equivalent approximately to 8 years use)

Just changing 4 ordinary lamps to energy saving one will according to which save you up to £ 28 a year.

This is a great reason to buy Ikea Sparsam Stick lamps - they are a bit ugly though so take care where you put them.
We seldom offer these lamps but we do offer other energy saving lamps.
(most people just buy them and any they do not need they stick in that cupboard with the spiders under the stairs !)
Thanks to Which? magazine for this information.
Other energy saving lamps are here :

Why Shop at IKEA ?

There are three main reasons to shop at IKEA
First is CHOICE
Ikea has a huge choice of all the basics of setting up a house or apartment.
You can completely fit out your home from the front door knocker to the kitchen sink.
Their Bookcases are outstanding bargains.

Second reason is DESIGN
Ikea produces beautifully designed furniture and furnishings with a very attractive Swedish Style.

Third reason to shop at Ikea is COST
Taking into acount the Quality of Ikea products of all kinds, when you relate them to other suppliers
they are very much more cost effective for similar products.

There are stores like ARGOS that have a wider range of products but they are really dependent on
their suppliers for quality control whereas IKE directly commissions most of its products and has its own quality control program.

The only snag with shopping at IKEA is the TRAFFFIC - car parks are often very full at weekends and this is of course a measure of their success.

IKEA has mastered the first principle of selling -
Give the customer what they want - at an affordable price.
They even have Yummy Swedish food and great prices on long life light bulbs

Why Buy Flooring ?

Laminate Flooring has several advantages over wood flooring

It is durable, easy to lay and cheap

Wood flooring looks better but it cost upwards of three times the cost of Laminate.
Laminate comes in easy to handle boards with a groove on one end and one side and a projection one the other side and the other edge.

You really need a fixing kit which comprises a jemmy,wedges and a block to protect the edge of the board. You will be hitting the block and not the board !
The block has a groove which corresponds to the projecting edge and slides over it.
This way you get minimal damage to the projecting edge when you tap the boards together.

Before you put laminate down cover your floor with a thin foam sheet which cuts down noise and gives some support.
You could always consider underfloor heating as this can save you money over a period of time.

Lay the projecting long edge next to the longest wall in a corner and build out from there.
This way you will get less wastage and you will have to cut fewer small pieces.
Lay the boards loose at first and then turn them round at 90 degrees to see which way round suits your room best.
The boards just snap together and you tap the block until the join is practically invisible.

You must leave a small gap at the edge of the board and the wall to allow for expansion.

Edge strips are tacked above the laminate to finish the job professionally.

Laminate flooring is very hard wearing, to the point where Ikea can give a much longer guarantee on their laminates than most wood floor shops can. It will not fade or dent easily

It is a lot easier to clean than carpet (and does not get eaten by moths !)

Regrettably Laminate is a little noisy (even with the foam underlay) and sounds hollow when you walk on it.
Laminates come in various qualities and colours now and these are a great improvement on laminates from a couple of years ago.
You can choose from various wood finishes.

Laminates are unsuitable for bathroom or kitchen use as they are prone to spoiling if water is dropped on them regularly.

Edges of Laminates can be damages and a laminate repair kit is a wise investment.

Also, laminate floors will often curl up and get spoiled if you drop water or other liquids on them. This generally makes them unsuitable for bathroom and kitchen use, unless they have been specially treated for it.
It is a good idea to invest in a laminate repair kit (before you need it !) as eventually you may need to repair chips or scratches.
Having said that it is a practical and affordable alternative to carpet or floor tiles.

Miss the Sales and You Miss The Bargains !

Ikea annually holds a HUGE Discount sale at each of their UK Stores both to clear their stocks and to attract new customers. This often happens during Bank Holidays or other public holidays.

Ikea regularly brings in new models of furniture and to make space for these they sell off stock which has not sold quite as well or stocks that have been replace by new models. This happens in all sections of each store. They also give away bits and pieces to add to the fun of the sale.

Ikea is basically offering low prices on most of their furniture anyway so additional discounts are more than welcome to anyone setting up or refurbishing their home.

You will often see in the Ikea Sale specific items for children (Ikea are well aware of the power of the demands of a child ! )

How can you benefit best from an Ikea Sale ?

First thing is to go around all of the store a week or so before the sale with a notebook and a good pen (those pencils are really not good enough for what you want to do !) and make your own notes of items that just might be of interest to you at the right price.

A really great idea is to go online and make a hit list from there (remembering that many items will sell out quickly during the sale.

This way at least you know just what you are looking for and not just peering around through the crowds and confusion.

An Ikea Sale draws MANY people and you really just HAVE to be there early to get the best bargains. Congestion is not just an idea during the sale – it is an astounding collation of people and traffic.

Do not go to the sale alone – first of all you may need someone to guard your purchases while you get your car (better still borrow or rent a Transit or larger Van for the day).Secondly you may well need two people to load larger items into the car/van.

The people around you will all be trying to get their purchases into their cars too.

Park your car as near to the loading zone as you can at least an hour and a half before the store opens. (You will not be alone !)

Lets be honest about this – an IKEA Store is a massive impulse buy store.

Everyone that goes in comes out with more than they intended.

Make sure you get what you really want FIRST !

Then go round again and shop for unexpected bargains.

It is almost certainly NOT a great idea to go to Ikea during the sale and try to plan your kitchen there and then. That way madness lies – you need peace and quiet to plan a kitchen properly and perhaps advice from a salesperson too – which may not be available during the sale. PLAN before you go for best results.

Make your Ikea Sale Visit a Pleasurable Experience and have lots of fun.

For suggestions on Ikea Storage bargains : http://www.all4yourhome.co.uk/Store/Storage

(C) Copyright 2008 Keith Jones

Ikea Names for things

Product names
IKEA products are identified by single word names. Most of the names are Swedish in origin. Although there are some notable exceptions, most product names are based on a special naming system developed by IKEA

Upholstered furniture, coffee tables, rattan furniture, bookshelves, media storage, doorknobs: Swedish placenames (for example: Klippan
Beds, wardrobes, hall furniture: Norwegian place names
Dining tables and chairs: Finnish place names
Bookcase ranges: Occupations
Bathroom articles: Scandinavian lakes, rivers and bays
Kitchens: grammatical terms, sometimes also other names

Chairs, desks: mens names
Materials, curtains: womens names
Garden furniture: Swedish islands
Carpets: Danish place names
Lighting: terms from music, chemistry, meteorology, measures, weights, seasons, months, days, boats, nautical terms
Bedlinen, bed covers, pillows/cushions: flowers, plants, precious stones; words related to sleep, comfort, and cuddling
Childrens items: mammals, birds, adjectives
Curtain accessories: mathematical and geometrical terms
Kitchen utensils: foreign words, spices, herbs, fish, mushrooms, fruits or berries, functional descriptions

Boxes, wall decoration, pictures and frames, clocks: colloquial expressions, also Swedish place names
For example, DUKTIG (meaning: good, well-behaved) is a line of childrens toys, OSLO is a name of a bed, BILLY (a Swedish masculine name) is a popular shelf, DINERA (meaning: (to) dine) for tableware, KASSETT (meaning: cassette) for media storage. One range of office furniture is named EFFEKTIV (meaning: efficient), SKÄRPT (meaning: sharp or clever) is a line of kitchen knives.

A notable exception is the IVAR shelving system, which dates back to the early 1970s. This item is named after the items designer.

Because IKEA is a world-wide company working in several countries with several different languages, sometimes the Nordic naming leads to problems where the word means something completely different to the product. While exotic-sounding names draw an attention, e.g., in anglophone countries, a number of them call for a snicker. Notable examples are "Jerker" desk, "Fartfull" workbench, or "Lessebo" sofa.

The products are withdrawn, probably after someone pointed at blunders, but not before generating some news. Similar blunders happen with other companies as well

SOURCE : Thanks to Wikipedia.com for this information
(We have been trying to figure it out for years.)