good neighbors

I must admit, I log on to the Ikea website or flip thru the catalogue at least once a week in the hope that I might just find that great solution to my interior decorating needs. Maybe satisfy that urge to bring a fresh splash of color to the old house or perhaps look at the rooms that I inhabit with new spatial opportunities.  But alas, although the latest and greatest Ikea storage solution is a great backdrop for that happy parent-magazine-cover family, it will most surely become an oddity with the rest of my happy-finder flea market furniture. 

And who are these Swedish that are slowly but unquestionably influencing my way of life, from the open dust-collecting stainless (but-not-so stainless after a while) steel kitchen shelving solutions, to the clean lines yet easy to bump-and scratch-knee + elbow bedroom furniture?  Yet their open plan, multi-functional layout arrangement is very attractive, indulging that next interior space upgrade.  One must however remember that after the first day, that white bookshelf in the children’s room will not be color coordinated to include only green and orange items…only those happy parent-magazine-cover parents can do that.

But perhaps those new solid wood bookcases will bring some order into my life…those decorative pillows some much-needed color into the grayishness of winter.  And if it looks so unpretentiously chic on that catalogue, it must bring the same level of simplistic and creative Nordic design into my house. 

Hmmm…I will just have to tell the Swedish newcomers to become good neighbors with the old happy-finders.