Killing me softly (Ikea 2010)

Labor Day weekend, and all it’s panic-inducing implications, found Scott and I once again trolling the (jam packed, nightmarish) halls of our favorite mecca of affordable Scandinavian Home Furnishings.   This time we were only there for some antique stain (to ensure our changer top matches our Crib) and a single bolt that was missing when we picked up the original Leksvik parts from the nice lady we met on Craigslist.    But what started as an innocent cure for the cabin fever that had overtaken me from having spent the past week indoors in an effort to protect our little girl from the noxious fumes coming from the fires engulfing our city, ended in sheer and utter heartbreak.   (Dramatic, I know.)   Oh, the agony.

Although I’ve yet to post the [pretty darn fantastic] end results of the room we constructed entirely from Expedit Shelving (aka, my new office) you may recall that we used two massive Black-Brown Expedits for the endeavor.   Despite the fact that the Ikea 2010 catalog has been out for over a month now (and naturally, sitting in my Expedit office) I had yet to open it.   Had I thought to do so, I might not have been in for such a shock when I entered my home away from home in beautiful down town Burbank.   Ikea has expanded it’s Expedit line, and in addition to the classic Birch, White, and Black-Brown we’ve come to know and love, there is now a Walnut Veneer available for purchase.   Excuse me while I stab myself in the face.   Sure, it’s still particle-board wrapped around cardboard, but it’s pretty.   And I want it.    In fact I want two.   I’m trying to comfort myself by remembering that the veneer would probably stand out like a sore thumb against the real wood of the same shade that currently lines the walls of our living room, from my beloved wall panels to the Lane Dovetail End Tables neighboring my Expedit office, and that the black-brown adds contrast to an otherwise walnut and teak living space, but really, all I can think is: “Why Ikea Gods, Why?!”

Above, the Walnut’s debut in the new Catalog (available for viewing online, HERE.)

Oh, and if you haven’t caught it – check out Ikea Heights, a Mock Soap Opera shot guerrilla style entirely on location in Ikea, Burbank.   It’s pretty funny.