Here’s a secret that very few people know about me: I love shopping for the home. I love furniture shopping and I go gaga over kitchen gadgets.

You see, I’m not really built to be a domestic goddess. I can’t cook to save my life. I never have the patience to clean the house. If I arrange furniture, it always looks wrong. But for some weird reason, I can pick out the best pieces for the home. Every time there’s a need to get something for our house, I always volunteer to go with my mom and use my credit card for unlimited furniture shopping. Last year, my biggest purchase was the nice made-to-order leather sofa. They year before the torquiose Luminarc plates. I totally love it.

When I lived in L.A., I used to spend weekends looking at nice furniture. I don’t go to the fancy places like Edgar Allen or Pottery Barn…they’re way too expensive anyway. Two of my favorite stores were IKEA and CostPlus.

I love CostPlus coz they import lovely pieces from around the world. We have a nice distressed table from them. Also got our Japanese screens and the 6-foot bamboo trees from them. Oh how lovely! Spent so much packing those up and shipping them to the Philippines.

Poang from Ikea

Ikea is where my heart truly belongs. They have the most affordable furniture and I totally dig the clean Swedish designs. We got a pair of uplighters (free standing lamps) for our dining room from them. I believe the park bench was also purchased there. They have the most colorful and unique kitchen gadgets. We have plate racks that screws into the wall (they’re perfect if you have a tiny kitchen to work with). They have a product called Poang, they’re a pair of nice chairs, that now reside in our TV room. The chairs bend back like a modern rocking chair. Top it with a nice cushion set and it beats the lazy boy. My favorite Ikea purchase are our purple plates, bowls and saucers. Had them all shipped back to the Philippines, too.

I found out from Our Awesome Planet that there are now suppliers in the Philippines. Ikea PH is a local importer of Ikea products. They source their stuff from Ikea in China and they have a showroom in 120 Kamias, Quezon City. Yehey! So very near where I live. You can view their product catalog at: ikeaph.multiply.com.

Our Awesome Planet is holding a My Ikea Valentine’s Blog Writing for a Cause. Since I already gushed about how I love Ikea, I’m making this my entry. I hope I win that uplighter. We already have 2 for the dining room, but we’re having trouble balancing one of them (the tube doesn’t screw in right, I guess I didn’t pack it carefully when we were shipping it). If I don’t get that I’m still hoping for the spice jars so I could give my mom something for Valentine’s day (I’m not doing it to be mushy or anything. It’s the day after she gave birth to me, so I better get her something nice)

Here are more reasons why I totally love Ikea:

  • They offer that affordable-yet-classy look
  • They have great stuff for all rooms of the home
  • Their pieces are easy to mix and match
  • They promote the DIY spirit (you put together most of the items yourself)

In the US, I love shopping in their stores because when you come in they give you a nice big canvas shopping bag, a small pencil and a paper for your shopping checklist. Of course, that shopping bag is never enough and we end up with carts upon carts of stuff.

They arrange their furniture to reflect different rooms and I always run towards the Children’s Rooms first (yehey pink and fluffy stuff!). It’s a great place to get inspiration when working with small spaces. My interior designer friend always asks me to get her the Ikea catalog.

Oh, for the Burbank branch, they have this restaurant in the big building…I sooooo love their Swedish meatballs! It’s served with sour cream and ….um…I think it’s gooseberry jam (I forgot). I really miss it.