IKEA Chair Brings Frugal Comfort To The Bedroom

 

{{ Guest Post }} From Ilona :

 

Assemble Your Own Economical Bedroom Chair

An Armchair For The Bedroom

bedroom chair

Source: Ilona Erwin

My cozy little setup for reading: the Poang chair and footstool, a reading lamp, and small bookcase.

Great looking black and white print is an ideal partner for the white, red or black cushions.

Wouldn’t this be the perfect accent for the chair?

I was looking for a bedroom chair

I WANTED COMFORT, MY HUSBAND WANTED AFFORDABLE

My inspiration for drawing your attention to my bedroom chair? My husband, recently laid up with a bout of sciatica, remarked that it was the only chair he could comfortably sit in. Heretofore, it had been my own exclusive place to sit, and I am presently sitting in it right now as I write this review. I wanted others to enjoy what I have found to be the benefits of this widely available, inexpensive, and comfortable chair for many uses in your home or apartment.

Need Design Ideas?

Need a chair to tuck into your bedroom? That is how I have set up this versatile piece of furniture.

New apartment? You might want a pair of these for you and your guests, they will also move easily when you do.

What about your guest bedroom? Your guests will feel right at home and you can afford to add the extras that make a guest room extra nice.

A den? This might become your favorite TV watching chair, or you might like it for rocking the new baby.

Two things were on my mind

For me, two things were on my mind when shopping for a new chair to fill a space in the corner of my bedroom.

YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THIS:

…The fact is that a reading chair in a bedroom is a requisite, in my opinion. Every bedroom needs a place where you can sit to put on your shoes, curl up with a good book, or pull out your organizer and create a list of what needs to get done that day. Or just sit and dream with a cuppa.

A NEW BABY IN THE HOUSE?

If I had been younger, during the days when I had young babies and night feedings, it would be the place that I could gently rock while sitting in the flexible Poang Armchair, but nowadays I like to put my feet up and work on my laptop or read quietly. Tucked away from the the other areas of the house, able to look out my bay window, it is perfect for me.

Back to those two factors that a new bedroom chair had to fulfill:

  1. It had to fit my fairly small budget. This was not as important to me as a family vacation, and not a necessity for anyone in the family except me.
  2. It had to be comfortable. Actually this requirement outweighs the first one of price. So I went around sitting in lots of chairs.

On a visit to IKEA, I sat in this chair and fell in love…with the price AND the comfort.

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT THE POANG ARMCHAIR:

  • The modern, sleek look ( even though I usually go for bulky easy chairs-I just love this)
  • The matching footstool which gives good leg/foot support, and is lightweight (easy to move when vacuuming)
  • The seat cover pad which adds to the comfort and makes cleaning easy, too.
  • The flexible rocking motion
  • The comfort of the design

But now… my husband has discovered what a nice seat it is, so will I need to buy another?

Look! A New Nursery With the Best Seat In The House

Zoe gets a modern, clean bedroom! With a Poang rocker and a bookshelf seat- how cute!

Zoe gets a modern, clean bedroom! With a Poang rocker and a bookshelf seat- how cute!

This Is A Classic

Have you been to IKEA lately? So many great items that won’t break your budget, and like this piece, many will be classic in thier simple design. Fit it into any room- and it works!

What Color Cushions? Choices!

MAYBE YOU WANT A PATTERN?

The cushions are sold separately from the chair. This is not a problem since the chair looks great on its own. I like having the extra padding, and it extends the color and design choices.

There are many colors and a number of styles available for a cushion set that will fit into any room scheme.

I’ve even seen custom seat covers sold on Etsy for this popular chair.

Easy To Assemble

IKEA Poang Chair

Ikea Poang Chair Armchair with Cushion, Cover and Frame
Ikea Poang Chair Armchair with Cushion, Cover and Frame

You can get this great seating from Amazon “delivered to your door” service!

Kid Friendly
I raised ten of them- so I appreciate it when furniture is kid friendly. The cushion covers can be washed or replaced easily.
Making Party Decorations For A Princess

Making Party Decorations For A Princess

{Guest Post}                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Ilona from Ilonasgarden.com

 

For the Princess party, the decor gave a bright, happy impact with lots of pretty color and big puffs of tissue paper flowers. They were so easy to make! Here are some highlights from the ideas that lent such a feeling of fun and fantasy to the venue (which was right inside the home!).

 

 

 Quick Party Decorating Ideas

  • Get cute gift boxes in bright designs and stack them at the entry, on the gift table, near the photo area.
  • Hang Happy Birthday Banners, of course.
  • Use yardage of fabric remnants, cut to fit box covers, stack boxes to make displays for candy, etc.. Use to cover areas of activities, or at the mantle, under the castle decoration. Use the fabric to unify the party theme throughout different rooms.
princess party decorations!
 
To bring your festive color theme into the room, streamers of crepe paper twists are the time honored decoration.

 

Crepe Streamers and Balloons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Hang some of the Princess’ initial letters, painted up just for her Birthday on the wall or propped on an easel.
bright letter K

  flower-shaped edit letter and number

 

 

 

 

 

Make Tissue Paper Flowers For Big Impact

Make giant tissue paper flowers and decorate key areas, including a wall or mantle area.
Martha Stewart has very clear, well illustrated instructions on her site.

Find those instructions, here.

 
 
Or you could follow the directions in this video…

 

 

Fill A Princess Purse

Making the guests feel special is really important for any party, but most of all for girls in the 4-6 year old group. Help them to feel they are part of the celebration with cute favor bags filled with their own dress up items.
We didn’t have this idea at the time, but I thought that making your own little princess purses looked like a darling idea. Full of ideas for filling it with favors.

 

Encourage the guests to dress up in costume and they all become part of the backdrop for your child to be surrounded by a Fairytale scene of courtiers and castles.

 

 

 

If you haven’t already, read more about a princess/unicorn themed party here.

A Fairy Tale Princess Party

A Fairy Tale Princess Party

Hi my friends,  I would like to introduce to you ….my mom, ILONA – who is a well-seasoned blogger and shares tips, tutorials and a wealth of information on gardening over at Ilona’s Garden. She also has some sister sites, one of which might interest all you DIY enthusiasts, chronicling endless renovations and rebuilding in the old farmhouse I grew up in –   Old House Blog.

In honor of my baby girl turning 7 this month, I’m so happy to have my mom here to share this wonderful “throwback” post of my daughter’s 3rd birthday.

Grandma and grandson

My mom with my boy circa 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 {Guest Post}

                                                               

 

 

 

How To Throw An Amazing Princess Party For Your Little Girl

No matter what her age- this “sugar sweet” fantasy party can be loads of fun for any girl. It is especially so for the under-4 foot set.

…There are all sorts of easy and inexpensive ways to decorate and customize everything for a fairy tale atmosphere.

My inspiration for this party theme how-to came from the absolutely amazing party my daughter threw for her little girl. She wanted aPrincess and Unicorn party.

If that is your daughter’s (or granddaughter’s) dream, let this guide help you turn her dream into a fun party for everyone!
partydecoration
Our entire family assembled together to lend a helping hand and join in the celebration. It was so, so much fun for all of us, and the children had a blast.

When she was young, I taught my daughter how to make a celebration with decorations, food, and serving.

But she has taken it to a whole new level.

Her parties are events, ones that take more imagination and clever creation than money.

The result? A total birthday party success and happy family memories for a sweet little birthday girl.

What you will find among the ideas shared here, for you:

  • simple food,
  • inexpensive, but creative decorations,
  • fun activities to keep the momentum rolling,
  • and inspiration to make a little girl’s dreams come true.

Choose your Color Scheme

Before you get the invitations or anything else, choose a color theme. Maybe based on what is available at your local craft store

Princess Party To-do List

Smoothly Schedule Your Plans

castle party decoration

Combine elements together to increase the festive feeling.

Use a foam castle on your mantle… create a photo op prop from large cardboard. Simply paint the front to look like Cinderella’s coach or a castle wall and cutout a window. Frame it and use for individual photos of each princess invitee.

altname
Fibre Craft 3D Foam Princess Castle Kit

OR Get a cutout of one of the Disney characters or a horse… any type of prop that makes a little girl feel like royalty when her picture is taken.

Princess Photo Prop cutout is cardboard; t has a 6″ wide x 8″ high opening for a photo opportunity and a place for a cute face to peep through the carriage window.

Or use as a frame for a Queen-size photo of the party princess.

Use wands and tiaras

If you find inexpensive plastic “glass slippers”, that would be a perfect fit for this party.

 

Cute Fun and Games

Activities For This Age Group, 4-6

Tried and true “Pin the tail on the donkey” is dressed up as a unicorn who needs a nose horn. We made our own set of horns and drew a unicorn on poster board, but I found a ready-made game to purchase, too.

Unicorns Need Their Horns

Pin the horn

 

 

Quick How-to for Unicorn Game:

Materials

  • 1 Large poster board for horse picture
  • Foam sheets to cut out horn shapes
  • Glitter glue
  • Craft paints
  • Double stick tape ( instead of tacks)
  • Scissors
  • Bright artist markers
Instructions
  • On large-size poster board draw or paste a “found ” horse picture. Poster size picture is needed.
  • Make a template for the horn, draw onto foam sheets; cut out horn shapes
  • Paint the horns with glitter glue
  • Use craft paints and markers to highlight poster and detail horns
  • Apply double stick tape (instead of tacks) to back of horns at time of game
  • Blindfold for child (sleep mask works)
  • Bright artist markers to add name of child to their unicorn horn.

Face Painting

In our party we did face painting, on request, for all the royal subjects of the princess., AND for the princess herself. One idea that you might borrow is to add little rhinestone stick-ons to the faces of each of the guests in the royal party (especially if the party is an all girl affair).

Decorate Gift Bags

I like this idea better than decorating tiaras or crowns because the craft has time to dry and there is no chance that stuff will get stuck in someone’s hair! All you need are simple paper gift bags, child’s craft glue, stick-ons or foam shapes and glitter pens.. Each child can make their gift bag, (make sure their name is written on their bag) and it will be dry by the time everyone is ready to leave for home.

Or use inexpensive stick-ons in the next activity….
…decorate the tiaras using foam shapes with these “stick-on” jewels would be very pretty.

An Alternative to Paper Gift Bags

Cinderella carriage gift bagInstantly dress up the table with this cute little take home box. Fill it with goodies or use it to store the favors that your princess doles out to her loyal subjects who came to this birthday fete.

Ingredients For A Splendid Little Girl’s Party

 
 
 

One Part Planning,Two Parts Imagination, and a Dollop of Fun

 

bright letter K

Easy DIY decoration just requires hobby store letter, some paint and a bit of ribbon

  1. This is one party where decorations are a priority to set the stage for everyone to feel like courtiers in a castle, centered around the royal princess. The addition of imagination is more important than a large spending budget. Reminders of castles, flowing streamers, and a throne could help create the right atmosphere.
  2. Food is always of key importance. Keep it simple, but make sure you take time with the presentation. Add foods with something of the theme’s colors.
  3. Part of setting the stage starts with the invitations, and extends through the favors and paper products, Keep centered on insignias that say you are entering a castle with its regalia of crowns, scepters, flowing robes, and the prettiest dresses.
  4. Keep the theme and the fun going with games and activities. Remember that The Royals love their entertainments. Presentations are a chance to add some ritual and over-the-top fun. You might even have minstrels or jesters perform a little something.

Make The Most Of The Room

Glitz up the place to create a festive and fun atmosphere. Make it a fantasy place with brightly colored additions to tables, mantles, and walls. Think of castles, wands, and glitter… things little girls just love.

For mantle, tables, and entry:
Buy square yardage of remnant material in your chosen color scheme. Use the to make table squares and swags. Mix and match patterns to create a festive air. Use a play castle to set the feel of the gift table or main room. A foam assembly (kept out of reach of the younger set) fairy princess castle is ideal. Use play figures of princesses, a prince, and unicorns to add to the scene.

Bright colorful Initial letters – painted in your theme colors and attached to a wall or propped on picture easels to Monogram the room for Her Highness.

Construct Your Princess Castle

Bright, happy colors

Tips for setting up a fairy tale party space.

  • Remove extra tables, chairs, and other furniture items from the room where you intend to play games.
  • Set up a table with a plastic cover for crafts- we used the living room coffee table.
  • Create a parent space if possible -where the parents can hang out and have some beverages and snacks.
  • Encourage dress-up and costumes for a Princess party
  • Face painting only needs a chair for the artist and a small side table for the paints and paper towels. An open space for the children to make a queue is nice.

Tip To Remember

KEEP IT AGE APPROPRIATE

Note that some decorations and favors are not for children under age 3 because of choking hazards. Always be aware of age appropriate favors and decorations.

When All Is Said and Done

What was the most fun?

Helping hands

Helping hands

Besides the family fun we had getting together and setting everything up, my impression on what created the most fun for all involved, follows.

The decorations were lots of fun to make and I think they added the essential fantasy environment for the children to really enjoy this party. It had both girls and boys and they all just LOVED the face painting. That is a tried and true activity in many festivals, but this is the first time I had participated in it for a children’s party.

I think they like the face painting so much because it draws them into the event with their own interests. We, the volunteer face painting artists, asked each child what they would like as their face design. It ranged from spiderman to puppy dogs and kitties, but they were all so pleased with their “personalized” art.

The little girls loved the gift bag decor and I think the boys most enjoyed the “pin the tail” game. They all absolutely loved taking home their loot, the candies, little rings, etc.

It turned out to be an event that everyone enjoyed and that left the birthday girl very, very happy.

 


party room decor

For a few easy party food items, try the following recipes:

Simple Food

Does the food seem too simple? Remember that complex recipes will add stress to the preparations, and may not be appreciated by the guests. Perhaps add one or two more choices to a menu rather than complexity in the preparation.

Make A Quick Pink Punch

  • 1 two liter of 7-Up
  • 1 bottle cranberry black cherry juice cocktail (64 oz)

Instructions

  1. Mix the juice and 7-Up together.
  2. Double or triple the recipe as needed.
  3. Have both bottles icy cold, do not dilute with ice, and float pretty edible flowers in it if seasonable. (pansies, rose petals -with NO pesticides)
  4. Source: tastebook.com via Karen
  5. Princess Punch (sounds amazing) Ingredients: 1 (46 oz.) can pineapple juice 1 (6 oz.) can frozen pink lemonade 2 1/2 c. water 3 (28 oz.) bottles ginger ale 1 qt. strawberry ice cream

Pink Lemonade Party Cake – Extra Quick and Easy

Pink Lemonade Party Cake
Yields 12
You may want to buy a cake, or perhaps use your own favorite recipe, but if you'd like.... here is a perfectly delicious cake for your royal celebration.
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Prep Time
25 min
Cook Time
1 hr 35 min
Total Time
2 hr
Prep Time
25 min
Cook Time
1 hr 35 min
Total Time
2 hr
Ingredients
  1. 1 cup very hot water
  2. 1 box (4-serving size) raspberry-flavored gelatin
  3. 1 box White cake mix
  4. 1/2 cup frozen (thawed) lemonade concentrate
  5. 1/4 cup water
  6. 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  7. 4 egg whites
  8. 1 container (12 oz) Whipped vanilla frosting
  9. 1 cup frozen (thawed) whipped topping
  10. 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries- if desired
  11. Lemon peel strips- if desired
Instructions
  1. 1- Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with baking spray with flour. In small bowl, mix hot water and gelatin until gelatin is completely dissolved; cool slightly.
  2. 2- In large bowl, beat cake mix, 1/4 cup of the gelatin mixture, 1/4 cup of the lemonade concentrate, the water, oil, and egg whites with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Pour into pan. Reserve remaining gelatin mixture and lemonade concentrate.
  3. 3- Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Poke warm cake every inch with fork tines. Remove 1 tablespoon of the reserved gelatin mixture to microwavable custard cup or small bowl. In another small bowl, mix remaining gelatin mixture and remaining 1/4 cup lemonade concentrate; pour slowly over cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
  4. 4- In medium bowl, fold together frosting and whipped topping; frost cake. Microwave 1 tablespoon gelatin mixture uncovered on High 10 seconds to liquefy. Using 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon, place small drops of gelatin mixture over frosting; with spoon or toothpick, swirl gelatin into frosting. Garnish each piece with raspberries and lemon peel strips. Store covered in refrigerator.
Notes
  1. Extra Quick and Easy
AWExquisiteDesign http://www.awexquisitedesign.com/

 

 

 

Hop on over to Making Party Decorations For A Princess for more party fun……..