We will be fortunate to have a designated study/home office in No. 75. As the main user I get to decide on much of the furniture. The room is also sufficiently spacious to house our quite extensive library (future posts debating custom built in shelving versus the obiquitous Ikea Billy are to be expected).

As with every other room in No.75 we have a completely blank canvas to play with. White walls, square room, wood floor. One wall is formed by original 1930's stained glass sliding doors. One wall has two enormous windows on it. Another wall is completely bare (currently designated for bookshelves) and the final wall has a door to the hallway in it.

Right now functional and cost efficient takes precedence over "OMG! Ah-mayyyyyy-zing" when it comes to desks. So we will be revisiting ye olde favourite Ikea for the desk. I am trying to keep the colour in the accessories in this room so that it is a calm space to work in.

The desk legs will probably be:

 

 

But I can't choose between a solid beech desk top (lovely, solid, butcher block wood) or a glossy white desk top (clean lines, glossy surface, won't clash with the wooden floor).

 

So this:

 

 

 

Or that?

 

 

In Amsterdam, more than any other city I have lived in, getting to Ikea is a breeze. There are several in the Netherlands and two easily accessible by public transport from Amsterdam.

Yesterday I headed out there with the intention of picking up some fabric for bag making and also to have a better look at some of the furniture pieces we are considering without the weekend crowds or the reluctant husband.

The fabric section was an absolute goldmine. The off cuts bin was overflowing with useful pieces, most of them quite large and nearly all for under one euro, including a three metre long piece of hemmed fabric for 70 cents which will be our new table runner. I have been wanting to try out lining bags with plain canvas instead of fusible interfacing for a while and in Ikea you can cut as much as you want for E4.50 a metre.

My best bargain, however, came from the "as is" section right before the cash desks. When we first moved into our current rental we needed a spare bed but due to space constraints we knew a sofa bed would suit us better. We chose the Beddinge in Sandvik Green and put on the best mattress primarily for the comfort of our guests but also incase we ever had to use it as a bed or sofa for a period of time ourselves.

When we move to No.75 it will remain a spare bed but it is going to be in a room with a wall of windows and will also be nice to slump on for reading when the weather is not quite nice enough to sit outside. While scouring the bargain bin yesterday I saw a cover for the square arm cushions (which we had eschewed previously due to them being 26 Euros each). Hmmm, I thought, if I can find another one I'll get them. And, lo, after a bit of digging another one was unearthed. Having tracked down the cushion fillers (vacuum packed foam, how practical) I thought I better check how much they were discounting the covers for (the fillers are 7 Euros and the covers are normally 19 Euros). The tag in the first one said 15 Euros, not great but a saving is a saving. The other one, however, said 2.50 Euros, which happily Ikea matched.

Yes! *Happy Dance*

So two arm cushions for 18 Euros, less than the cost of one cover.

And here they are, assembled and looking pretty in the spare room.

I also got to get a look at the new garden furniture (as featured on Apartment Therapy here).

I couldn't get up close and personal with anything as it was all still in construction phase and roped off but what was out was very good looking.

I really think that the low lounge furniture

 

Image courtesy of Apartment Therapy

 

could work on the roof terrace. The cushions were extremely thick and the colour of the furniture is more of a milky caramel than it seems in the photo. With a few brightly patterned cushions and a couple of throws I think it could have potential.

 

Ikea, Love.

I am trying to decide between two Ikea kitchen tables.

In the red corner we have:

The Docksta.

Weighing in at 139 Euros and 105cm diameter I particularly like the compact shape and slimline design. The downside being that it is in every magazine, design blog I read.

 

In the blue corner:

The Liatorp

Weighing in at 199 Euros and 110cm diameter. The Liatorp also extends to seat more people. I like the pedestal design. It feels classic but in an up to date way and will be a nice contrast to our streamlined cabinets. I don't need it to extend - although it might be handy for sewing, there really won't be room and if I need to use it as extra kitchen work space will the "split" annoy me?

 

I am planning to pair it with these chairs from Trendhopper:

 

a bargain at 39.95 Euros each. I just need to decide what colour to go for...

 

Table images from Ikea. Chair image from Trendhopper.

No. 75 has a lounge-dining room running from the beautiful bay window at the front to the french doors opening onto the balcony at the back. The floor will be solid oak. It is light, it is airy, it is a blank canvas. Having chosen the lounge furniture, dark grey sofa and love seat, we needed something which would tone in while still being a "separate" area. I took inspiration from my beloved John Bates painting: I think we have decided on this table:

Ikea Norden (220/266 x 100) in Birch

These chairs:

and this cabinet:

Ikea Hemnes in Yellow

 

 

I know, it is a bit "Ikea Heavy" but trust me, we looked at the more expensive options and this is ultimately what works best for us.

 

To try and alleviate the Ikea-ness of the room and also because with O and The Cat around white is a completely impractical colour. We will be ordering covers for the chairs from Bemz. I have ordered all the grey fabric samples they have so hopefully one of them will work.

I plan on adding a purple table runner and maybe putting a couple of the chairs in purple (we will have 8 chairs in total), to pick up on the colours in the picture