A few years ago a friend of mine asked for some IKEA help!! She had 3 kids and they were taking over her living room!!  I know we've all been there, so over whelmed by our children's toys (aka...their MESS) and not sure where to start!! It was a fun project and she was really happy with the final result. I recently visited her home and all the IKEA products she purchased are still in great shape and are still being used by her now family of 6!!

This is the before photo she sent me!! Her major concern was organizing her children's toys, replacing her current furniture and creating a space that reflected her style and personality. She had purchased a bin storage system but found that it wasn't holding enough of her children's things, and that a lot of their toys were too big for the bins. Another huge issue she had was that her sofas, which she had just purchased 6 months prior, were sagging and stained.  With 3 little ones it's a necessity to have furniture that is washable or at the very least wipe able.  And lastly, she had picked a lot of neutral colors to be safe and felt her home lacked personality.  After going back and forth for a few weeks with IKEA links and pins from Pinterest this is what she selected....

We started with selecting her sofa, at the time we had an IKEA Soderhamn Sofa on display in our shop and she loved it!! The selling factors for her were that it was a deep seat sofa, you could wash the covers and reconfigure it at any time.  For the floors, who knew under that big shaggy rug hid these beautiful wood floors.  She debated on adding a rug but felt that for cleaning purposes, it was much simpler to leave her wood floors bare. ​Storage was her family's main challenge, she selected the Besta, Stuva and Tofteryd lines to help her get organized. These lines also helped her achieve a more sophisticated feel in her living room.  We decided to keep all the main furniture pieces in white to help create a more clean and open living space, saving all the pops of color for her accent pieces. ​ And to finish off the space we added some curtains and pillows she purchased from Target.

She selected the Soderhamn Sofa in the color Samsta dark gray, mainly because it was a darker and more forgiving color. It was really important for her family to have a place where they could snuggle up and read stories or watch movies, something the deep seats of the Soderhamn definitely helped achieve. ​Also as I mentioned earlier, the major selling factors for her were that she could wash the covers, change or replace the covers completely and that the sofa was easy to reconfigure at any time. This Sofa is a combination of three separate pieces, two sofa sections and one corner section.

For media storage she selected the Besta Burs TV unit in high gloss white, it has two large drawers with internal organizers for media and electronic storage.  We were even able to organize some of the kids’ books in here. Another great feature of this piece is that the DVD player, cable box and gaming console are hidden behind the 3-center flip down doors. No need to worry about the little ones pushing buttons or trying to open the DVD player and stick their toys in, I know that's something my children have definitely tried

To match the TV unit she selected the Tofteryd Coffee table in high gloss white. The great thing about this piece is it has two very deep shelves and two smooth-running drawers for storing remote controls, magazines and other knickknacks. The gloss on this piece makes it very easy to wipe clean.

And to finish off the space she selected two Stuva storage benches with pullout storage drawers for the kids’ toys. The great thing about this piece is that it can also be used as a bench for more seating or as a desk!! ​My main goal with helping her family get organized was creating a "home" for all their things. We used bins to sort the smaller toys and fit them all neatly into the big storage drawers.  Overall all the IKEA pieces worked really well for her family and she didn't have to compromise on style or functionality

I hope that you enjoyed this IKEA makeover!! If you need help with putting pieces together for your home please contact us to setup a 30 minute FREE Design Appointment. I've tried to source all the IKEA products below:

• SÖDERHAMN Sectional, 5-seat, Samsta dark gray
• BESTÅ BURS TV unit, high gloss white
• TOFTERYD Coffee table, high gloss white
• STUVA Storage bench, white
• VÅRGYLLEN Cushion cover, white, black

(The curtains and other pillows were from Target.)

A question I often get is, do you have a lot of IKEA products at home? How could I not? I ship IKEA products to Hawaii for a living!! So this weekend I finally took some pictures of my living room and dining area!!  And I can't wait to share it with you...here in Hawaii a lot of families live in smaller homes, townhouses and condos that lack a lot of storage.  I know that I am limited on space at my house so let me show you how I use IKEA furniture to keep me organized, maximize our living space and express my family's personality.

The heart of our living room is our comfy IKEA Kivik sofa, it is hands down my favorite sofa from IKEA.  It has memory foam, washable covers, a storage ottoman and a 10 year warranty, I really don't think it gets any better than that!! We are currently using the Kivik ottoman as a chaise and it stores blankets and pillows for our movie nights!! 

​My family really loves the beach so I wanted to include pictures of some of our favorite beaches.  Using an assortment of IKEA frames I was able to hang up some of our annual family photos as well as photos we purchased from local photographer Clark Little.  Our family photos were taken by photographer Hawkins Biggins.

​I really wanted our living room to represent our family's character.  We've got two very vibrant and creative little girls so I wanted to reflect that with lots of colors, patterns and textures.  I achieved this by using bold accents, plants, wood and colorful textiles.  I even snuck in a few accent pillows not from IKEA, they are from one of my favorite local designers Jana Lam. ​​​Above our sofa I also added an IKEA Myrheden Frame, it's a great place to put fun photo booth pictures or artwork from our girls. 

​The long blue-green storage piece, is a custom piece from the IKEA Besta line. It's a great piece that is key to keeping our living room organized and clutter free. There is even a glass top on the top of the unit which makes it very easy to clean.

​As you can see, behind each door there are hidden treasures.  They are each neatly sorted into these great IKEA Kuggis boxes that are designed to fit perfectly in the IKEA Besta line. Each box contains legos, baby doll accessories, figurines and Dinosaurs to name a few.

​It was also really important for me to give the girls their very own hangout spot.  They like to sit in these mini IKEA Poang chairs to read, talk story and play.  The backdrop for their hangout corner is the IKEA Fjaderklint curtains, I fell in love with the print and find it to be very calming.

​Our living room has a few challenges, one being this wall.  It also happens to be where our cable wires are and I'm all about taking the path of least resistant so it ended up being a great space for our television.  Using the IKEA Besta line I was able to design a piece perfect for this space, it has 2 slow close drawers and shelves to sort and store all of our electronics.

Next to our awkward TV wall we have another challenging space, it's a half wall under a kitchen peninsula. Since the over hang from our countertop isn't substantial enough to use as bar seating I decided it was another good place for storage.  I designed this custom IKEA Besta storage combination to fit perfectly in this space.

​This IKEA Besta storage piece is used to store the girl's backpacks and other everyday gear, it's my version of a "mud room".  It's convenient as we mainly enter and exit our home through our kitchen, so instead of just throwing their bags on the floor or table they know exactly where to put them.

​I wanted to keep the dinning room simple and clean to balance the living room. The one thing I love most about our dinning room is our IKEA Agam junior chairs. They are the perfect height for our girls who are just shy of reaching the table when sitting in regular chairs. I added a few non IKEA items to finish this space, the plates and bowls are from Jana Lam and the geometric rug is from Target.

​I couldn't resist, I had to add some of the IKEA Besta line to our dining room.  It provides much needed storage and also serves as a great buffet. Soon it will also be home to jelly fish, hence the empty fish tank.

​The dining table is the hub for our family.  It's where our girls do their school work, make art projects and where I'm currently working on this post.  It's so helpful to have all the girls school books and supplies stored right in our dining room.  It helps keep the table clear and let's be honest helps me keep my sanity.

I hope that you enjoyed taking a peak into my home!!  I plan on sharing other parts of my home, but to be honest it is still a work in progress so as we finish I will post them too!! If you need help with putting pieces together for your home please contact us to setup a 30 minute FREE Design Appointment. I've tried to source as many of the products from IKEA (and a few non-IKEA pieces) below: