IKEA in Beijing- Dress the Nest

I knew, even before we came, that Ikea would be an important place to me here in Beijing. This has proven to be correct.

When we moved here we knew we would have problems with storage. Our management was so gracious and supplied us with this enormous wardrobe (above) and the food storage seen below. The wardrobe was delivered in pieces in true Ikea fashion and it took a day and a half for our maintenance men to put it together. It was so tall (someone did not measure) that the only place in our apartment it would fit was in D's room. His bedroom has higher ceilings. They had to take the wall mounted t.v. off the wall and reroute the cable line. Then, after all this was done, I opened it up and there was nothing! There were no bars, shelves or drawers. When I asked management about it they said they ran out of money, we have to buy them ourselves. Basically we have a GIANT piece of furniture that we can't even use.

I really tried to make it until our shipment got here! Our shipment will not be to us until October and I was going crazy with all the sterile environment. I have learned that just like men have an innate urge to provide for their family, women have an innate urge to "dress the nest". I thought I would be okay with the apartment dishes and such, but I quickly found that to truly feel at home I needed to pick some things out for myself!

I headed to Ikea! At first the taxi drive did not want to take me, but that is another story.

It was so great to wander through Ikea all by myself, with nowhere to be in the near future. I could have filled three carts with everything I need and wanted to buy. This is already my second trip here and something tells me there will be plenty more. Can you imagine starting from complete scratch after sixteen years of marriage? It is fun, but I wish we could afford more than Ikea.

These are the things I purchased. Mind you I carried it ALL by myself, which was not an easy task. I was very thankful for my trolley on wheels and that nothing was broken on the journey.

Our dining room centerpiece.

New matching glasses. The ones our apartment gave us are all mismatched and used.

Our coffee table is HUGE! This is just something I liked, but will probably not stay there once our shipment comes. Actually, as we buy things that are more our taste we can have management take out pieces of furniture. This coffee table would be the first to go.

This was the other piece that our apartment manager purchased for us. It holds our food. If you know me, you know I love glass canisters. I love to display everyday items such as sugar and flour. Nothing feels more homey to me than baking ingredients.

Decorating is a passion of mine. I love to have beautiful things around me. Living in Asia, it is a challenge, as it is not my taste. But I am learning ways to incorporate my own style.

Stay tuned as I continue to dress our nest!