LOL Ya'll are having fun with this room! I love the lifts, but have to say, I've used a few sewing desks and seen ooddles and didn't love them. Great for a small space where that's your "sewing room" but I have a neurotic need for the entire room to be "done" in all the same stuff...it's a bit neurotic....ok it's a lot neurotic, but I don't want a series of desks because for me they don't flow well. Ok I'm just anal LOL but that's me. I don't machine quilt...i'm very lazy that way :) (probably why I prefer to crazy quilt) but I do embroider a lot and need the machine to be able to be raised and lowered so the lifts are a great addition. I'll definately add that! Kalapointer...hummm wonder where you live LOL And my place is a bit of a give away heh heh That's why I'm being so goofy about not drilling into the brick and changing the floor...it's a special house and I don't want the local neighbors going on a witch hunt because I filled in the original floors :oP (People are pretty funny about this house...I get people who ask me "are you going to ruin it" far too often...what the heck do they think we do? Move, trash a joint by adding a silly addition or tearing down half the house???? Sheesh umm who told LOL KIDDING!) Thank you for the information. I'll check them out and at least get a bid. I know Omega and dynasty quality (have omega custom in our other house) My only issue is that whole need to be able to move the whole room elsewhere eventually...I do like the IKea idea for that option. OK and I'm probably burnt out on remodeling and a bit fearful heh heh Our kitchen install was a nightmare...so bad that I...control freak extrodinare....dream of a new kitchen by Christopher Peacock...just give the man the keys and come back when it's done....ahhhh heaven (it will never happen, I really am too anal, but it's a lovely dream). Where was I? Ohh down in the basement....so, no actual quilting is done, or very rarely and so rarely that it wouldn't be a biggie to move the machine to a different table (the dining room table is 9' long...big enough for a quilt I think) if I really wanted to quilt. I don't dream of long arms...I dream of professional embroidery machines heh heh and I have a spot in mind for one....now if I could just win the lottery! Ok I'm in bid mode :) I'll make a few calls and do a visit to ikea to check suitability as well. Mom loves to go :) and we can have cheap swedish meatballs!!! heh heh

I'm curious--why do you want some bins and some baskets? I'm guessing you want some stuff that you can access without messing with a lid (basket) and some stuff that you want to protect w/ dust. But I'm curious about your personal reason. You could use photo boxes and just leave the lids off of some of them. Or, if you can find a single type of basket and a single type of bin, you could then try to do something so that they coordinate with one another--find a bin w/ colored handles or lid, and then weave a ribbon in that color through the basket somehow. Or get translucent plastic bins, and then slip a colored paper behind the front panel. You can also make them look uniform by making labels in the same style for both. Make the labels big enough to mostly cover the side of the basket or bin (to make labels stick on baskets, you can laminate and use double-sided poster foam; or you can use a hole bunch and a binder ring. Or a binder clip (bonus: they come in colors, sometimes, so you could try to get the same color for all places you need to use them. If you don't feel you have the design skills, the Internet (and Pinterest) is full of "printables" that other people have designed and you can download. Thinking about it, having big labels all the same design might let you keep the containers you've got. It would certainly be a fast and cheap fix! Another point about visual standardization: If you pick them all the same size, regardless of what's in them, it'll look uniform. It may mean some wasted space in one, and needing two for another category. but the more I think about it, the more I think you should start with a snazzy label design and the containers you already have. This post was edited by talley_sue_nyc on Tue, Dec 3, 13 at 10:51

LOL My DH reckons I should have them in to photograph the house for their inhouse magazine, we have so much Ikea. The funny thing is, few people believe me. Like so many of you said, you get what you pay for, so the cheapest doesn't always last, but if you get the higher range stuff and the "real" stuff, the quality is fine. I had a classic pine coffee table for over 20 years that eventually got passed on: it had been sanded and resealed and was solid as a rock despite being in my possession from my early teenage years through 3 kids... My knack is that I mix Ikea with other stuff that is a bit more eye-catching, maybe that is why our house isn't so noticeably Ikea. Also I have been buying there for nearly 25 years so people have forgotten that some of my stuff was ever for sale there! I am lucky to live close by and often go by to see what is available - it is sometimes hard to go with expectations and things are out of stock, but if you can be relaxed, I find plenty. Some nice accessories never even make it to the catalog and sell out if you don't happen to be there in the few days/weeks they are selling them. I am happy with most things from there, the beds last forever, the wardrobe is awesome (it was the only store with closet systems that were low enough for our 250 yr old house ceilings!), our oak table beautiful, our last and present dining chairs indestructible (my mom inherited the last set when she moved), the kids' stuff fun and nothing can beat Billy shelves. I have used them everywhere for continuity, some with doors on the lower half, some with glass shelves, some with tall glass doors. My only problem is that they have discontinued some sizes of Billy and Lack, which is very annoying. They also change the colours available according to the "fashions", so oak is unpopular in this area and not available. I have certainly had no trouble with upholstered goods. I had the cheap version of the Poang chair over 16 years ago and often picked up a new cushion for it in the cheap range when pets ruined the old one or I wanted a different colour, though they are also washable. Now I splashed out on a leather cushion for it, it is so comfortable and still looking as good as ever. Also my Ektorp sofabed has been used a lot and squeezed up the narrow stairs of this house and is going strong. I have 3 sets of covers for it, they wash well, haven't faded or worn and I can put them on slightly damp and they need no ironing. What more could I want?! Each season I check to see what new colour covers they have in case I need a new set, as they are not expensive. In this country, no other store has sofas with removable covers, it's a great novelty for my friends and neighbours that I often change the covers! All this is why I am a fan, not everyone agrees, though...

ok what i really want to know is if you left without spending $250? my husband thinks the door cover charge since i can't ever get out for less LOL the last trip i picked up all kinds of rail stuff for one house and drawer inserts for both....i only go annually....but i far exceeded the cover charge this time lol