<p>Taking our first trip to an Ikea store tomorrow. Any items you have bought from there that are especially helpful for a dorm room? </p>
<p>I know the store will be kind of overwhelming, and dorm stuff will be one of the things we are looking for - share your favorite Ikea dorm (or otherwise) item…!</p>
<p>We just went to IKEA for my d’s dorm (she’s an entering freshman, so I don’t know how useful these things will be, but what the heck -</p>
<p>She doesn’t hang very many clothes (she’s not a dress wearer), so we got a thing that attaches to the clothes rod that has several shelves into which you can put drawers. She bought 3 drawers & will have 2 shelves for towels & such.</p>
<p>She’ll also have a fridge & a microwave, so we bought some plates, bowls & tumblers - 99 cents each.</p>
<p>She bought scissors and a few other odds & ends.</p>
<p>She didn’t like the patterns on the comforters, but they’ve got some great buys. And of course they also have relatively inexpensive pillows.</p>
<p>What’s not to like at Ikea? Their TV stands and coffee type tables are a bargain…they have a great coat tree made out of wrought iron which is a freestanding thing that can catch coats and jackets… their PONG chairs are great and go together fairly easily… their rugs are very reasonably priced… they also have some fun art… good desk chairs…the key is to have a big car (SUV?) to get it all home or to the dorm…</p>
<p>Wear comfortable shoes/sneakers… once you start, you have to wander thru the entire store… the main floor (usually the 2nd floor) is where everything is on display…take a small notebook and write down the warehouse location of the things you like…you might even want to make a note of why you are interested and the price…then slowly you can build a view of what the overall cost might be… when you get down to the first floor, that is where all the “off the shelf” items are, glasses, dishes, vases, art, curtains etc are located… and you grab a cart as you come down the stairs to pick up all the extras… only then do you enter the warehouse to actually self select the items from the 2nd floor that you want to bring home for real. It is a lot of fun and visually a very stimulating store!</p>
<p>We also went to Ikea last weekend–didn’t do very well (I have a VERY picky D). We were looking for bedding, and they did have a nice selection of twin XL just about everything, including twin xl duvet covers and down (or down alternative) quilts. She didn’t like any of them. She bought hangers and a collapsible hamper–that’s it. There’s no room in her dorm room for any extra storage/furniture (except under the bed–those boxes had already been bought elsewhere).</p>
<p>I noticed this cool chair that I thought might make a decent desk chair - better than the straight one the college provides, but doesn’t take too much room and is “cool” looking - anyone have one or remember seeing this one at Ikea??
<a href=“Products - IKEA”>Products - IKEA;
<p>go to the office supply area and storage- the boxes are great, good prices, and easy to move and put together, and various sizes and colors- we do the white</p>
<p>the “magazine” holders, similar to the boxes, are greatp you can have one for each class to put in papers, reports</p>
<p>bulletin boards</p>
<p>as well, small cups with no handles can be used as desk storage stuff for paper clips, etc</p>
<p>trash cans are really cheap</p>
<p>be careful buying lamps- the light bulbs are different, so if you do buy one, and the prices are indeed very good, get extra bulbs</p>
<p>they do have organizers for haning in the closet- for shoes, socks, etc</p>
<p>re: the Ikea desk chair. It’s molded plastic with no padding. I don’t think it would be very comfortable for long periods of time.</p>
<p>Be careful when you buy inexpensive plates and bowls … many of them are not microwave safe. </p>
<p>Last year we purchased a terrific rug and a great floor lamp (for next to the bed - easily came apart in sections) at Home Depot at great prices.</p>
<p>twinmom, you’re right - I did verify that these plastic plates & bowls are both dishwasher & microwave safe.</p>
<p>Measure the room first. Most are tiny and are shared space with 1 to 3 others. Usually the kids need to work out what to buy and how to decorate.</p>
<p>Chevda - glad to hear it. One of my kids melted a bowl in the microwave!</p>
<p>Curtains are an excellent way to spruce up a room with no space taken up. I know my shade was a pull down and was a yellow-ish tan so when it was closed there was a dark yellow tint to the room and it sucked. Look for brighter colors that are natural and light (blues that are sky blue or lighter, light purple/yellow/white/green/pink). Avoid dark colors, reds, darker hot pinks, plums, etc, because they make your room dark and that color. The lighter colors let light pass through, and also give a natural tint to the room. Also, mesh-y type ones that give a bit of privacy but still let in light are good. Plus, the shade will keep light out, so if you need to, just pull it down.</p>
<p>I agree with Bandit. The chances of them fitting any extra furniture in their room is slim. Don’t forget many schools also triple kids at the last minute. </p>
<p>Also, rather than dishes, they should buy paper plates if them need to. It’s not easy to do dishes in a dorm.</p>
<p>For storage two plastic see-through bins should do the job. One with desk/school supplies and one with drug store/personal type stuff in it.</p>
<p>I wasted money on a couple of lamps and one was broken immediately and the other was “borrowed” and never returned. </p>
<p>Dorms are rough places.</p>
<p>I’m not looking to purchase any furniture - just stuff like you all have mentioned already, under the bed/closet storage, check out the bedding. Helpful little things, not bulky big things. I’m sure our SUV will be plenty full…</p>
<p>Sounds like everyone in the dorm she will be in finds room for a futon so while it’s no luxury hotel room, we think there are a few options for storage…</p>
<p>Skip the futon, buy a fold-up/collapsible chair or two, and use the extra room for storage or just leave it open. There’s almost no need for a futon, unless she plans to have guests stay the night, and if so, buy an inflatable mattress for $15 at Target.</p>
<p>PS- i’ve been looking around at IKEA online, and I reaallllyy want to go now haha. You can get a spatula, serving fork, and serving spoon for 59 cents! Clocks for $2.99! Cutting boards for 99 cents! Cool art for $3.99! Haha obviously it’s been 3-4 years since I’ve been there (I went with my dad when the store near us had just been made into 3 levels, it was an experience haha). It’s an hour drive to the big one near me, 30min to the other, so it’s not too bad. I really only need gadgety-type stuff, so it should be easy/fun. I just wish more stuff was available online =/</p>
<p>^ And you can even have lunch there! LOL</p>
<p>Well, we are not going to dive into buying a futon right away for sure - get the roomie first and see what works…D is my first one going - while I don’t want to splurge unnecessarily, I do want her to feel someone comfy -</p>
<p>No kidding! We probably won’t get up there soon enough, but they advertise a 99cent breakfast (2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices bacon and home fries) can’t beat that!!!</p>
<p>No, being comfy and having a place to chill out and have others over is great. I just think a futon takes up too much room, even if you have the room. Finding chairs that fold up is nicer since you can arrange them in different places and you can fold them up if you need room to do something (and, they’re easy to move in/out!). They’re also probably much cheaper, especially at IKEA since stuff like that is always low priced. Your D and her roommate can each get their own, and then they have four chairs in their room, two being comfy.</p>
<p>As for the breakfast, it reminds me of a conversation I had with my sister earlier. I’m headed down that way for something else sunday and I told her it would be good if me/dad/mom could blow through there in an hour sunday. She laughed and said there’s no way that’s happening, which is probably true. But maybe the time crunch would keep us focused =P I’m getting my wisdom teeth out next wednesday, so that whole week is out of question =/</p>
<p>Starter tool kit. Sheets and pillowcases, dirt cheap. small ironing board, folding hamper, bookends, toiletries carryall for shower.</p>
<p>Buy an inexpensive container and make a first aid kit … band-aids, Tylenol, cough syrup … whatever she’s used to taking at home when she doesn’t feel well. </p>
<p>It’s nice not having to go out to the campus store or a drug store when you’re not feeling well.</p>