Ikea: Entertaining Staples
Do you ever make a trip to Ikea just to shop their marketplace? It's one of my go-to places to stock up on basic pieces for entertaining. Last week I found the red stripe linen towels for .49 each and a set of four blue plaid & stripe towels for 2.49. What a deal…I'll take 8 of each please.
They make the perfect large size napkins for outdoor meals and sometimes a cloth napkin can make a hot dog dinner seem special.
Another item I spotted were a set of six juice glasses for 1.49. I thought they'd make great votives since they're slightly taller than a standard glass votive and will help guard against windy breezes.
Of course, they'd also make adorable little vases to line up along your table…
What about you? What are you favorite small, everyday items you pick up at the Land of Ikea?
65 Responses to “Ikea: Entertaining Staples”
We have all those towels too. I’m ready to pick more up when ever we get our tooshies back to the Dallas area! LOVE your blog!
I have these towels too! I love them! I hadn’t thought of using them as napkins… but good idea! Ikea also has some VERY lovely 100% linen kitchen towels too… a little more expensive at around $7.00 for two, but still a good deal!
I’ve never even set foot in an Ikea! Must be the only person who hasn’t…..looks like you can certainly find the bargains there!
Wow…as my hubby would say: “Key Buy”! We dont live near an Ikea, but everytime we are in LA its a must stop! Thanks for the heads up on the towels…its quite overwhelming in there sometimes 🙂
ps – did you get any meatballs? My fav treat!!
I love to go to Ikea. I have the red stripe towels too. I always stock up on the lingonberries. Love to use them on crepes.
-Danielle
I love IKEA and these towels. I use them for everyday napkins also!
I like the .99 dish brush. I need a new one, but I know a trip to Ikea is going to cost me a whole lot more than .99!
oh! i feel so smart because i have some of those same dish towels from ikea that i bought months ago for the same reason! and look! heather is doing it too! we are making a trip to ikea next month and i have started my list and those same small glasses made my list! cant wait to go! let me know if you have any other ideas for me to pick up!
I am going to have to head over there!
You’ve been on quite a blog roll lately? You must be home for awhile. I went to Ikea last week, but alas, didn’t buy little stuff. But, I did buy a great big cool bookshelf for my very own sewing/craft room. YIPPEE! Similar to what Alicia Paulson just did in her new room. Mine probably won’t be quite as cute. I did pick up some magazine holders, 5 for $1.99! Can’t beat that. Now to make them cute.
Repurpose. Love that!
xoxo
Jane
IKEA!!! Love Ikea. Sadly the closest one to me is 5 hours away. But when I go, I love their ‘organization’ section. Oh the joy of buying something to organize your stuff and then going home and spending time organizing it all… yes indeed… good times! 🙂
Wishing you a wonderful week!
xo Catherine
Hadn’t been there in years and I decided to go a few weeks back. I think I was in the Market Place for a good few hours. Picked up some fabulous down filled pillows, frames, a vase along with a few other things. Originally went in for a Rug and came out with everything but! Too bad it is 30 minutes away or I think I would go more. Love those towels. XO Jamie
LOVE Ikea, its a 2 hour drive. YUCK! You got some great deals!!
I must admit, I don’t use too use red in my home except for my little guy’s bedroom. The $.49 towls, I took two of them and sewed them together for one of a kind pillowcases for his bed! He actually carries one around as his “blankie” too!
that was supposed to say much not another “too”
Oh how I miss Ikea (sigh). I’m a native Californian now living in Western NC., there’s not a one in sight. Love your napkins and towels, I bought my favorite watering can at the Ikea market place years ago. Have fun shopping for me!
~Brooke
The latest favorite are their paper napkins… we have been making flowers!
Organizers! and my curtains are from IKEA, cream. Guess how long ago? 15 years and still looking amazing. In Italy IKEA is the place to shop. My brother leaved in Verona in a loft and the only furniture that would fit, cute and practical was from IKEA. Tea lights, frames are my fav too. Ciao Rita mammabellarte
I just bought 25 of the cotton towels with the red stripe, along with a set of the blue striped towels. LOVE them! And that was my first ever trip to IKEA. Wish I lived closer to one!
Their candles are great.
Oh I just luv Ikea..each one in each area has different treasures to search out..their 2011 catalogue is out now, whew neat stuff. thanks, Heather for the Ikea Ideas. love, love, love your blog.
Heather…thank you for the heads up on the stiped towels! I haven’t been to Ikea in a couple of years. I think I need to grab a girlfriend and head over to do some shopping!
Thank you again as you always have great tips!
Take care,
Debby
Oops! I meant Striped towels. I should really learn to proof read before hitting send! 🙂
* I now have to go to Ikea and get those great red striped towels!!! Thanks for the info..I LOVE your blog btw!~Blessings, Rachel
We love these glasses too! They are just right for a child size serving of yoghurt or ice cream and are easy for little fingers to grip.
I’ve been using those Ikea towels for over a year. The red stripe ones are my favorite. I get the white paper napkins and vanilla candles everytime I go.
Always get candles and paper napkins there (the large dinner size ones), no matter what else we’re buying.
Oh I love the towels too – I have cut some in half and hemmed them for napkins. I always get their tealight candles. I got some great beige bowls for 99cents each and they go so well with my white ones.
Alison
Well, since I am a “swede” it is pretty natural for me to visit Ikea now and then. I always pick up tealights and lots of candles in varied sizes. Why spend a fortune on something that is going to be burned down.. right? 😉
Have a good day,
Sanna
i’m just ticked that our closest ikea is six hours away! Do you hear me screaming, Ikea? Do you??!?!?! Insanely jealous of you all that live near one!!!!
Our nearest Ikea is about 14 hours. Not gonna happen.
However, the Ikea Gods are smiling on Denver and next autumn will find me at the grand opening. Only 30 minutes away!
…Great ideas …Thanks
Love IKEA…funny you should be posting about it today…I’m heading there today to look for some curtains….and not that you mentioned it…so blue and white stripe towels were be fabulous too. =)
Great linens! I hadn’t stepped foot in an IKEA until a friend of mine kept talking about it. She has a beautiful home with lots of antiques so I was a bit mystified. THEN I went and had a whole cart full of odds and ends! Such great things for such great prices…in fact, my husband is picking up one of their EKTORP loveseats tonight!
Trina
they have the best frames! Also, euro pillows are a great price and they always have them in stock. They aren’t as fluffy as pottery barn but I just stuff two pillows in one sham and at a 1/4 of the price it can’t be beat♥
ps the chocolate is yummy too!
I so wish we had an Ikea here…I’d have to drive for hours to visit one. When I lived in California…it was one of my favorite places to visit.
I love that store and have never been there. Just seeing what all you buy there makes me love it. Next time I am in Portland Oregon my daughter said she will take me there shopping. I will have to ship move my purchases.
Love IKEA!
Love those glasses…..
smiles.
I picked up those blue towels too 2 weeks ago — love ’em! Did you see the paper napkins in blue stripes too? Large and so cheap.
Last month I picked up one of their large glass bowls/candleholder whatevertheyare things…filled it with sand and very large shells – looks cool with my vintage apothocary jars. Love Ikea for stuff like this.
I have been to Ikea alot lately getting my darling daughter ready for her 2nd year of college. Perfect place for that too!
Ikea is my middle name. really.
I love the galvanized plant holders with wheels…i use them for everything including a lazy susan and my new fav…a cake stand.
xo
candles, galvanized lanterns, white linen curtains.
my closest Ikea is in Elizabeth, NJ about an hour and a half from the Jersey Shore where I live, but Who’d have thought they’d have such cool bargains!!! love the towels. thank you so much for sharing..I get alot of my ispiration from your postings!!!
i have never been to an Ikea! i hear there’s one in Toronto but that’s two hours away….someday i need to go!
I really think IKEA is Swedish for HEAVEN! Ours is about 40 minutes away. I LOVE them for the tea towels (the waffle weave ones in creamy white), clear glass plates, glasses, candles, roman shades, 400 count sheets for 35 dollars, pillows, down comforters, sheers,bed pillows, picture frames, storage, kitchen bits and goodies, etc. and so on and so forth! 😉 ohhh and my female boxer, Macy Mae love LOVES loves their tiny little stuffed animals for .49 cents. They are her absolute favorites and I think she has had the whole collection at one time or another. 😉
sad to say… I’ve only been to IKEA once. Its about a 45 minute drive and I have little ones. I’m not crazy about their furniture styles but their little things are fun to browse.
I just visited Ikea for the first time, 2 weeks ago. My mum and I drove up to Northern Virginia (a little over 2 hours from us), and we were like babes in toyland! I don’t know how long we were there, but I swear we just couldn’t stop saying, “Oh! look at this!” My favorite items so far are, the Ektorp loveseat (which I got on Craigslist) and the fabulous sheets for my bed- and let’s not forget the adorable little navy striped neckroll stuffed with down- for only $10!!!! We’re going back next week for another load of goodies…
Brooke~ There’s an Ikea in Charlotte, according to their website. Get thee in the car and road trip, honey! Our closest one is over 2 hours (we’re in southern VA, and it’s in way Northern VA), but it’s totally worth the drive at least once a month or so!
I picked up their white fitted slipcovered sofa and matching chair.. I just love them…
We did a White Elephant gift exchange with my boyfriend’s family last year at Christmas (max $$ to spend was $15). Of course I went to Ikea because you can get a lot for $15! Once unwrapped, everyone wanted to trade their gift to get the Ikea stuff.
I think my staple for each trip is a bag of frozen meatballs! Throw them in the crockpot for a potluck or poker night.
I was there yesterday I wish I’d seen the towels but I had 3 kids with me! Now I will have to go back…alone!
I too have the red stripe towels and love them!! I also have the best garlic press EVER – that I bought there – it was not only priced nicely – but it works really, really well and it is also beautiful!! . . . 🙂 liz
Having grown up with Ikea here in Sweden it has (the last couple of years) become a great store!
Can’t wait for the new catalogue!
IKEA doesn’t open in Denver till 2011!!!!! I will be the first in line!!!!
I shop the Salt Lake City IKEA and Atlanta when I’m there.
Have these towels and use them for napkins on my patio!
Hello i have just bought dozens of these red and white tea-towels for my tea room they were 19p each, love your blog it is so very different from mine but very like minded, Lady Sephne Jane Halden-Griffiths x
Simply beautiful…Love the towels in stored in the metal basket…
I was just thinking about taking a trip over there. They really have inexpensive stuff to fit the budget.Love the towels! I have some vintage ones too. They just add a touch of country. Hugs, LizlovesVintage
Love the idea of using the juice glasses as votive holders. Great way to have citronella candles outside with extra protection from the wind.
Unfortunately, I only make it Ikea when I’m in Atlanta when I attend the Market. A couple years back, I picked up the same dishclothes with the red stripe. We often entertain upwards of 20 people and we seem to go thru napkins. I decided to have the dishclothes embroidered with numbers so everyone is able to keep-up with their own. You can see them here: http://hodgepodge-home.blogspot.com/2009/05/heres-idea.html
That’s my “Ikea Idea.”
Paige
Love Ikea….haven’t been in a while….don’t forget the swedish fish!!
KAREN EILEEN
Quite love Ikea, I so miss it, it’s been years, but I’ve had some of my fav. things from there: we need one in Eastern WA!!
Beautiful ideas as always!
Hollie=)
Oh, how I would love to go to IKEA. I believe there are only 3 in the whole state of Pennsylvania, all are hours and hours away from me. Of course, I can always look online, but still, it would be fun to see in person.
I guess I’ll just have to be happy with tjmaxx
What a deal those towels are! I wish Ikea didn’t involve a full on road trip for me to visit…
OMGoodness …. i’ll certainly have to tell my daughter who lives in denver …. her bf works for delta and they fly (standby AND free) to msp (minneapolis), take a taxi across the street, literally (well, freeway), shop at ikea and fly home ….. what a life ….
she will love this news …. thanks for the heads-up on the denver ikea …
went to my first ikea in calgary in 1985 when living in southern bc (took a son to the eye doc in calgary), and have been hooked ever since … i, actually, still have and use some of the glasses i purchased then …
lots of drinking glasses in various sizes and prices; serving bowls; a lazy susan for $6; cutting boards, both bamboo and acrylic; plants very reasonably priced (read cheap here) and they thrive when i get them home, not like plants bought from other places that die in a day!; lovely tea-lights and candles; taaal vases for the lucky bamboo stalks they sell; lamps for my sewing studio, again, cheap; huge paper napkins; those lovely 49¢ striped towels (used to cover my bread when its in the pan raising); fleece throws i paid $1.49 for last fall; and their fabric …. to die for … lovely for bags and slip covers and and and …. the list goes on ….
I LOVE IKEA even if it’s a 2.5 hr drive, what a excuse to eat (great meatball meals and fabulous chocolate cake, too) there and spend hours and hours perusing the store ….
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