Ikea Madness

I'm sure it comes as no surprise to most of you, but I love Ikea. I've been shopping for Christmas decorations there for years. When it came time to move into my first apartment, I bought several pieces there, including the table I now use as a desk and the chair I'm sitting in as I write this post.

About a year ago, I realized I needed another lamp for my living room. Up to that point, I'd had one floor lamp which was getting the job done, but didn't provide as much light as I wanted. I picked up a lamp (pictured below) on one of my voyages to Homegoods. When I brought it home, I got out a trusty old TV tray and set it up right next to the couch. All was well, though I had always thought the TV tray would be a temporary solution. I did some looking for a table for a long time until I finally decided I wanted a four-cube Ikea Expedit bookcase. They were having a huge sale on them during Black Friday weekend, so I picked one up back in November. I then promptly shoved it into the storage closet because I had company throughout the holiday season. It wasn't until last weekend that I finally got the box out and decided to put it together.

I was in the company of my trusty guide:

It's funny, because the instructions even contemplate that you're going to be confused!

I didn't have a buddy present with me. I could have phoned-a-friend, I suppose, but the unit is really pretty small and I just wanted to get it put together. I had a TON of difficulty. I'm not sure whether a buddy would have been helpful. I began assembling it on Saturday afternoon and simply couldn't get all of the screws and pegs lined up with the pre-drilled holes. I put it almost all the way together and then had to take it apart like three times. ARGH!

I had to stop on Saturday and resume on Sunday. By that time my hands and legs were sore from all of the back and forth the day before. I had read one tip online suggesting that you could use gravity to help do the work. The instructions suggest that you lay the unit down on its front, put it together, and then tip it upright. I actually had it most of the way together then did just that: I tipped it up and leaned and got 'er done. Yikes. It was quite the experience. But, here's the finished product and I think it looks pretty awesome!