So yes, I admit it. I have been sucked in by the Ikea vortex plenty of times.

 I have bought several items at Ikea which I have been pretty happy with. Sheets, place mats, cups and a recycling bin, as well as other random things that we needed for the house.

It is affordable and they have a pretty decent mission and vision about how such a profitable and huge corporation should go about in doing decent business practices. I am sure that they are making their good $$$ with Ikea stores all over the world, and with such hype that comes with it. Unlike nasty Wal-Mart and other super stores though, they do try to promote a sustainable life at home, they are pretty conscious about their energy & resources, and they try to partner with organizations in order to help communities and people with their ongoing success. If all businesses had their same practices, we would be in a better place today. It doesn’t mean they are doing it perfectly, but it is a start.

BUUUUUUTTTT….. there’s an issue with buying from Ikea….many people shop there too. I even saw my sheets in a movie set once! Ah! Not MY sheets!!!

So what to do?

Last night I was waiting for Mushpa to get home, and I felt like I needed to work on something light and fun. And that’s when I remembered the Ikea lamp in our bedroom….

So generic, so cost effective, and so…….plain? So I decided to do a little Ikea DIY and update our lamp. Since the lamp shade is made of thick paper, I decided that I could use some water colors to give it a nicer look.

Some mustard-ish orange and a pretty pink. Ta-da! Not so generic anymore right?!

Now it looks like a tequila sunrise in our Mediterranean blue bedroom!

Fun times! : )

-Mensa