IKEA Bound

In mid July by husband and I drove to Atlanta with our three year old son to select the furniture I would need for my new room. I am very blessed to have a supportive husband who understands that teachers need STUFF and no we won't every get our money back, but we will create environments that foster wonder, love, and a life long hunger for learning in our students.

It took us 3 hours to get through the store. It's an amazing store and there are so many things to stop and look at that you totally loose track of time.

After three hours we decided to go with a birch colored furniture and chose two styles (1) the Billy bookcase which is 84" tall and (2) the chunky yet durable Expedite furniture.

The Billy shelf is great b/c it allows for storage in a six shelf bookcase. I don't have a ton of space, but I could always go "up" so I chose the tallest bookcase I could find. I purchased four of them.

 

 

The Expedite furniture was chosen for my classroom library. It's durable and will last a really long time. With both styles of furniture, you have to put them together yourself. They come in big boxes but are pretty simple to construct. IKEA is very reasonable with pricing. I purchased all these pieces of furniture for under $500.

Now to get them all into the room and their locations pinned down.

The next stage will be unpacking boxes and loading the shelves.

If you are setting up your own classroom and you can't afford $500 then you could visit yard sales or post on Facebook and other network sites that you are looking for furniture. Keep your eyes open at thrift stores too. I had a friend find a couch for $16 and a her neighbor was throwing away a bookcase. She upcycled both and they are adorable in her new room. Just keep an open mind.