Over the past couple of months I have collected 99% of the furniture I need so my trip to IKEA today was mainly to get a couple of lights and a few little bits to make the flat more personal and homely. This was only the second time I have ever been to IKEA and I found myself spending 3 and a half hours there. I originally had one of those yellow shopping bags as I was not expecting to get that much but once I had got to the kitchen section I had to swap this for a trolley. I loved looking round all of the rooms for ideas and inspiration. It demonstrates so well that you do not need a big space in order to make it look amazing.

I got this hanging pendant light for the hallway. You can pull the string to open or close the light in order to brighten or dim the room. Not my normal style but I do love it. I got the one pictured which is white with silver inside but there is also a gold one. There are others which are not metal and these are either green or orange inside.

Also got this lovely little Boja table lamp for the living room. It looks so beautiful when lit up and each one is slightly different due to the bamboo. The best thing about buying a light from IKEA is how they have them all displayed so you can see what they look like when switched on. They also have the recommended bulbs (All LED, great for the environment and your electric bill!) next to the lamps so you can buy both together and make sure you have the correct bulb for that light.

They had a special offer on light bulbs if purchased before 11am this morning so those 24 light bulbs I needed for my spider lights did not cost me as much as expected. I did have to get 8 halogen bulbs from the Range though (my future electric bill is crying) as the LED bulbs are not dimmable and I really like dimmable lights in the lounge. I have decided that the Karli ceiling lights which I bought earlier look like spiders with shoes on, this is why they are called spider lights.

So these were the things that I needed (admittedly I did not need the bamboo lamp, but isn’t it pretty?!) so thought I’d post a couple of the things I definitely did not need but really really wanted.

I would have had to have got an ice cube tray at some point so surely I can justify these little multicoloured unusual shaped ice cube trays for 95p each? I now have the choice of a starfish, fish or flower shaped ice cube in my drink. Why have cubes when you can have stars? I really cannot justify the dish washing brush apart from the fact it stands up and will avoid clutter around the sink! Available in 3 different colours and only cost me £1! I think the novelty factor got to me here!

I also got other little things like candles, chopping boards, mixing bowls and a couple of bins. I think after spending 3 and a half hours in IKEA it may be my new favourite shop!