Skip to main content Skip to accessibility help Free Click & Collectfrom our shops on orders £30 and over Free standard deliveryon all orders over £50 Never knowingly undersoldsince 1925 Fast, free UK standard delivery Delivery in as little as 3 working days depending on your postcode Shop Living Room Furniture with 3-day delivery Dressing tables & Wardrobes CD & DVD storage A little colour or a bold print – finish your look with these soft furnishings Living & dining buying guide Our living and dining room furniture buyingguide offers advice Measuring up for furniture Discover how to measure up for new furniture soyou can work with the space you have Lunch in bed on the greens October 28th, 2016 | Here is a very green version of IKEA Stora Bed (the grass is real), the name is: Le Déjeuner sur October 18th, 2016 | I have transformed the IKEA SOCKER plant stand to create some privacy on my balcony.
The plant stand originally has rings October 17th, 2016 | Materials: ALVINE SPETS lace curtains, 1 pair To make: 1. Purchase four 6 foot wooden dowels from your local hardware DIY camp sink with JÄLL laundry bag September 12th, 2016 | IKEA items used: JÄLL Laundry bag with stand I had been sourcing parts to make a DIY camp sink. Making the ALGOT baskets into a window herb garden June 13th, 2016 | We moved condo recently and no longer had space for two of our ALGOT units: We have a small balcony DIY hanging plant pot with BLANDA BLANK May 26th, 2016 | IKEA items used: - Blanda Blank – two sizes Other materials: - leather strips Needed tools: - Dremel for drilling A plant hanger with HEAT trivet & SOCKER plant pot April 25th, 2016 | Materials: wool yarn trapilho jersey yarn wooden hoop (I used a 26 cm diam. embroidery hoop) big wooden pearls ( IKEA RUNNEN: From floor to wall August 11th, 2015 | Prompted by the question whether there is a hack for the IKEA RUNNEN floor deck tiles.
This is the hack May 20th, 2015 | Materials: Ikea curtain pole (brackets) I cut 4 of the curtain pole brackets down to compensate for them being stacked Materials: Ikea Duktig pan set I was looking for a microstove (a small stove for camping) and came across theWant a spot to rest your feet without splurging on a budget-breaking buy? This DIY pouf from Kristi Murphy upgrades an IKEA footstool to create this geometric, black-and-white pouf.If you're looking for a chic alternative to your standard vanity, check out this super-glam IKEA creation from A New Bloom. She paired the EKBY ALEX shelving with old-school wooden legs and a sheepskin-covered bench to create a gorgeous place to spend your mornings.Tea people know: Storing your tea neatly can be a challenge. That's why we love this colorful tea chest from Sugar Bush Avenue so much. Taking an IKEA MÖPPE chest of drawers (sadly, not currently available through official channels in the US) and adding a bright burst of color to the front makes an ingenious solution to any tea storage problem.
: Before & After: Dusty Old Lamps Are Transformed Into a DIY Pendant LightIt's rare you get something so classy from IKEA's seen-everywhere LACK coffee table, but blogger Triple Max Ton's pulled it off. By removing the lower shelf and attaching wooden tapered legs, she created a mid-century classic that's entirely modern.Get my grandmother onto the topic of “outdoor entertaining” and she’ll take a sharp intake of breath and berate anyone foolish enough to attempt dining in the British climate. The very idea of a meal outside seems crackers to her when there’s a perfectly cosy kitchen indoors, away from all those annoying wasps and sandwich-snatching gusts of wind. Yet we persist in this madness. For all the frustrating unpredictability of our weather, we plucky Brits spend a surprisingly large number of days eating, socialising and relaxing in the garden. The 2012 HSBC Gardens Survey found that UK residents spent an average of 95 days in the garden that year, including three days a week during the summer.
(It failed to mention that we were all wearing sou’westers.) That’s over a quarter of the year spent outdoors. • Garden chairs: eight of the best From city balconies to country lawns, rooftop gardens to modest back yards, there’s a burning desire in most of us to create an outdoor “room” of our own; a space where we can eat and drink in the open air, take a catnap in the sun, or simply enjoy the view – sheltered from the weather but open to the elements. So, how to create an outdoor entertaining space, especially one that can cope with all that the British weather can throw at it? Shade and shelter As with all living spaces, get the basics right and you’re halfway there. The first job is to create shelter for those brief interludes when the sun gets too hot or, more likely, the heavens open and the wind picks up her skirt. A pergola will provide lovely dappled shade but not much protection from driving rain, while a gazebo or summerhouse will keep your sausages dry but can feel more like sitting inside on a sunny day.
•Amazing tips to transform your outdoor room from Sally Coulthard's book, Shed Decor Cheap and chic – The BillyOh Summerhouse range starts at £204.99 from Garden Buildings Direct (0800 169 6016).These cheap-as-chips summerhouses can be transformed into chic sheds with a couple of tins of paint and a few metres of ticking. A slick of paint will make the BillyOh shed a stylish addition to the garden Big spender – Elegant iron gazebos from Room in the Garden (01730 816881) are perfect for candlelit summer evenings. You can also buy canvas liners to create a completely waterproof and windproof dining space. The Grand version costs £8,500. The iron gazebo looks lovely with or without canvas • Outdoor pressure washers: eight of the best If you don’t want a permanent structure, there are some nifty options for free-standing shelter. Shade sails or canopies make a dramatic statement and provide effective cover against sun and light showers. Get professional advice when it comes to fixing large canvases – they need to be under constant tension.
Nothing kills a party sooner than a guest being whipped overboard by a flapping sail. Look for sails with quick- release hooks so you can abandon ship if the gusts get too strong. •Our guide to gardening in shaded areas Cheap and chic – You have to love Ikea’s ((08453 583 363) optimism. Their Dyning canopy (4.15m x 3.6m/13.5ft x 11.8ft) costs £25, is water repellent, provides good UV protection and is designed to “protect yourself and your loved ones from the scorching British heat”. Big spender – For a complete, ready-to-use 5m x 5m (16.5ft x 16.5ft) premade square shade sail structure – which includes steel poles, fixings and sail shade – prices start at £1,740 from Shaded Nation (0845 299 4929). Useful for a pool or regularly used area. The sails make great coverage for a pool For the best of the rest you can’t beat a good old-fashioned garden umbrella. Large cantilevered parasols sit at the side of your table and won’t interrupt the conversation, while smaller brollies are ideal for intimate tables for two.
Have some fun with the fabrics: raffia parasols will give you a hit of tropical kitsch, while bold candy stripes create instant beach hut chic. Zesty block colours such as hot pink or citrus add bright pops of colour to your garden. Or play it cool with blacks, whites or neutral shades. •Paint colour into your garden Cheap and chic – For high-end design at a high street price you can’t beat the oriental-inspired 4 Seasons Shanghai parasol, £129, from Hayes Garden World (015394 33434). It’s resistant to mildew, and you can crank and tilt it to face the sun. The Shanghai parasol comes in a range of chic colours Big spender – The swishiest, silliest, loveliest of garden umbrellas has to be the Frou Frou Parasol by Sywawa, £1,482 at Made in Design (020 7692 4001). One can't help but smile at the Frou Frou parasol Most outdoor entertaining revolves around the principle of a dining table and chairs. The choices are myriad, from the comfort of woven rattan armchairs to the Riviera chic of metal bistro seats.
If you plan to leave your chairs and tables outside they need to be tough – the British climate is punishing on most materials. Teak is hard-wearing and popular, but unless you want orphaned orang-utans on your conscience it should be FSC-certified from sustainable forests. Metal and wirework seating are daintier, and work well in small spaces. Wicker rattan suites, complete with cushions and chair pads, are the ultimate in outdoor dining comfort. If the forecast is favourable there’s no reason why you shouldn’t drag a battered armchair or salvaged pew out into the garden. The boundary between house and garden furniture is becoming blurred. Last year we heaved the kitchen table and sofa outside, lit an old wood-burning brazier and spent a convivial evening huddled together around the flames. Just don’t do what we did and get so squiffy that you forget to bring the soft furnishings back indoors again before the dew set in. • Get your garden furniture looking right for the warmer months with our rattan garden furniture guide •The art of garden furniture Cheap and chic – A riot of colour hit the catwalk this season and the three-piece Bistro set in blue from Wilko (0800 329329) is only £60 – cheaper than a handbag and a darned
sight more comfy to sit on. The bistro set is surprisingly inexpensive for the style it delivers Big spender – The Barlow Tyrie high dining chairs and table from £747 at Garden Site (0121 355 7701) are a joy, as you sit as high as a bar stool and let your legs dangle. Perfect for compact courtyards and roof terraces. Prices start from £747 for one chair and table Cooking up a storm We live in the wilds of North Yorkshire and every year I anticipate those treasured moments when friends and family gather in our garden to cook and eat. Most of the fun is getting the fire started and there’s a real sense of achievement when you’ve finally cooked a feast using little more than a metal pot and a handful of twigs. For those of you who want a meal ready in less than an hour, however, a gas barbecue is quick, easy and won’t leave scorch marks on your lawn. •The barbecue type you should have for your garden Cheap and chic – The Feast Set by The Glam Camping Company (0845 869 8960), £130, includes a tripod, grill and cooking pot.
Recreate a halcyon camping trip without leaving your back garden. Who says camping can't be done in style? Big spender – The Performance BBQ, £638.99 from Calor (0800 626626) has all the bells and whistles you need for a major cook-off – four porcelain coated iron burners, warming rack and the option of a rotisserie. The Performance BBQ pulls out all the stops Well illuminated I have been to outdoor parties where the lighting consists of the host sporadically waving his arm to set off his light sensor. If you want to create a more relaxed ambience, combine permanent fixtures and movable accents. Wall-mounted fishing lights and ground-level uplighters will create a useful glow. Add twinkle with solar sparkly lights or group clusters of storm lanterns to create low pools of light. For intimate soirées, tea lights and jam-jar candles add intimate dots of illumination and, if you use citronella or lavender wax, they will keep the bugs away too. •The best lights for your garden Cheap and chic – The Solar Centre fairy lights from John Lewis, £30, have white LED lights and green wire, making them ideal for invisibly stringing through trees and bushes (03456 049 049).
Fairy lights add charm to a garden Big spender – An outdoor standard lamp takes the concept of an outdoor living room to the next level. An elegant option is the LEDS.C4 Moonlight outdoor urban grey floor lamp, £345.20 from KES Lighting (02476 317022). To add the finishing touches to your outdoor space, think as you would if you were decorating your living room: soften hard surfaces with throws and cushions; add form and interest with sculpture and planters; and introduce colour with dining accessories such as drinks buckets, serving bowls and glassware. Keep everything relaxed, though, and don’t spend too much – there’s something about outdoor parties that brings out the clutz in all of us. Cheap and chic – The Cilla chair pads from Ikea (08453 583363) are ideal for softening hard seats and benches. At £4 each, buy bucket loads and fling them casually around your seating area. Big spender – The Tiana outdoor fabric range from Designers Guild (£58 per metre, Kingdom Interiors, 01684 291037) is woven from 100 per cent polypropylene so it’s completely showerproof and perfect for garden and poolside soft furnishings.