IKEA's Art Event 2017- This Year's Artists Revealed

IKEA's yearly art event stands to bring together a limited edition collection of work from artists from all over the world. Whilst limited, the pieces are priced by IKEA with the intent of making beautiful artwork affordable so everyone can invest in the work of talented artists who some day will be huge.

IKEA choose the pieces by a certain theme, last year was photography. This year the dozen artists chosen are all well known for their hand-drawn work.

So while every artwork is hand-drawn and have that in common, you can still see the wide range of aesthetic in the collection. Different styles to suit different homes, or different rooms within your home.

Each of the prints is poster size, so they are 61cm x 91cm. One of my repeat purchases from IKEA Belfast since they opened is their poster sized frames.

Starting at £14 (see below), these frames will suit the Art Event prints perfectly. 

I find posters simply Blu-tacked to a bedroom wall can look very, 'student digs', so it's worth £14 to frame your posters to look more 'grown up'. Of course framing also protects your prints of that size from wear and tear, so they are a good purchase for kids' posters in their bedrooms too. 

There are several different frame types in the 61 x 91cm size, box frames, or more flush to the wall flat frames, as well as a range of colours of wood. You can pick whichever will look best with the Art Event prints that take your fancy.

The collection will be instore in April. 

So what else will be instore in April? IKEA's Stockholm is their affordable luxe, design led range and they will be launching 47 new pieces in the coming months.

Last week I blogged about my  bathroom makeover using plants & soft furnishings from IKEA Belfast. House plants are the big trend for 2017, and the images of interiors IKEA are sharing confirm this. How amazing do those trailing ferns look on the left? I would love to create a green ceiling like that in my own home.

April sees a really cool collab coming  IKEA kids' way too. Partnering with DreamWorks Studio, the LATTJO collection features characters Ernst the Eagle and Victor the Vampire.

The duvet covers and cushions in the works are especially cool looking.  So there is something for everyone due in store very soon.

My Top Picks From This Sneaky Peek at What's Ahead For Spring/Summer 2017 at IKEA Belfast

Your living room never looks so bare as the day you take down your Christmas tree and pack away the wreaths, candles, ornaments and holiday fixings. It's the time of year you feel like refreshing your living spaces, and even in rental properties you can switch things up thanks to the availability of fabulous and reasonably priced interior pieces from IKEA. There's no need to have to paint the walls or go through the hassle of wallpapering, you can create a fresh new feel to a room with the right soft furnishings and furniture.

Personally, I've set my sights on our small bathrooom to be the target of my January makeover spirit. 

We have a shower cubicle, sink, toilet & one wall mounted cupboard. My plan is to give the room a new look with a new bath mat & towels, but also to introduce some house plants & ferns in the space beside the shower which is currently just an empty space. I also want to buy hanging pots to layer down the outside of the shower cubicle. In my mind I'm picturing a tropical rainforest, so let's see how that one turns out! 

As well as the bathroom, I'm hoping to pick up some other bits & bobs on our trip to IKEA Belfast this weekend. They shared with me a sneak peek at products that will be appearing in stores in spring and the summer ahead. 

There are a number of special collections, but the one that jumped out at me was 'Fine Geometric'. There's a mid-century feel to the products with definite Eames' style inspirations.

Digital Wave also has retro futuristic touches, and how could I resist that rainbow cabinet? I also love the deep, bottle green throw (7), and vivid, Barbie pink candlestick (9). 

Again IKEA has partnered with a fashion designer, this time Kit Neale, to produce the eclectic SPRIDD range. There's a Vivienne Westwood feel to parts of the collection, with orbs aplenty. 

It seems a lifetime away, but the SPRIDD collection has the items to make you the most fashionable festival goer this summer. Bright colourful picnic ware can be used by families as well as music festival campers, and you wouldn't be able to miss that tent amongst a sea of other campers.

SPRIDD also reminds me of Moschino's pop art, bold patterned looks. 

So so so Vivienne Westwood

So there's lots to look forward to in  IKEA Belfast and other stores this spring. In the meantime I'll be the one pushing a trolley packed with ferns this weekend!

The IKEA Flat-pack Lunch #MakeMoreThanJustFood

We just received this wonderfully kitsch IKEA flat-pack, self-assembly lunch! The Kings of DIY furniture have just released their 2017 catalogue, and as with other years, they have a theme that ties the showcase of products together. 

This time around the theme is 'Make More Than Just Food', a celebration of growing, cooking and sharing food with family and friends. From memories made making buns with your toddler, to relationships blooming at dinner parties with friends.

They sent us the flat-pack lunch, complete with instructions! The food shop part of IKEA Belfast is possible my favourite part of the whole store. There's elk sausage, mild cheese and crispbread to 'self-assemble'.

So watch for the 2017 IKEA catalogue hitting stores and coming through letterboxes very soon.

IKEA's Crayfish Party Evening- Thurs 4th August, Plus a Summer Filled with Free Kids' Activites

​It’s about that time of year again when IKEA Belfast holds the hugely popular Swedish Crayfish Party in the customer restaurant, which has just undergone a refurb of its own.

Kicking off at 5.30pm, you’ll be treated to a bumper Swedish buffet, including the Crayfish guests of honour, and complimentary cocktails. Then you can dance the indulgence away with ABBA tribute act, The Bjorn Identity.

The store is also hosting workshops and activities for kids all summer long. 

 Details here of when, what and where. They are all globally themed and best of all FREE!

Eyeballs, Flamingoes & Mermaids: Fashion Meets Home at IKEA Belfast Tomorrow.

Last minute shout out about a handy little event running at IKEA Belfast tomorrow, just in case we have another washout of a day.

This Saturday 2nd April, the fashion and interiors industries will convene during an exclusive, one-off event, a live fashion installation with local stylist Sara O'Neill and photographer Khara Pringle. They are celebrating the launch of GILTIG, a new, limited edition collection of homewares designed in collaboration with London menswear designer Katie Eary.

What is truly unique about the installationis that Sara will be using only products from the collection – including tablecloths,coasters, napkins, lampshades and bowls - to create the unique look on model Kirsten, from 10am-12 noon. An IKEA hack you can wear? Sounds cool to me.

Sara O'Neill

Sara is a professional stylist from the North Coast of NI, sort of a Rachel Zoe of the Giant's Causeway. If you haven't heard of her, and her glorious Éadach silk fashion collection, then Sara's Instagram account is a beautiful place to start. Her eye for natural colouring & love for her surroundings is addictive and inspiring. I'm excited to see her collaboration with IKEA, she's definitely the best woman for this job!

GILTIG is the first of three fashion-inspired collections that will be launched by IKEA from April to September that will allow customers to furnish with fashion. It is an eclectic range of soft furnishings and dinnerware with fish, cat and eyeball prints at the forefront of the design aesthetic.

The Limited Edition collections focus on re-invigorating interior design, and push the boundaries of what can be achieved through large-scale production in the home furnishing sphere.

The GILTIG collection is on sale now, with GLӦDANDE following in June and SVÄRTAN in September.

My must-buy

Tillfalle IS Coming to IKEA Belfast!

I featured a look ahead to Spring 2016 before Christmas, but I wasn't sure how much of this tropical Tillfalle  collection we would get locally. It's been confirmed that we will be getting a selection of pieces, in store from February. My favourite is the black and white coffee table. 

IKEA's #PolitePlacemats : Apple Genuis? Or Are Your Manners Too Far Gone?

This is the IKEA Sittning placemat, and it could be the answer to anti-social dining. 

It's £1.50 and its clever feature is its little phone pouch. I'm as guilty as anyone of Instagramming the heck out of a good 50% of my meals, but this pocket has a place specifically for my anti-social device, to stop me placing it on the table and checking it constantly throughout the meal for those precious 'likes'. 

The thing is, I think it might make me EVEN worse. I usually pop my phone in my pocket and maybe take it out when I've finished eating to check, but if it's sitting inside its little placemat sleeping bag, where I can SEE if it lights up with a notification- surely I'm more likely to use it? 

Anyway, it's a cheap and cheerful IKEA design, and if you don't think the pocket would work well for phones, then it could be a neat way of setting the table with your cutlery tucked in there, or a nice napkin- IKEA napkin designs are always epic. 

What do you think? Give me a tweet #politeplacemats and have your say. I could do with one with a bigger pouch for a certain small someone's Kindle Fire HD!