Meatballs Anyone?

Some of my friends have been nagging me to get back onto the blog. Apologies for my absence if you are a regular reader and have missed me!

I still have plenty of ideas and design opinions so here we go...

The New IKEA store in Sydney.

I went along on the opening day of the giant new store near Sydney airport to pick up some kitchen bits and pieces for a beach house we are doing for clients. Any excuse will do to call in to Ikea, really. And yes, the meatballs were on...

I always feel a little envious of Mr Ikea as I wish I had thought of it. Even though it has been around since the forties, it is still as relevant a concept today as ever - even more so now that more and more brands are heading to warehouse style outlets.

Naturally, you can't possibly reach the cash registers without a trolley full of stuff. My haul went way beyond the kitchen cabinet legs I went in for. Some of the Christmas bits are lovely this year, particularly the huge, illuminated cardboard stars which I wish I had got more of.

My Picks at Ikea:

• The Christmas decorations with matching fabric, candles, dishes, cards, gift wrap, paper napkins, santa sacks - you name it

• The slip covered furniture

• New kitchen designs

• Feather cushion inserts

• Lighting - its cheap and looks great

Room For Improvement:

• There are some great products but the room styling is not really inspiring and fairly predictable. It wouldn't be that difficult to add some pizzazz to the rooms - why not ask some guest stylists for a fresh take?

• Love the kids range but it cuts out at about age 5 - what about the older kids?