Baby meet IKEA...

All parents and parents-to-be can probably relate to how kid's stuff tends to take OVER. If not, I envy you. I feel like - actually, I'm well aware - we're losing the battle I'm not quite sure it's possible to win anyway and she's not even here yet. Since Chris started painting the nursery all the things that were stored in there plus all the baby stuff we have been acquiring are now consuming our bedroom and office...driving me a bit crazy. Not a far drive some days but that's another matter. 

Solution to our storage problem? One word. HEMNES. Don't speak IKEA? Let me translate. HEMNES is the traditional looking furniture line from the great Swedish store. A couple months ago, Chris and I got two white HEMNES 8 drawer dressers for our bedroom and love them...someday I might blog about them.  Continuing the theme, my parents bought us (really, the baby) a white HEMNES dresser for the nursery as an early baby gift along with baby's crib from IKEA.

After picking up the dresser and the crib yesterday morning with the help of Chris' family's van and muscles, I begged Chris to put the dresser together...after he was in class all day. Knowing he's still got a lot of painting to do in there, we decided the dresser could just move to the center of the room while  painting was being wrapped up. And it can hold most of the smaller baby things and clothes at the same time. 


If you didn't know, most of IKEA furniture comes "flat-pack" which means you can get it home easily but have to put it together at home. Just think of it like a "big-kid" lego project. Pretty fun. Chris seemed to enjoy himself...and I enjoyed watching and taking pictures.

Step 1. Open box, read instructions and sort pieces...all while smiling. 

Step 2. Start assembling dresser frame.

Step 3. Continue smiling while assembling frame, wonder when your wife is going to stop taking your picture.

Step 4. Frame mostly assembled, consult instructions.

Step 5. Assemble dresser top.

Step 6. Nail backing on dresser, avoid thumbs.

Step 7. Put drawers together, end is in sight.

Step 8. Finished. Assembled. Happy.

*Optional* Step 9. Add organizers to hold baby's little things.

The dresser is going to have a changing pad on top so we can skip the traditional changing table. Bonus for us tall folk? Upon putting it together, we discovered that it's higher than some of the other changing tables/dressers. Nice. 

We decided to wait to put the crib together until the painting is actually done so Chris will have room to move while working in the nursery. Guess I'll actually have to start sewing the quilt now...