We have been doing a lot of shopping at Ikea lately thanks to our 20% cash back sofa credit. We bought two KNAPPA pendant lights for our front room, and last night I put one together and hung it. It comes with a plug end, but I cut the cord and hard wired it into the ceiling. I have to say that at $25 the KNAPPA looks 10 times more expensive than it really is. It totally transformed the look of the room, although admittedly the bare bulb hanging from the ceiling wasn't doing much for the ambiance. Not only does it look great, but it was fun to put together too. I think it actually gives you a little bit more appreciation for the light having put it together yourself. Available from Ikea for $25.

Some times it's the little things that are hard to find. A prime example is a coat hook. Seems like it should be easy to find an inexpensive nice looking coat hook right? Well not as easy as it sounds. David M from Seattle looked all over until he found this Duet Hook for the entry way of his house. The design is simple and unobtrusive, and at $5 the price is right. To make things even better, looks like they are made by a local company called Three By Three who has all sorts of other goodies. Modern, affordable and local, looks like a winner to me.Available from Tiny Living for $5. Thanks to David M for the tip!

I love wooden toys, especially ones that force you to have a little bit of an imagination. The little bean race car from Nest is just abstract enough to capture the imagination of any kid. It's not just made of wood either. It's green wood, and I'm not talking about the color. Each toy is made from local maple that is sustainably harvested and then they are finished off with a non-toxic yet durable finish. It is available in 4 different colors and sells for $22. Available from Nest for $22.

I'm starting to think that blogging and construction runs in the family. Holy Cows is a blog run by my Mom and step-dad that documents their artisan cheesemaking business Rockhill Creamery. More recently they have also been blogging about the construction of their newest aging room. The aging room was designed and built by my step-dad, and even the die hard modernist in me can appreciate the clean rustic style of the little building. It is also quite affordable, as much of it is made from salvaged material. It will house the majority of their wonderful handmade cheeses just below ground in perfect cave like conditions. If you haven't been lucky enough to try their cheese, stop by their online store and check it out.

Over the past couple weeks we have been slowly collecting all the pieces to do the next major section of cabinetry in our kitchen, and it's finally done. The new part is the section with the MUSMIG oven and Bosch cooktop. Like the rest of the kitchen we used the NUMERAR countertop and SORBO cabinets. After getting it all put in we quickly found out that we would want a backsplash, so we got two IMPERATIV stainless steel wall panels from Ikea for $18 each. They were very easy install, and I think they look great. We are thinking about doing a chalk board section just to the right to finish of the length of the counter.As far as the quality of Ikea kitchen cabinets go, I have been really impressed. The actual boxes themselves aren't anything special, but all the hardware is pretty high end Blum self closing. The quality of the drawer fronts is quite good as well, and it is all very easy to install. I'd definitely do it again in another house.

We moved in about three weeks ago and now that we are in it has been hard to get the house tidy enough to take photos. I managed to get the kitchen and dining area in good enough shape to get some photos done, finally. The house is nearly all finished and things wrapped up pretty nicely. I will be asking for input in the future regarding some decorating decisions. We have been having a hard time getting our bathrooms completed with mirrors, medicine cabinets etc. Now that we are in and everything is settled we have many professionals to thank for getting everything finished. Kenner Kingston and Stephanie Kooyman with Architectural Nexus who are awesome to work with and incredible Architects. Garth, Mark, Jesse and Chris with Benchmark Modern for sticking with it and getting things done quickly and within budget. Drew Hicken with Celtic Bank kicked butt and got everything wrapped up with the mortgage. Greg and Al with Premier Metal works did an incredible job and made the stairs and railings beautiful and within budget! If anyone out there is looking for talented people to help them design, build and finance a home (or anything else) should consider these fine people. We were extremely lucky to find a very honest, reliable, talented and dedicated team to build our dream home. More to come!

-Jacob

As winter is starting to settle in here in Utah (we had our first real snow yesterday) makes me want to get some warm clothes on and snuggle up on our new couch. For Arrington we bought this great one piece with a hoodie at Old Navy. We originally bought it for pajamas, but they are so great that we use them for everything. Old Navy of course has great prices, this one piece was $12. Available from Old Navy for $12 We are getting ready to visit some friends in New York, and I think we will be spending a lot of time walking around outside, so we are looking for a affordable warm coat for our kid. Any tips?

So we finally went ahead and bought a sofa. It has been over two years since we got rid of our old couch in anticipation of purchasing a new one. We got the KRAMFORS from Ikea as part of their 20% back sofa sale. 20% back isn't quite the same as 20% off, but we figured we would be spending more money at Ikea soon anyway, so it's pretty close. For those of you who aren't quick with the math, we got a $279 gift card for buying our little sectional, which makes it a great deal for only $1,119. The build quality is quite good, but as with all Ikea goods there was a little bit of DIY to get it assembled. The chaise and the love seat connect together with a clamp on the bottom to make them so they don't slide apart when you sit on them. The seat is quite deep and it's almost a little awkward to sit on without a cushion behind you. That said, if you are not trying to sit all proper, and snuggle up on it during a movie it is quite comfortable. Available from Ikea for $1,119.

When I think of Thomas Paul, I think pillows, but there is much more to the name than that. Thomas Paul also does rugs, lighting, bags and plates, just to name a few. These great Artifacts Dinner Plates are new to Elsewares, and are a great example of the bold eclectic designs of Thomas Paul put to melamine. In fact, they are almost too good to eat on, and would probably look equally as good on the wall. The classic design follows the emerging trend of "Lux Modern" and puts a print you would expect to see on some fine china on inexpensive durable melamine. Did I say inexpensive? Well maybe not too inexpensive. A set of four will still run you $36, which isn't bad, but it isn't cheap either. Available from Elsewares - $36 for a set four.

I saw this over at Baby Gadget this morning and thought that it was too cute not to post. This Coverall hat is from Oeuf, the maker of beautiful Cribs and bouncers. I didn't even know that they made clothes, but it turns out that they have a pretty good sized line of baby and toddler clothes. My favorite of course are their knits which are made of 100% baby alpaca (which makes it super soft, warm and hypoallergenic) and are very well designed. This hat looks like it would actually stay on your little squirmer and keep them protected from the elements. Available from Oeuf for $37 On sale at Cocoa Crayon for $27

I have to be honest, bow platform beds aren't exactly my favorite style of platform, but the price on this one seemed to good not to share. From Simplyplatformbeds.com comes this metal bow platform bed for only $330 (for a full sized). Compared to most of the prices I see for this style of bed, that is a steal. The bed is made of chromed steel and looks like it would be quite sturdy. For an extra $300 you can get a thin mattress with a microsuede cover and a couple of pillows as shown in the picture.Available from Simply Platform Beds for $330.

Utah isn't exactly the hub of modern design, but we do have a couple of decent stores. One of my favorites has always been By Design. It's my favorite partly because they have a great selection of reasonably affordable modern contemporary furniture, and second, and even more importantly they aren't snobish like many of the other "modern furniture" stores. Since it is one of my favorites, and quite close to my house, I was a little disapointed to hear that they were moving. Looking on the bright side they are having a huge sale. I checked it out on Sat and found some great deals. If you're local and haven't checked it out yet, get on down there before they move.

This was sent in by a David M a long time reader. He is currently remodeling a mid-century modern home in Renton just south of Seattle. While redoing his bathroom he wanted to put in a vanity similar to the Kohler Purist but didn't want to spend $1,500. With a little creativity he was able to take this Ikea STOLMEN and make it work as a wall mount vanity. I think you will agree when I say it looks great. The price of the STOLMEN was $80, which makes it a very affordable alternative. He finished it all off with a sink an faucet similar to what we have in our bathroom. More pics here.

One of the first things I wrote about when I started Grassrootsmodern over three years ago was the Umbra Oh Chair. It's affordable, good quality and a great design. The ok Chair follows closely in it's older brothers footsteps. Sure the design isn't revolutionary, but it is good looking. The design is very similar to the Oh chair minus the arms, and it is priced very similar at $60. It currently only comes in matte white, but who knows what the future may hold. Available from Umbra for $60.

There is nothing like good lighting to make a room have that certain ambiance your looking for. Wrapables has this great Honeycomb Table Lamp that is made of silk worm cocoons. I'm not quite sure if thats a good thing or not, but I do know that it looks pretty good. The 8" diameter globe sits atop a wooden base and casts a nice soft glow. I guess soft light is about what you would expect for a lamp made of silk. What I wouldn't expect is the relatively affordable price, only $45. Available from Wrapables for $45.

We have been seeing more and more products made out of bamboo lately, and why not. It is fast growing which makes it very sustainable, and it is hard which makes it very durable. Seems kind of like a no brainer to me. While I have seen lots of bamboo bowls, I think that this is the first bamboo fruit ring I have ever seen. Handmade for Chiasso, this ring is 11.5”dia. x 2.5”- 6”w. It's also 100% eco friendly. The price is a little steep at $38 but you've got to admit it's a lot cooler than what you put your fruit in now. Available from Chiasso for $38.

I mentioned a couple of days ago that we were getting ready to finish our kitchen. For our stovetop we ordered the Bosch, and originally we were going to get a Bosch oven too. That is, until we saw the price tag. The Bosch oven we wanted was close to $1400, which was way out of our budget. So we did what any reasonable person would do, we went to Ikea. The Ikea MUSMIG oven is a steal at only $700. It may not have all the bells and whistles of the Bosch, but it is a good solid oven, and it looks pretty good. I also figured it should fit perfect in an Ikea cabinet, since it is made for Ikea. We went ahead and ordered it and all the cabinetry we needed for less than the $1400 price tag of the Bosch oven.Available from Ikea for $700.

Here is another great Etsy find. From the windy city comes these wonderful wool pillows. Each pillow is made by felting old wool sweaters, cutting them up, and sewing them back together in these wonderful geometric patterns. Pillow covers have a zipper closure and have a quality down pillow insert inside. 12" x 18" pillows go for $40 and 18" x 18" are priced at $55. This is a great deal for a hand made one of a kind down pillow. There are currently only 3 for sale so get going if you want one!

Available from Plytextiles Etsy page for $40 - $55.

Things happen slower when you do them yourself. Over a year ago I posted about our bathroom vanity that I had just built. I did a walnut base and a concrete countertop. The only thing that was left to do was the drawers. It sat that way for over a year, but it's finally finished. I was able to do all the drawer fronts out of one continuous piece of wood so that the grain pattern follows all the way across. It's those little details that make me really like it the most. I opted to use no handles, but instead beveled the bottom edge of the drawer for a comfortable grip. I think it turned out pretty nice. It's funny because I really love all the walnut in the bathroom, and very little of it was planned. The walnut behind the toilet was because we didn't have enough wall space for the wall hung tank in the wall, and the walnut above the mirror is because they had to cut the mirror short to get it past the sink when installing it. In hindsight, I wouldn't have done it any different.

When it comes to a great looking humidifier for the home the options have been pretty limited so far. One of my favorites is made by Plus Minus Zero, but unfortunately it is expensive and hard to find. The only one I could find this morning was on ebay for $200. However, it turns out that Plus Minus Zero isn't the only one who can make a great modern looking humidifier. This one is from another one of my favorite companies, Blomus. The Umydo Humidifier not only does it look great, but the price is way more reasonable at only $70. It features the clean lines and stainless steel finish that defines all Blomus products and is available from Allmodern.com. Available from Allmodern.com for $70.