• Home
  • about emily
  • before + after
  • HGTV + DIY Network
  • good press
  • contact
  • Let’s Organize These Posts:

    • Art Attack
    • Backyard
    • Barn
    • Basement
    • Bathroom
    • Beach
    • Bedrooms
    • Being Thrifty
    • Business-y
    • Buying and Renting and Selling
    • Casual Celebrations
    • Closets
    • Curb Appeal
    • Dainty Details
    • Deck
    • Decor
    • Dining Room
    • DIY
    • Dog-Related
    • Entryway
    • Flooring
    • For the Kids
    • Garage
    • Gardening
    • Helping The Economy
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects
    • Holiday-Related Projects
    • Home Safety
    • Kitchen
    • Lighting
    • Living Room
    • Merry Travels
    • Office Space
    • Organized
    • Other Pads
    • Outdoor Living
    • Scooter Fun
    • Stairwell
    • Sunroom
    • Supporting Sponsors
    • The Art Room
    • Tools
    • Uncategorizable
    • Wedding
    • Windows
    • Work-pads
  • Search

  • Hi, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle.

    You can find me writing for HGTV and DIY Network, follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

  • BROWSE POSTS BY CATEGORY:

    • Art Attack (7)
    • Backyard (92)
    • Barn (8)
    • Basement (27)
    • Bathroom (43)
    • Beach (13)
    • Bedrooms (73)
    • Being Thrifty (53)
    • Business-y (12)
    • Buying and Renting and Selling (23)
    • Casual Celebrations (36)
    • Closets (17)
    • Curb Appeal (44)
    • Dainty Details (8)
    • Deck (23)
    • Decor (286)
    • Dining Room (37)
    • DIY (577)
    • Dog-Related (24)
    • Entryway (59)
    • Flooring (58)
    • For the Kids (32)
    • Garage (17)
    • Gardening (70)
    • Helping The Economy (30)
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects (283)
    • Holiday-Related Projects (80)
    • Home Safety (12)
    • Kitchen (83)
    • Lighting (31)
    • Living Room (77)
    • Merry Travels (21)
    • Office Space (21)
    • Organized (41)
    • Other Pads (14)
    • Outdoor Living (12)
    • Scooter Fun (8)
    • Stairwell (20)
    • Sunroom (22)
    • Supporting Sponsors (43)
    • The Art Room (3)
    • Tools (43)
    • Uncategorizable (1)
    • Wedding (28)
    • Windows (14)
    • Work-pads (10)
  • Search

  • Pages

    • blog
    • Merrypad Features
    • Privacy Policy
    • about emily
    • before + after
      • before + after, our current home
      • before + after, our first house
    • contact me
    • choose a badge and share the merrypad.com love
  • Home
  • about emily
  • before + after
  • HGTV + DIY Network
  • good press
  • contact

KLISTRIG!

February 19, 2013

We took an impromptu trip to the IKEA in Burlington, Ontario over the weekend, a stop on our Saturday of belated Valentine’s fun that also included Niagara Falls, the Seneca Niagara Casino, and dinner in Buffalo, NY. This was also the first time I went to IKEA without having so much as a piece of scrap paper with a shopping list on it – it was wildly liberating. Window shopping was more fun than previous trips, trips where we would spend hours trying to figure out what we could or couldn’t buy based on a complicated mathematical equation that took into account how much would fit into the car and how much we could transport across the American border without encountering extra tariffs. Said equation almost always looked something like this, and was most certainly harder to solve than any textbook challenge: (KASSETT)(MALM + BJÄRNUM) + 4(GRUNDTAL) + VITTSJÖ.  (For those with no reason to understand what I’m talking about, there’s a limit to how much you bring back into the United States from Canada, and for a day trip it’s only around $200/person with some weird rules around whether or not you live with the other person; we can’t get anyone to tell us what the law really is, even customs.)

Our visits to IKEA are infrequent enough that there’s always new stuff to see, and always merchandise that I overlooked during previous visits when my head was deep into calculating how far forward the driver’s seat could shift without being a hazard on the QEW.

These KLISTRIG placemats are one of my favorite things we brought home. It’s a perfect mix of function and design, and might look damn good framed over a white backdrop or taped permanently to my kitchen wall, like so:

A new KLISTRIG IKEA dining mat.

Priced at just $4.99 (canadian) for a set of 4, they have a distinct Charley Harper-like feel, and that was their initial draw other than, you know, colorful children’s placemats are charming and we don’t own any. Mr. Harper, if you haven’t heard me mention him once or twice before, quickly grew to being one of my favorite artists, thanks to his bold and clean aesthetic. He has illustrated several children’s booksthat someday I know I’ll be splurging on, but I also recently learned that he illustrated The Giant Golden Book of Biology, and it’s one of very few books that I’d demand to have in my own personal library. I immediately assumed that I might have found it in my Grandma’s attic amongst other treasures (she has some great stuff stored mint), but I haven’t come across it yet. If anyone reading this has a copy of finds one in their travels, let me know. (This image is from Wary Meyers Decorative Arts blog):

Charley Harper's illustrated Golden Books

How was your long weekend, and what did you splurge on?

Share

Decor  / Dining Room

Emily
I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. You can find me writing for HGTV and DIY Network, follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

4 Comments


genny
February 20, 2013 at 8:53 am
Reply

I love KLISTRIG placemats! I use them as colorful and inexpensive window films. I have the floral ones on my bathroom windows. Colorful, they allow light in, but you can’t see in.



    Emily
    February 20, 2013 at 9:07 am

    Gorgeous! Love that idea, Genny!

Barb
February 20, 2013 at 10:48 am
Reply

We do the same thing when we go to the States for a weekend. It’s so awesome that the duty-free limit for 48 hours is now $800. That’s a lot of shopping at places like HomeGoods and Hobby Lobby! The last time we went to PA we came back with our (tiny) SUV packed to the gills and still didn’t hit our limit.

We splurged on paint this weekend. Benjamin Moore Aura paint is $72 a can here in Canada. Crazy! But it really goes far so it’s worth it in the long run.



    Emily
    February 20, 2013 at 1:03 pm

    Wow! I know Canada’s limits are different than USA’s and I wish ours were as good as yours! How in the world could BM paint be that costly?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • HI, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

  • Instagram

    The 2020 pumpkin will not quit. #garden2020 #homeg The 2020 pumpkin will not quit. #garden2020 #homegrown #realtime
    Curbside finds and dinner outside ☀️ Curbside finds and dinner outside ☀️
    Should I just, like, plunk this whole cabbage in t Should I just, like, plunk this whole cabbage in the ground and see what happens? 
.
.
Would I really get a small cabbage from each shoot? There are seven shoots, and they seem healthy after growing all winter in my garage 🤦🏻‍♀️ 
.
.
Might it grow well in a container?
.
.
#garden2021 #cabbage #gardenquestions
    Getting a late start on the garden wishlist: Tomat Getting a late start on the garden wishlist: Tomatoes, thyme, and tomatillos, banana peppers, basil, and blueberries, parsley, peas, and maybe potatoes, and garlic-garlic-garlic? 🧄🧄🧄 ~8” of snow still holding steady on a 65-degree day. #garden2021 #merrypadathome #gardening #rochesterny
    Can’t believe I ever bought dumpling wrappers. 🥟 Pulse a few cups of flour in the food processor drizzling in cold water until it forms dough. Roll smooth. Use a conveniently large cookie cutter, or just trim out squares. The end ❤️ #hny #dumplings
    Didn’t think I’d be making more masks, but her Didn’t think I’d be making more masks, but here we are (now feat. recycled t-shirt layer for added softness and bonus-layer protection). #diy #amateurseamstress #diymask
    Get out there ☀️ Get out there ☀️
    The gang finally showed up. 👻 The gang finally showed up. 👻
    A record 233 cloves + 10 shallots 🧛🏻‍♀️ 
#merrypadathome #garden2021 #garlic #gardennotes #whatisnormal
    Load More... follow emily: @merrypad



  • Like Us On Facebook

    Facebook Pagelike Widget



  • Popular Posts

    • How to fix an IKEA drawer. Cheap IKEA Drawers (And The Quick Fix) 42.3k views
    • DIY sideboard rehab. Our Refinished Midcentury Buffet 41.8k views
    • How to design and make a barn quilt. How to Make Your Own Barn Quilt 34.7k views
    • DIY driveway removal. The Driveway Rocks 26.4k views
    • How to hang art on brick surfaces using specialty clips. The Easy Way to Hang Art on Brick or Stone 25.7k views
    • Goodbye, gold fireplace covering. Less Is More: How to Remove a Fireplace Surround 23.1k views
    • Our DIY flagstone patio. Building a Patio in One Day 20.6k views
    • Bedroom paint, freshened up with Snowbound paint. Painting Everything White: We Chose Snowbound, By Sherwin Williams 17.1k views
    • Tips for dying pasta different colors, and a Halloween Recipe for the kids. Tips for Dying Pasta Different Colors (+ A Special Halloween Recipe) 15.6k views
    • Fix an ikea dresser drawer. Life Support For An IKEA Dresser 15.6k views



  • BROWSE POSTS BY CATEGORY:

    • Art Attack (7)
    • Backyard (92)
    • Barn (8)
    • Basement (27)
    • Bathroom (43)
    • Beach (13)
    • Bedrooms (73)
    • Being Thrifty (53)
    • Business-y (12)
    • Buying and Renting and Selling (23)
    • Casual Celebrations (36)
    • Closets (17)
    • Curb Appeal (44)
    • Dainty Details (8)
    • Deck (23)
    • Decor (286)
    • Dining Room (37)
    • DIY (577)
    • Dog-Related (24)
    • Entryway (59)
    • Flooring (58)
    • For the Kids (32)
    • Garage (17)
    • Gardening (70)
    • Helping The Economy (30)
    • HGTV + DIY Network Projects (283)
    • Holiday-Related Projects (80)
    • Home Safety (12)
    • Kitchen (83)
    • Lighting (31)
    • Living Room (77)
    • Merry Travels (21)
    • Office Space (21)
    • Organized (41)
    • Other Pads (14)
    • Outdoor Living (12)
    • Scooter Fun (8)
    • Stairwell (20)
    • Sunroom (22)
    • Supporting Sponsors (43)
    • The Art Room (3)
    • Tools (43)
    • Uncategorizable (1)
    • Wedding (28)
    • Windows (14)
    • Work-pads (10)





  • a little bit of everything, friends, DIY, and inspiration

    • Dadand.com < My husband and his BFF
    • DIY Network
    • HGTV
  • Get Posts Via Email

  • Some Legal

    Merrypad incorporates the occasional affiliate link to Amazon.com and Minted; we link to many other websites and products, but if it is in context of a paid sponsorship, it is always noted as such. Please review the privacy policy and contact me if you have any additional questions.

    Theme customized by Pete Fazio Creative, the guy from dadand.com.


© Copyright Merrypad