Staff Picks: Our Editors Name Their Favorite Ikea Items

Meatballs sadly not included

May 17, 2019 6:00 am
Staff Picks

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Welcome to InsideHook’s Staff Picks, a compendium of all the things our editors have been digging on recently. This week, we’re highlighting an item from our favorite Swedish home retailer Ikea.

Ormhassel Throw
Most IKEA products in my apartment made me use my brain for 45 minutes straight, which I didn’t appreciate, so my favorite has got to be this blanket. I found the Ormhassel very turnkey. It’s made of acrylic and stretches well when you spread out on the couch. Quite affordable, too, at $20. — Tanner Garrity, Associate Editor

Pax Wardrobe
The problem with shoes is that even in the roomiest closets, there’s still not that much space for them. They need a proper home of their own. And this fits the bill so nicely — I’ve got mine dialed with 11 shelves, each with space for four pairs of kicks across (it’s exactly deep enough to put one in front of the other). That’s 44 pairs of shoes, by gum. Admittedly has a bit of a spatial footprint (har), but ultimately worth it to be able to sweep my kicks from the floor into one self-contained place. — Danny Agnew, Creative Director

Elly Dish Towels 
Really saddened to find you can’t buy IKEA’s meatballs online, because I would 100 percent do that, but I’m here to tell you there’s another perfect item on the website that I realized a long time ago I can’t live without: dish towels. In what is probably my most washed, basic statement I can imagine, those four-packs of dish towels that I almost always stock up on have saved my life so many times in the kitchen that I might have to name my firstborn Elly as a tribute. Between cleaning up, working as an oven mitt when I need one and also functioning as a nice bandana when I’m cooking in the hot kitchen for hours, I really think the inexpensive towels that pretty much pair with everything might be the best deal I can ask for. — Jason Diamond, Features Editor

Frost Laundry Drying Rack
The day I became a man was the day I realized the most important thing about laundry was not separating whites and colors, but separating items to hang dry and machine dry. In my ideal world, I’d hang dry all my clothes on a line in a bug-free, lilac-scented field, but because I live in the city, there’s the Frost. It saves your clothes from dryer-induced wear and tear, folds flat for easy storage and will be the best $15 you spend this week. — Alex Lauer, Senior Editor

Valby Ruta
This rug can be found in approximately 80% of Airbnbs and the apartments of young professionals who cannot yet afford nice shit. It looks like a real Turkish rug from far away, and it’s only $80, which is a very good price, even for an ultimately mediocre imitation rug that only looks like a real one. Once you graduate to nicer rugs (we like Revival), stick this one under your bed or something. — Walker Loetscher, Editor in Chief

Rosenstjärna Pillow
Full disclosure, I have a genetic disorder that makes all my muscles and ligaments kind of wonky, which makes working out a literal pain and recovery from said workouts an icepack-covered, Aleve-popping struggle. When I go to my exceptionally comfortable bed at night, I need a pillow that’s going to make sleeping easy and waking up ache-free. Enter the, uh, Rosenstjärna. It’s soft but supportive and firm but not hard, and all for $12.99. I have four and I regret nothing. — Ariel Scotti, Senior Editor

RIGGAD LED Work Lamp w/ Wireless Charging
Hey Donna, do you think this selection is riggad? No, it’s definitely legit … If you saw my desk light and charging setup at work or home, you’d understand why I love the idea of an adjustable lamp with a (good-sized) wireless charging pad built into the base. It looks good, it saves space and it can still charge your old devices, since it has a USB port built into the lamp. — Kirk Miller, Nation Editor/Managing Editor

Hovet
How I lived my life without an obnoxiously large mirror in my room, I honestly don’t know. The Hovet is nearly two yards tall and while it is colossal, its sleek, simple design will fit right in any space of your choice. Hang it vertically or horizontally, or just prop it up against your wall, which is what I do because I don’t trust myself with power tools. — Logan Mahan, Editorial Intern

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