IKEA Expedit Shelving

"Multi-functional." "Inexpensive." "Lots of storage space." "Stylish."

Those are words and phrases I often read and hear people use to describe what they're looking for in a new piece of furniture - at least in my world! Anyone else? One such piece that fits that bill is the - dare I say iconic? - IKEA Expedit shelving unit. These babies have been used in countless ways, and I continue to see them all the time on blogs and in shelter magazines. Does this mean they've been overdone? I don't think so. I think it just means that they're fulfilling a need that many people have in their homes. When styled well, or even modified ("hacked," as they say), they can fit right in to anyone's decor without screaming, "Hey! I came from IKEA and I was cheap!" (not that there's anything inherently wrong with that). Mixing an Expedit with more unique pieces from other stores and time periods (i.e. vintage or antique) makes it feel like a purposeful addition.

We own three Expedit pieces. One of these with 8 openings and two of these with 5. The latter two are currently living in my parents' basement due to space issues, and one lives at the foot of our bed. See?

Multi-purpose storage is the name of the game here. Those baskets hold everything from shoes to my hairdryer. Things that you don't necessarily want on display, but need a good, accessible place to live. The other shelves hold things like office supplies (but those are in the process of moving thanks to Operation {Re}Organization).

In our old apartment, we used the three units together in our living room to make an entertainment center. It was great because we used it to display books, little collections and pictures, as well as store things that didn't need to be visible (including my ridiculous magazine collection). There, the baskets held items like table linens, DVDs and out-of-season decor.

{clearly this photo is from last Valentine's day!}

Bottom line? They're really hard-working pieces of furniture that can easily be integrated into any room of the house.

This week, a couple of my favorite blogs posted about their love for Expedit units. They continue to inspire me to be creative about how we use ours. Kirsten (of 6th Street Design School) has a beautifully styled and organized one that she has in her home office:

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And Young House Love just got one for their sunroom for storage and display purposes:

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Head on over to their sites if you'd like more info.

Great, aren't they? Endless uses, and you can't beat their prices. I could post pretty pictures of them all day, but I think I'll let Pinterest do the talking on that one :).

Have a great weekend!