Ikea has been around for a pretty long time, and they’ve been making cool stuff for kids and babies since the 60s. I came across pics of an old Ikea high chair and kid’s table and chair set. Here’s how they compare to their modern counterparts.

The Dino high chair designed by Charlotte Rude and Hjordis Ohlsson-Une was sold in 1969. With its wide base and lack of tray, it was designed to pull right up to the dining room table, much like the Stokke high chair (we have one and loooove it). The ANTILOP high chair is one of today’s Ikea high chair offerings – that and the SPOLING – and, I believe, is meant to be used with the optional tray. Karin Morbing designed the gorgeous red table set in 1963, and I think it’s a hell of a lot nicer than the modern LÄTT set, and not only because the 1963 version was made of solid wood!

(Images via: 1, 2, 3, 4)

I was all set to post about a cute little crafting project that lets you make a ‘please remove your shoes’ sign because, hey, no one wants beach sand or road sand tracked all over their floors. But as I was poking around the Intertubes wondering what else I could include to flesh things out a little, I happened upon a much radder DIY project that is as cool as the other was country-ish.

I won’t say this is an easy DIY Pacman couch project — think woodworking and upholstery shaping, not Mod Podge and a couple of minutes with a cordless drill. But for those with the time, energy, space, and materials money to give it a go, I say try it! Then (whether or not you’re successful) send me a link so I can feature it here, of course.

Vintage pottery is just plain fun. It’s fun to collect. It’s fun to display. And it’s fun to use, because if it’s going to take up space in your home you might at well enjoy it. Plus, as collectibles go, it’s easy to find and inexpensive to buy (especially on eBay). What’s not to like? You can base an entire room around a cool piece of vintage pottery, especially if the piece has great color or lines.

What’s not to like? You can base an entire room around a cool piece of vintage pottery, especially if the piece has great color or lines.

I’m not advocating smoking, but if you’re looking for ashtrays that don’t scream truck stop, vintage is the way to go.

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Among the many books I received as a gift this Christmas, Wary Meyers’ Tossed & Found by Linda and John Meyers was a definite favorite. The husband and wife team visits places where furniture goes to die and brings that furniture back to life in awesome ways. It’s very. very cool.

So imagine my delight when I discovered that the Meyers have on their web site not only pictures of the spaces they have designed and decorated for others, but also photographs of their own home, which they call “a work in progress.”

Color, color, and more color defines this space — but it’s not overwhelming, balanced as it is by the muted couch and unusual but unobtrusive coffee table. This is just one corner of a living room that is elegant and beautiful, but also obviously made for living. It doesn’t look like a cut-out from a magazine; it looks like someone’s home.

Love the table. Love the chairs. Love the sideboard, exclamation point. Love the wallpaper. And love the way this dining room exists seamlessly between the living room and the kitchen.

And don’t even get me started! This guest room reminds me so much of a childhood spent in the house of a determined art book collector that it’s not even funny. I used to go to sleep surrounded by books upon books in a cozy room with mod furniture and eclectic artwork on the walls. Does this room’s familiarity make me love it more than I might? Just a little, but I like it plenty fine anyway.

Regardless of how you feel about the legitimacy of the sixth installment of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, I think we can all agree that this is a pretty sweet chair.

This take one the iconic Egg chair designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1958 is being produced in a limited run of, you guessed it, just 42 numbered chairs. The design pays homage to the Hitchhikers Guide series with a beautifully rendered hand-finished embroidered exploding earth on the back. The front of the chair features optical white hide with a cowhide seat cushion (which frankly, I could do without, but I suppose one could remove it).

Plastic isn’t just for deck chairs anymore!

Kartell’s Papyrus chair was designed by the Bouroullec brothers as a modern interpretation of an archetypal Antique Rush Chair. The modern Polycarbonate material enables the design to have structure, texture, translucency, and color.

This chair is a progression of both design and technology from the original Classic Lord Yo Chair, through the Dr No Chairs, to this amazing piece. Dr Yes is a one piece molding chair.

The totally unique MYTO chair designed by Konstantin Grcic for PLANK is a cantilever chair manufactured entirely of BASF Ultradur high-speed indoor/outdoor plastic. And it’s recyclable, though why you’d want to toss it is beyond me.

Finally, the Lizz Chair is manufactured in a single piece using a gas blowing mold technique. It has a squared contour, a generous wide seat, and low comfortable backrest. It is extremely stable, shockproof, and scratch resistant, and it can be used outdoors.

Want to class up your camping area or backyard patio? Maybe you live in a dorm and want to get away from the whole neon inflatable chair and beanbag thing.

A nice blow-up Chesterfield might just be what you’re looking for… if you have more money than you know what to do with, that is.

The surprisingly elegant looking Blofield Inflatable Chesterfield Sofa is portable and crafted from the same stuff life rafts are made of. Having five very pointy cats, however, I hesitate to call it truly durable, at least when placed in the home of pet owners. Or people with children.

The same goes for the Blofield Inflatable Chesterfield Armchair, which admittedly also looks quite fancy when viewed from far away.

Still, I’d skip it, considering you could get a serviceable set of living room furniture for the same price.

What’s on the outside doesn’t always correspond to what’s within. This little caravan for rent doesn’t look like much until you open the door and have a peek inside at what turns out to be a surprisingly stylish interior.

Yes, those are the Ikea dog butt coat hooks!

The rental information is below, if you can read it.