We'd all like to pretend that trips to IKEA are for romantic days filled with staged rooms that are simply for playing house with our friends and significant others. But chances are you're not going to be walking hand-in-hand with Joseph Gordon-Levitt past the bedroom displays without a care in the world.

If you live outside a 50 mile radius of the signature blue and yellow store, you know that IKEA is for big, home changing trips only. And once you get there, it's game time.

If you've never been to an IKEA you might think- hmm reasonably priced, modern scandinavian furniture. What's the big deal? In truth, IKEA is an underworld of mass consumerism where Swedish brainwashing causes us to go broke, end relationships of many years, and loose all directional (and mental sense) in the IKEA maze — all the while, the employees stand there, devilishly licking lingonberry jam off their fingers.

We’ve all been faced with the same daunting challenge at one point in our lives: an empty room. No, this isn’t going to turn into a philosophical rant. I literally mean a bare room — nothing on the walls, no furniture, no rug, no nothing. Just a new home that needs a little love, and a whole lot of vision.

Decorating does not come to me naturally. I discovered my unfortunate predisposition when my parents agreed to let me redo my bedroom at age 13. And when I come home to visit I still have to stare at the eye-burning popsicle pink on the walls, and slump against my feather boa pillows.

Luckily, I’ve come up with a few remedies for my questionable taste — culminating in a foolproof guide for planning, executing, questioning, and re-executing an entire decor overhaul (on an ikea or less budget). I’m happy to share my tips & tricks with you, whether you need them or not, but I guarantee that none of them will ever lead you to paint a 30x15 bedroom itchy-eye pink again.

Loose Leaf & Tea

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