I'm in love with ALEX

There's a new man in my life and his name is ALEX. They say good things come to those who wait and I've been waiting on ALEX for quite a long time.

It's no secret that I love good storage solutions and I think IKEA is the bomb when it comes to tricking out a craft room. I've rocked nearly every IKEA storage line as I've moved through houses and set up my craftrooms. BESTA, STATIST, EFFEKTIV, EXPEDIT and MALM, KRUS, SAMLA, BILLY, ODDA, VIKA AMON, MELLTORP, LEKMAN, SKUBB and LYX. No doubt that I'm a bit of an IKEA whore. Despite all that, there's one piece that's always alluded me. For years, I've wanted an IKEA ALEX.

As this point, I think it's worth mentioning that here in Australia we have some of the most expensive IKEA items in the world. Things that cost $50 overseas generally run two to three times higher here. The IKEA ALEX that might set you back $119 in America is a cool $279 in Austalian dollars. At the current exchange rate, that is $284 US dollars. That's a lot of fabric. That's half the cost of a flight to Japan. That's a lot of money. Too rich for my blood.

Every time I stopped in IKEA, I gave the ALEX rolling cart a longing gaze. I batted my eyelashes, I gently stroked it as I peered into it's shallow drawers. I dutifully checked the AS-IS section every time hoping that I could find a scratched and dented one. I wouldn't mind a few gouges. I'm a little damaged myself.

Each visit, Craig patiently waited as I pored over the defective merchandise and tried to find a place for it in our home. "Do we need a coffee table? It's half price"  "I think I might need this set of EXPEDIT cubes."  Craig heard my desperation yesterday as I mentioned that I just don't have enough table space for cutting, marking and sewing.  I've been a bit huddled in the corner. He felt my pain and scoured AS-IS with me. Would a TORSBY sideboard work? It's $200 off.  Or maybe just a 2x2 set of cubes?  He turned and said "What do you really want?"

Bashfully, I said "Nevermind. It's too expensive." 

He prodded a bit more as I explained that a 18"x24" cutting mat with borders perfectly fit atop of  ALEX. I've measured a few times. I explained that with castors on, ALEX would have about 1.5cm clearance under the MELLTORP table that I've been using as a desk. "It would fit perfectly, but really Craig... it's too expensive. Maybe next time we'll find one in clearance?"

Craig was having none of that. He brought ALEX home. I earned my flat pack merit badge and I'm in craftroom heaven. Hello, ALEX. I love you!