IKEA for Barn & Stable: A horseperson hijacks the Big Blue Box

Amanda Smith takes us on a whirlwind shopping spree through our favorite Swedish superstore in search of sweet deals on repurposed stuff.

Wonderful Husband and I did some spring cleaning over the weekend, and in the process got rid of some items by taking them to Goodwill. One of these items was an old lamp WH had since college (10+ years ago). It still worked… but it was… well, ugly college apartment “chic” wasn’t quite what we were going for in our bedroom. Being a good wife, I volunteered to go to the Atlanta IKEA store during my lunch break, so that we would have a lamp in the bedroom upon returning home. I can practically see IKEA from my office, so no big deal. Plus… CINNAMON ROLLS?!?! Hullo lunch!

I found a nice little bedroom lamp quickly, and then took the opportunity to head to the IKEA for Barn & Stable section of the mega-store for the rest of my hour. What? You didn’t know they had one? Oh honey… *every* store has a Barn & Stable section. You just have to look! And when your budget is tight, you look everywhere!

Now, its easy to get carried away with the lure and mystique that is IKEA products. But to assure that I am reporting fairly, I did the following: I snapped some pictures of the items that screamed “Take me to the BARN! USE me!!!,” made note of the price, and then double-checked comps from actual equine retailers for similar items once I was home. The IKEA for Barn stuff tends to be cheaper. And better-looking to boot.

Without further ado, I give to you, Horse Nation…

IKEA for Barn & Stable – a Horse Owner’s one-hour whirlwind spree through the Big Blue Box.

Drying racks = SADDLE PAD RACKS.

I have way more saddle pads than I need (don’t we all?), and my trunk is getting filled with other stuff one accumulates over the years. So I’ve been looking for a better place for them to live. Imagine my delight when I saw so many different options! All were multi-rail, and all less expensive than multi-rail saddle pad racks I found on equine online stores.

Antonius drying rack, folds flat against wall. $12.99 plus pair of wall uprights ($4 for pair). And once you have the wall uprights, you can attach another rack, a shelf… whatever you like. There are lots of items in the Antonius line.

Grundtal Series (they made a whole series of saddle pad racks for us!)

Towel holder with 4 pivoting arms. 18.5” long – $14.99

Towel hanger  – 4 rungs – 31.5” wide x  11” deep -$19.99

Towel Rail – 2 rungs -31.5” wide x 5” deep – $14.99

Now, what to do with those sweaty saddle pads that need a wash? Well, toss them in the Fyllen pop-up Laundry Basket of course. 21 gal capacity- $7.99. Also awesome for the LQ when you’re camping out at the horse show or event.

Other Awesome Items

And how about the Frakta hay bag and cart? Half the price of a bale bag on wheels. And those blue IKEA bags are pretty heavy duty.

My favorite find was the Pruta plastic storage set. (17 pieces with lids for $3.99!). Like I said, my trunk is full of stuff… but a lot of that stuff is organized into plastic containers to help me keep it relatively tidy. There’s a large, flat plastic box I keep books, copies of paperwork, etc in. There’s another with my tack-cleaning stuff. I even have a small one with miscellaneous hardware… carabineers (clipping up water buckets), screw-in hooks (lunge line, side reins) and stuff like that. So this Pruta set was an absolute steal! Less than 25 cents EACH! And they weren’t cheap-o plastic that seemed like they’d crack or warp easily from hot or cold… in fact, according to IKEA’s website, they’re freezer and microwave safe.

There was also lots of nice, sturdy-looking heavy duty shelving… To be honest, it looked a lot better than that flimsy metal shelving my dad had in the garage when I was a kid, and that I’ve seen in a barn or two. Talk about rickety! One line even has adjustable-height posts for awkward spaces. Smart. And I didn’t even get to the kitchen organizing stuff!

I only had an hour, and no money to spend, so my trip was more recon that acquisition. I promise to bring you more goodies from IKEA, and other stores. And when I buy and install that snazzy Antonius saddle-pad rack in the tack room, or some other cool find, I’ll take more pictures and let you know how it works out!