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Thursday, August 16, 2012

My love/hate relationship with Pinterest, Part 3

I hope you enjoyed Pinterest Parts 1 and 2. This is the final installment of the Pinterest series. Don't cry, it isn't like I made Katniss end up with Peeta or anything.

So who am I to complain about complicated Pinterest pins when I haven't tried them? Oh, I have. I have been to the dark side of a pin, and I ain't never going back. Nevah!

We all know the infamous "IKEA bookshelves made into playroom benches" pin, right? Yeah. I am one of the 11 people on earth that pinned it and actually did this one. Crazy, I know. Cutest thing on earth, easy to do and affordable, right? Sort of.

The problem really isn't that the project is super hard. It sucks a bit of ass to do, but it isn't rocket science. The real problem is that it is a time and money suck.


Let me break the price down for you, shall I?

Bookshelves 2 x $60 = $120
Storage Containers 10 x $5 = $50 (and this is the cheapest of the cheap. You can pay $15 per bin, or $150 if you are crazy loaded.)
Fabric for Benches 5 yards x $10 = $50 (again, the cheap option.)
Foam for Benches at least $45
Board for Benches at least $20

Now I clipped all my Hobby Lobby coups, hit Home Depot during sales, scoured the internet for codes for the fabric store and still spent over $300 on this project once tax was included. Um…yeah, I could have bought some kick ass seating at IKEA that didn't have me running all over god's green earth and Home Depot to find 2" foam for $300.

This project kind of nickel, dime and times you to death. I didn't really notice it until I had everything but the foam and each bundle was $35 and I needed two. Yeah, $70 WORTH OF FOAM! I about cried when I realized that the damn foam would cost me almost $50 even with my 40% off coupon. And that was at the THIRD store I had looked for it at! I had come too far to give up, so I had to bend over and buy the crazy expensive foam just to finish the project. Suck!

Now are the benches cute and functional in the long run? Yes. It is a super awesome idea and creates a great seating area and crap coverer. I have yet to actually sit on them in the month they have been complete, but the toy storage is nice and they look good. We ended up keeping our two benches separate because A: the instructions to connect them together were a bit above my pay grade and B: we wanted the flexibility to move them around separately as we go. And, I guess you could just make one bench for the bargain price of $150 if you wanted.

A sneak peek. Full post on the play room to come.
So why did I write this post if I like them in the long run? Because I am a whiner, but moreover, I wanted to warn the 3,697,435 other ladies out there that pinned this post that they are going to be in 300 duckets to polish this bad boy off.

Anyway. You have been warned. Now head to IKEA to buy the damn Expedit shelves regardless of this warning because we all know we mamas have the attention spans of a gnat and as soon as you click out of this window you will have forgotten all about this post. Le sigh.

25 comments:

  1. Have you read http://pintester.com/ at all? It's pretty amusing.
    Luckily for me there's no IKEA around here so I won't even be tempted by this one.

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  2. You have to check out fabric.com for future fabric purchases. Go here, and they have some fabulous prints that are under $6 a yard:

    https://www.fabric.com/quilting-fabric-cotton-prints-under-6-yd.aspx?Source=LeftNav

    Sorry I am late to your party and you have already purchased your fabric.

    And? The room? So awesome.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks. That is actually where I bought mine with free shipping and a 20% off coup but the outdoor fabric you need for durability is PRICEY! Yikes. Ha!

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  3. You have such a great eye for color... And the balls to USE color. My living room AND bedroom are black/white/red. The boy's room is black and mint (or sage, or whatever). I gotta come up with something better when we make over his room...

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  4. I did this post as well...I'm with ya. Although I did get the shelves from Ikea and I decided to do away with the foam all together. My kids will use it to play with toys, like a table, anyway. They wouldn't appreciate it and then it would be filled with stains or something even more disgusting. I also found some totes on sale at Target for $8 and only did 2 per shelf. Then I used the other parts for books and big toys. Still expensive and my husband pitched a fit, but not as bad as it could have been.

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  5. I can totally relate to this! I'm not on pinterest BUT I've gotten sucked into many DIY projects and often times I've found that it ended up more expensive than if I wouldve just purchased the damn thing! Lol at least that is for me and the projects I've chosen to do. But like you said , I'll still continue to do the projects bc I love to do them! Btw just wanted to add how much I love your blogs! I get them via email and frequently forward them to friends and family. I admire that you have experienced so much this year and still have your wits and humor!! God bless you and your family!!

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  6. My friends and I have started going back and adding comments to the pins we do try in terms of if they are awesome, money suck, waste to good drinking time etc
    In the hopes we will save ourselves and others that exact problem!

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  7. I made this bench as well. I was originally going to do two but ended up doing one. I can't sew or anything like that at all so I had contacted someone about making custom bench cushions for it...the cushions alone would have cost almost $400. In the end, I found a lounge chair cushion that was the right length. It was too wide though so I put that "drawer sticky stuff" underneath so it doesn't slide, puched the cushion behind the bench and the wall and it hasn't moved...much cheaper!

    I also did a version of the lego table using ikea shelving...

    None of it was cheap but it did help create a great playroom for my son...I refer to it as the playroom that pinterest inspired (I also did the button letter in a frame and I'm painting baseboards for art hangers this weekend...)

    My son loves the playroom though and is so thankful for all that I did for him so I guess it was all worth it (plus I can use the shelves in other ways later)

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  8. This is so ironic. I am the next potential victim of this pin! My husband and I are debating doing this for our daughter's new play room but are also dragging our feet because of the price. We were all set to go to Ikea this weekend and pick up the shelves but then barfed in JoAnn Fabrics when we went to look at the foam. So we haven't committed yet. We're thinking of going cheap with some eggshell mattress padding. Who really sits on them anyways...?

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  9. I'm late on this post, but I am cracking up and I just had to comment.

    EVERY Pinterest project I have ever done has cost an UNGODLY amount of money. Either I don't go to craft stores often enough (probably) or I am reading things wrong, but WHY is everyone able to complete these projects for 5 dollars and it costs me 100?

    I have made ONE project that was original, but Pinterest-y that cost me 3 dollars and that was because I had bought the paint, glue gun, paint brush, and glue sticks for another project (a dollar store wreath project that ended up costing me 35 dollars. THIRTY. FIVE. DOLLARS. FOR A WREATH. THAT COST A DOLLAR ON THE BLOG I GOT IT FROM.)

    I'm doing it wrong. Obviously.


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  10. It looks amazing, but with that cost, I (myself) would go spend a fraction of the money on a less attractive, less functional bench. But still, gorgeous - the entire room. I am in love with it.

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    Replies
    1. Believe me, Nessa. If I knew it would have cost that much in the long run, I NEVER would have made them. Ha!

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  11. I clicked over here hoping to see that you found an inexpensive foam solution.. I made outdoor benches and ended up using 24"x72" camping foam for $20 a pop (sans coupon).. they work for our wet environment but are not comfy for long term seating.. sigh..

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  12. I thought I recognized these benches too! Ha! You again! :-)

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    Replies
    1. muahahaha. too bad i realized too late that they were looking to links to THEIR projects and now i just look like a dick!

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