Sewed: Striped Breakfast Nook Cushion

I really love IKEA because their stuff is so durn awesome and cheap, but I'm still not exactly sure how to feel about it. First, everything is made in China (which, don't get me wrong, is not necessarily bad but do you know how much coal they burn in those factories over there???). And second, is it possible to make that much stuff out of wood without deforesting half of the globe, you know? They seem to have this whole earth-friendly vibe going on but I'm not sure if I'm just being duped by their team of marketing savants or what. So I'd really like to have more info on that.

In the end my uncertainty about IKEA did not prevent me from buying a new table and bench (Norden series, for those of you wondering) and while the 2.5 hours my hubby and I spent assembling it surely could have been better spent playing GTA IV or sewing, respectively, I am still a little hyper about how awesome they look in my kitchen:

: : Also pictured: Tripp Trapp High Chair, Splat Mat, Eames Molded Side Chair : :

I love that although I meticulously relocated all of the junk in the kitchen to make it look like we have this pristine living space, my domestic achievements are betrayed by the discarded plastic toddler fork on the floor. Alas.

It took me awhile to futz with the layout; originally I had the bench along the wall with the clock, but the cookbook cube kindof got in the way when trying to sit on the bench, and now I'm still a little unsure about this setup because the person sitting on the bench now has a windowsill and potted plants to contend with. But I like the overall breakfast-nook-look here far better than the original setup so it really doesn't matter. Old setup shown here:

That

really

didn't work. Although there were four chairs around the table, due to the fact that it was normally pushed up against the wall only two chairs were actually usable. NOW we have four places for adults to sit (well, after the blue Eames chair on backorder arrives) and one place for Elliot.

Of course once I had the new table and bench I had to make a cushion for the bench:

I made it from two pieces of IKEA fabric and two old bed pillows that were flat and musty. I took two pieces of fabric about 20" x 60" (the bench is 60") and just sewed them together and put a seam down the middle to divide the two pillows. It was pretty tricky sewing the pillows into the case, and I ended up getting some puckerage. Maybe if I did it again I'd put snaps or velcro at the end so I could take the pillows out and wash it. But whatevs. It's just a seat cushion.