3/01/2025

TROTTEN Storage Unit on Castors (White, 35x47 cm)

I have two of these and I was going to buy another two when the product was discontinued in Australia (still available in other countries' Ikea). 

The versatility of the product, how easy is to tuck it away and the many rooms I can use it in, make it a perfect storage solution for my home. I can use it as office storage, which is what was designed for. I can also use this unit as a sofa coffee table in my living room to keep a water bottle, mugs, glasses, napkins and other coffee/tea tools easily tucket away. I can use it as bedside table to store my pyjamas, sleepers/ugg boots, and a light throw). I currently use it as an office storage box with materials that I don't use often, and I've put an Eket cube with door on it, and they look fabulous together.  
 
The Skandi style is minimalist but eye-catching. The bamboo lid is excellent quality, very thick, sturdy and good looking. The shell is metallic, coated in an elegant matte antique-white epoxy. It's easy to carry around by hand if I don't put much stuff inside; otherwise, the castors do the job. Despite it's apparently wobbliness, this unit can securely hold tons of stuff inside and on top of it. The castors are also excellent, and roll smoothly.
 
The main downside of this unit was the tricky assembly. The instructions leaflet is good. You have to click in the different panels together, align them properly, and then insert the castors' screws perfectly as these are the only thing that hold the structure together. Getting all perfectly aligned without the structure falling apart was difficult. The unit looks less sturdy than it is. 
 
DESIGNER Francis Cayouette

RISATORP Square Basket (White, 25x26x18 cm)

This is the first Risatorp basket that came to the market and the first one I bought. I have several already and they are a must at home. This basket looks small but accommodates tons of stuff, and it's easy to store anywhere. If you want to keep it outside,  looks great and stylish. I've given this basket different uses, from my office to my laundry, from my kitchen to my bedroom and currently sit in my bathroom.  The mesh body makes it light, and the bamboo handle makes carrying stuff inside a breeze. This is an Ikea classic  design, easily recognizable, and has has been imitated by big stores (Target and Kmart for example).
 
DESIGNER Wiebke Braasch

 

RISATORP Rectangular Basket (White, 27x42x23 cm)

I love the Risatorp baskets line, and this model is the most useful of the many models I have. This has proven to be the most versatile, the one with most capacity and the easiest one to store. I've moved this around my place many times and and I've given it different uses. As  storage for my laundry cleaning products on top of my washing machine. I've used it as shower "caddy" to put all my most used daily toiletries. I've used it as sockets and stockings 'drawer'. I've used it as stationary storage.  

This basket is great. It looks good in my studio/office, laundry, bathroom and kitchen. It hasn't broken or deteriorated despite the weight I've put inside. It's easy to move around thanks to the sturdy handles. It's easy to clean. The rectangular narrow shape makes it easy to use in small spaces, and it's easy to stack too. I've had it for several years and still looks as new. In one word, this is a must at home and I have a couple o them.  

DESIGNER Wiebke Braasch
 

KNALLA B&W Bag (40x25x47cm, 47 L)

This is a very good looking XL weightless plastic storage bag, that I use to put away my winter lining and mattress covers. The bag can be used to store laundry, or to put your recycled plastics, or when packing towels and linen if you move houses.  I love the cool geometric B&W pattern. It can be washed by hand. Maximum load is 10 kg, which is remarkable for such a light bag. The zips are secure and are still intact after 2-3 years of use.

DESIGNERS Edholm/L Ullenius
 

2/28/2025

EKET Cabinet with Door (White, 35x35x35 cm)

I like the simplicity and elegance of the Eket line. Having a cube with a door allows me  to store and hide ugly-looking stuff from work, study or art making. The cube is made of a wood-like conglomerate, which you can clearly see on the individual panels inner sides when assembling them. It's sturdy material but light. I can move the cube around easily with my bare hands. The white matte paint and the overall design result in a neat elegant storage solution. The door has a push-opener integrated, and opens by making a bit of pressure.
 
This Eket cube can be hung from the wall (you'd need to buy the wall fittings separately), can be attached to another Eket cube (you'd need to buy the joining fittings), used with legs (ditto) or on its own. I own two pieces, which I use separately, resting on top of two Trotten storage units with castors (now discontinued) of the same size and the ensemble looks like water for chocolate.

I found the cube easy to put together. However, the instructions leaflet wasn't the best as includes instructions for other Eket combos and models. Linking and clicking-in-and-down the side 'knobs' was easy in theory. However, despite pushing down the panels like a champion, I couldn't make them click down fully. That being the case, I had to use a small hammer (protected with a thick fabric kitchen towel) to do that. 
 
DESIGNER  Jon Karlsson.
ASSEMBLY LEAFLET Not available on the website any more.

OSTBIT Bamboo Serving Tong

 I love anything bamboo so I was delighted to find a tong in this material. Price was cheap, the design beautiful and I urgently needed a replacement for my broken tong. I choose this over a metal tong because I like organic materials, especially bamboo. My delight was short-lived. This tong grip is not good. It doesn't open/close properly, so it's difficult to comfortably grab anything with bulk. It's not specially good for salads either. I don't think that the Ikea Sweden team was inspired the day they created it. I don't recommend. 

DESIGNER Unknown.

VESKEN Narrow Trolley (White, 54x18x71cm)

The Vesken narrow trolley with castors is a super-cheap solution if you have a narrow space in your kitchen, bathroom or craft room and want to use it to the fullest potential. Both the trolley and castors are made of sturdy plastic, no tools or screws are needed, and holds a maximum of 6 Kgs. This Vesken holds a lot of fluffy bulky stuff or many small heavy-ish items. I have it in my kitchen, in the small space existing between my fridge side and a cupboard side. 
 
This shelf is quite wobbly unless one of its sides leans against a firm, steady surface. Otherwise, the trolley will fall, especially if stands on tiled flooring. Supposedly, the trolley can be used in the shower, but I don't think this would work because most shower floors are tiled or slippery. I tried in mine and was a disaster.  

I keep the trolley stationed in the same place with the occasional pushing/pulling in and out. I don't think the overall design and the plastic castors were made to move it around as I do with the metal trolleys I own. 

Despite the ridiculously cheap price, I wouldn't buy this item again. The reason is that, despite the instructions leaflet being clear, I had trouble assembling it. This is a click-in sort of assembly, no screws or tools needed. However, as the material is not rigid and you have to exert some pressure to click-in and down all the bars, I didn't know how much pressure I had to exert without breaking the bars. Also, I found difficult finding the right position for the bars to click in fully. 
 
DESIGNER David Wahl.