[dede4wd]

I just noticed we hit the 500 member mark! Yay! We're growing! Just wanted to mark the milestone!

[GardenOfDarwin]

Yay! Thanks for noting it Dede! Is it time for a de-lurking? I think so!

Maybe introductions are in order....

I'm Susan, aka GardenofDarwin, your administrator. I created this website because there was a dearth of information on IKEA kitchens, and a tendency to repeat the same things over and over on the THS threads, what with no archives and all. Started this site in a slightly different format last April (05), then changed to this format with the forums in July 05 and it keeps on growing! It's amazing to me!

We did our breakfast room in STAT white about a year ago, and are just starting the planning for our main kitchen. My DH is Tigratrus on this site -- we call him Tigger. He's the engineering department, I'm the design and planning department. And the hair brained idea department.

We have 2 kids, ages 3 and 4 and we both work from home. All day, all the time. That's who I am...how about you?

Susan

[dede4wd]

Okay, I'll play...

I'm DeDe. I live in North phoenix. Terminally single.

34.

Libra.

Member of the hair-brained idea department. Currently demo-ing (I mean remo-ing) a 1979 kitchen. Using Adel Birch to redo my kitchen, laundry room, pantry, 2 bathrooms, and living room alcove. Using Billy Bookcases for my dining room.

I have no taste and shamelessly use this forum to borrow taste and cry until someone makes a decision for me. I constantlylook toSusan, Tigger, Eva, Lisa, Anna, Emmie, Kathy, my mom and everyone else for advice and taste! I also have delusions of being handy and bounce my hair-brained ideas off the smart people before I destroy anything! Friends and family rarely let me handle power tools (mumbling something like "NEVER give her a weapon!!!") I don't know what that's all about except that I'm horribly accident prone...Might be that.

That's me!

DeDe

P.S. Here's a pic of me & My Mom! I don't have any kidlet pics, but have really cute dogs...

[kisaacs]

I'm Kristen. I'm 27, I live in Massachusetts, just south of Boston,and just got married in September. I work for a company that custom packs horse supplements into daily doses (yes, you read that right), and my husband works for the federal DOT.

On Halloween, we bought our first house. We live in Massachusetts and we just got our IKEA in November...precisely 8 days after we moved in and 4 miles away! We've spent the last 4 months doing the living room, dining room, and kitchen (STAT White). This site has been incredibly valuable as a resource about IKEA kitchens since I didn't know they existed at all until about a week before I decided to redo my kitchen.

I'm kind of sad to be done with the kitchen since it means I don't have much to contribute anymore...but I'm sure you can help with bathrooms too!

Since we're doing pictures...here is a pic of me and my hubby

[DesignDiva]

I'm Eva, age 43, stay at home mom to 11 year old twins (1 boy, 1 girl) and a grown son who just graduated college. My DH, Tom, works from home fulltime for IBM and part time as an intern pastor for our church. We just remodeled our kitchen with all IKEA (Nexus Birch), and fully 75% of our furniture is from IKEA as well. We live in central Arizona but are both native New Yorkers.

I love design and I love to think outside the box, so the IKEA planner and I are becoming good friends! I moderate the design forum here.

And Susan and Tigratus are awesome and so is their website!

[laurie]

Wow Susan, shows you how little I know! I didn't know you and Tigger were a pair. Guess I haven't been around long enough. I'm extremely impressed with everyones computersaavy skills and decorating genious!

Anyway, my dh and I live on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River in Oakville, Missouri. Illinois is just across the river and we're about a 1/2 hour from the Arch. I'm 42, we have a daughter in her first year of college, and a son, 11. In addition to our careers, my husband and I are in the beginning stages of a side business rehabbing homes. And I sure wish I were close to an IKEA!!!! Wah, Wah Does anyone feel my pain!

[chabuchie]

I'm Christine. 25 and two and a half hours away from my nearest Ikea. My house is furnished with Ikea furniture and ebay purchases mainly. I bought a condo and am renovating the kitchen on the cheap. I'm refacing the existing lower cabinets with Abstrakt White doors, tearing the upper cabinets out and adding Grundtal shelves, and adding a new wall of high cabinets with Avsikt doors.

[Tigratrus]

I'd introduce myself but Susan already did it for me... ::shrug::

I'm the widgeting, engineering and "ummm... No. Won't work" department.

I lived for about 5 years on various sailboats, went though the Navy's Nuclear Power program and spent about 10 years on active duty befor leaving the military to become a contractor.

Professionally, I'm a network engineer/Remedy ARS application developer.

I'm also an ambitious woodworker, though a lot of the time it's mostly a collecting cool tools kinda hobby. Finally have a Nice tablesaw/router table setup using the Incra TSLS fence system with the Wonder Fence system for the router, which is mounted in a truely lovely router lift. It was a gooooood year for the tool collection!

I became Kitchen Obsessed as part of a negotiated settlement with Susan, where I support and participate in her kitchen design/Ikea mania (we've been ikeafans since before we were married), and she plays my MMO obsession CoH/CoV (City of Heroes/City of Villains) with me. If anyone out there plays, look us up on Triumph as Yinja/Yanga the Mind/Kin Duo supreme!

And as an aside, she really doesn't need makeup... Always looks better without it.

James

[kmcg]

This is fun to meet everyone!

I'm Kathy. Live in Seattle. Law professor and recovering lawyer. Soccer mom. Age 48. Married with 2 kids, 16 and 14. I'm house-renovation obsessed, and DH sees no point in it. He's obsessed with politics and sailing, so it's great to have someone to talk to about this house stuff - even if virtually!

I think I have ADD of the project-specific variety. Okay, I just made that up, but I'm the kind of person who loves to scheme about all the different things I can do to improve my house, garden, kids, dogs, whatever. I'm weaker on the actual execution of those plans I have lots of projects that I just don't have time to finish, but I so enjoy thinking about them. I used to buy and renovate vintage Airstream trailers, but now have a little fiberglass trailer from Canada sitting in the driveway waiting for my attention. My comfortable but ugly house is truly design-challenged. It could be the perfect mid-century modern abode, except the previous owner did it all up in pink and marble and crystal chandeliers. Fixing that is a slow process. We've lived here 8 years, and I still have a ways to go!

If I could choose just one reality TV show to participate in, I'd go on The Amazing Race with my son, the most unflappable kid ever, who has both a sense of direction and a sense of adventure. I couldn't take my daughter because she would have to bring too many cute outfits.

I hope it's not tacky to post pix of my adorable ones!

[laurie]

Kathy, if my almost-19-year-old daughter saw this, she'd be saying, "Why can't he be 3 years older?" Our pastor's son's church is in the Seattle area. Can't remember the name of the town....begins with a "P" I think. I believes it's called Champions Christian Center???? Oh well....that's my only link to Seattle. We love him so I'm sure that there's alot to love about Seattle. If I weren't so computer-challenged, I'd post pictures, too!:? Hey, isn't Seattle where they have the "flying fish" they throw at the market?