Disposable Furniture?

I have five very young children...children who believe that furniture is meant purely for their enjoyment (IE as a a mountain for them to climb or as a canvas for their artistic masterpieces). This can be very frustrating when you want to go for a look other than 1970's Salvation Army. Enter IKEA...the world of inexpensive, assemble-it-yourself furniture.

Our first home was furnished almost entirely with furniture from IKEA. Most of their furniture is on the modern side, but if you are willing to spend the time meandering the labyrinth that is IKEA, you are bound to find a few treasures. Take this Lack end table for example...for just $7.99 you have a great, functional end table. The best part is that if your children happen to be budding Picasso's and create a magnificent work of art on the surface (or legs, whatever is their pleasure) that you don't want on permanent display, you simply head to your nearest IKEA (grab a plate of meatballs in the Restaurant while you are there, they are Delish!) and pick up a new one! Sure, this is not the most "green" plan for home furnishings, but it's better to toss an $8 end table than to have to replace a $300 one, right?

We just purchased our third set of Lack end tables, this time choosing the black/brown color pictured above. It is amazing the face-lift a set of new end tables can give to a room.

Here are the specs on the Lack end tables (courtesy of the IKEA website):
Length: 21 5/8 "
Width: 21 5/8 "
Height: 17 3/4 "

available in 8 colors (birch effect, black, black-brown, light blue, red, walnut effect, white, and yellow

This is NOT a solid wood end table (what did you expect from an $8 end table??) it is made up mainly of particle board.

Disposable or not, these end tables are a great solution for the family with aspiring mountain climbers or future artists.