I'm in love with IKEA for sensory 'furniture'

[LynnS6]

Dd and took a trip to IKEA yesterday (they recently opened up one in town and I have a nostalgic love affair with the place because dh and I lived in Sweden for a year).

I realized looking through the kids section that they have an amazing collection of stuff that could be used to set up a sensory room. Including:

Rope ladders
Swings
Spinning chairs
Swinging chairs (they have another kind in the store too that's cloth and a bit more enclosed)

All of this is suitable for indoor or outdoor use. Anyway, just thought I'd post so that others who are looking for reasonably priced stuff might be able to use them. If finances allow, I'm going to set up some of these (namely swinging chair and the spinning chair, and maybe the rope ladder) in our 'playroom' this winter. It'll be good for both kids -- ds has diagnosed SPD, and dd doesn't, but is a bit of a sensory seeker.

[FancyD]

We plan on turning our dining room into a gross motor area, and Ikea will be the main source. They really do have great stuff!

[WuWei]

I want all of those!!

How does one connect them to the ceiling so the ceiling doesn't come down?? Bolt into a joist, enough? The site I read said to have a bolt through the joist with a nut on the other side. This sounded nearly impossible. But, the "weakest link" is the force limit; and I imagine that ds will add a lot of force by jumping on any swinging apparatus. Any btdt systems/suggestions? Photos?

Thanks, Pat

[hippymomma69]

Originally Posted by WuWei

I want all of those!!

How does one connect them to the ceiling so the ceiling doesn't come down?? Bolt into a joist, enough? The site I read said to have a bolt through the joist with a nut on the other side. This sounded nearly impossible. But, the "weakest link" is the force limit; and I imagine that ds will add a lot of force by jumping on any swinging apparatus. Any btdt systems/suggestions? Photos?

Thanks, Pat

I would like to know this too....we have a mexican baby hammock that my DD LOVES and we had it attached to a beam with just a screw-in bike hook - but she managed to pull it out and got whacked on the head with the hook. So any suggestions about how to anchor this stuff?
peace,
robyn

[WuWei]

Look at this one. http://www.hammocks.com/hammock-chai...mmockchair.cfm

Pat

[peekyboo]

Originally Posted by WuWei

I want all of those!!

How does one connect them to the ceiling so the ceiling doesn't come down?? Bolt into a joist, enough? The site I read said to have a bolt through the joist with a nut on the other side. This sounded nearly impossible. But, the "weakest link" is the force limit; and I imagine that ds will add a lot of force by jumping on any swinging apparatus. Any btdt systems/suggestions? Photos?

Thanks, Pat

They sell these to go with the swings.

I want some of that stuff. The one chair, that closes up like an egg, is sadly almost too small for my girls. I really wanted that one!

[RedOakMomma]

We have a different hanging chair, I'm not sure if they sell it anymore. It fits one child, and it's all fabric. You sit inside it on a cushion, and you're enclosed on three sides by the fabric, and it swings around suspended from the ceiling. My kids ADORE it.

To attach it, you need to anchor it into a ceiling beam (the long big pieces of wood that run inside your ceiling from end to end of rooms). You can often find them with a stud sensor. We used very large bolts with eye hooks at the ends. Ikea also has anchors you can buy, but those should also be put into a beam.

Just FYI, I've found that the website for Ikea is a pain in the butt to navigate and order from. It's often a lot easier to go to a store or buy pieces on ebay. There really ARE a ton of great sensory toys, though--check some of these out.

[WuWei]

Originally Posted by peekyboo

They sell these to go with the swings.

Ahhh...that makes me feel safer! Thanks. I like the "multi-bolted-in" theory of stability.

Thanks. The ebay one looks great too!

Pat

[LynnS6]

They still sell the fabric one in the store, but not in the catalog. That's the one that I want to buy, because the 'enclosed' aspect is better for our ds' sensory needs (he relies overly on his vision to compensate for his vestibular issues).

I agree that the store is much easier to deal with. I overheard a sales associate say that only about 1/3 of the stuff they have is in the catalog. And none of this stuff can be ordered online. But buying it in house requires a nearby Ikea. And the patience to navigate the store!

OK, I need to get some dishes done. I will quit playing on the internet!

[RedOakMomma]

You know, I didn't find navigating the store all that hard. What made my blow my top was 1) the lack of customer service and 2) the fact that you can't take the shopping carts outside into the parking lot. There I was, two kids and HUGE shopping cart full of bulky objects in tow, and I had to find a way to get everything out to my car sans shopping cart.

:

After that craziness, I got home and found out the swing I bought (which again, I adore and is worth all the work) was missing a vital element. The inflatable cushion. Which is required. Even though it says that NOWHERE on the swing package that you need to buy something else. Even though the distracted customer service guy said nothing about it.

Grrrr. A 2 am purchase on Ebay later, the cushion was on its way. That's one of the reasons I say ebay is easier....no store to navigate, easy instructions, and the mark up is pretty low.

[sbgrace]

Wow. Wow. Wow.
I never knew. I really want some of this stuff if I can scrape up some money.
Question--if you installed say the rope ladder could you take it down when it wasn't in use--unhook it easily?

Another question--about stores--do you have to go to a really big city to find a good selection or would any IKEA store be ok?

[RedOakMomma]

We take our stuff down from the ceiling all the time. Some of the pieces are made to be detached from the anchoring hooks easily, some aren't. Either way, you can buy hardware (simple, simple stuff like hooks and chain joints that unscrew) at any hardware store that makes these things easy to take down.

I think most IKEA stores are the same, but I'm really not sure. And again--ebay is an option.

[cchrissyy]

we have the ikore (?) haning chair, it's cloth and more inclosed than the one you show, and the seat is a big air bubble. fabulously calming sensory thing, plus it's a bit of work to get situated in because of the paritally inflated air base. he tired it firts at an OT office.

[JohannasGarden]

If you get the Ekorre bolt spacing to work for multiple accessories then you can take them up and down. If it's not so easy, adding heavy duty carabiners to the bolts would mean you can just open and close them each time--that's how DS's previous OT's room was set up for swings, anyway.

I'd love to get my act together with all this before winter. btw, you should call the IKEA you are going to to make sure the stuff is in stock before you go. At ours, the Ekorre ladders are in for a month, out for three, etc. Other products are the same.

I also hope I can still get an air element for my swing, Red Oak Mama.

Oh, the one thing that stressed me out about the bolt is that they don't include the hardware to attach them to the ceiling or say what you need to attach them to--they basically pass the buck and say "consult the store you buy the bolts or screws from about what you'll need to be safe". So I still haven't hung the damn thing, but I'm not so great at that kind of thing!

Sherri

[aiccerb]

Oooh lovin' all the links. Ds has been a mean lean sensory seeking machine since the weather turned and Ive bee racking my brain for ideas for inside

[Mamatohaleybug]

Thanks for the AWESOME links! I have a basement room that we are turning into a playroom/sensory gym and these things would be PERFECT for my sensory seeker!

I miss IKEA since we moved from Seattle. Guess I'll be scouring eBay or making a road trip.

[irangel]

Originally Posted by RedOakMomma

You know, I didn't find navigating the store all that hard. What made my blow my top was 1) the lack of customer service and 2) the fact that you can't take the shopping carts outside into the parking lot. There I was, two kids and HUGE shopping cart full of bulky objects in tow, and I had to find a way to get everything out to my car sans shopping cart.

:

After that craziness, I got home and found out the swing I bought (which again, I adore and is worth all the work) was missing a vital element. The inflatable cushion. Which is required. Even though it says that NOWHERE on the swing package that you need to buy something else. Even though the distracted customer service guy said nothing about it.

Grrrr. A 2 am purchase on Ebay later, the cushion was on its way. That's one of the reasons I say ebay is easier....no store to navigate, easy instructions, and the mark up is pretty low.

Wow! Here they let you take the cart out of the store. How odd.

[cchrissyy]

http://bp2.blogger.com/_obEUhJK4EWI/...0/100_7897.jpg
this is our ekkore/ikore/whatever hanging chair. If it weren't so close up, you'd see the whole thing looks like a teardrop, and is mostly enclosed.

[Kathryn]

We've got the ikore swing. It was a pita to install, but Dakota loves it SO much.

[Kristine233]

I wish we had an Ikea, lol. I want DH to turn the extra room in our basement into a sensory room, or split it up so at least part is... I need to show him those links!