Kat Stays Polished | Beauty Blog with a Dash of Life: Helmer to Alex in 60 Seconds!

Helmer to Alex in 60 Seconds!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Hello all! Have you been keeping up with me on Facebook? If you have, you know that I've been lusting after the IKEA Helmer forEVER! Well, there is one in Orlando which is about 2 hours from where I live. My husband set the plan for us to go this weekend and we did!!!

He had never been to an IKEA before and the last time I was in one was way back when in my little kid years. It's way more exciting to go as an adult. Anyway, we get to the area where all the storage units are and.....I see my beloved, long lost love, the Helmer!

I was immediately turned off and I'll tell you why. I have two "melmers" from Michaels and the only thing I didn't like about those was that the drawers did not support themselves. Every time I wanted a polish, I'd have to support the drawer with one and and quickly pull out a polish with the other. Not very convenient.

I thought that the Helmers would have drawers that were supported from the inside, like on a metal track. Well, Helmers do not have such a thing as I found out in the store. They also looked a lot smaller than I had originally thought.

Then....behold! IKEA Alex -- perfect! Perfect but also $119. With hubby by my side, we discussed the quality versus price...value, usage, and convenience. We were both convinced that the higher priced one was better in all arguments.

Follow me on my journey to putting this together [with volunteer help from husband].

Unboxing and organizing all the pieces!


Structure is built with help from hubby and supervision from Buddy.


Drawers done -- now let's get them attached to the tracks!


Before and after organization!


See how the drawers support themselves? LOVE!


So, for me, it was worth the 2-hour trip and the $119 to have a self-supporting, 9-drawer polish storage unit. I'm very pleased with my purchase and I recommend this to any serious polish hoarder...I mean collector. =)

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10 comments

  1. Ugh! I am soooo jealous!! For just one Helmer, shipping alone is $61 to Hawaii! I am afraid to look and see how much an Alex would cost >.<

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  2. Nice! I wish there was an Ikea by me. I imediately noticed that the melmers weren't going to be a long term storage solution for me. The bottom drawers squeal so badly even if they don't have the heaviest load in them andthe lack of support is a big turn off for me as well. This looks like an excellent solution!

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    Replies
    1. OMG the sqeals are AWFUL!!! I tried to switch the drawers and it got better, but not by much. It even squeals when the drawer is EMPTY!!!

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  3. Awesome. That's exactly why I haven't gotten a Melmer yet, I don't like that the drawers aren't supported. It just seems so cheapy. I would love one of these!! I wish they had them in black:(

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    1. It is SO cheapy!!! The Helmers also seem narrower too and I feel like I would have lost a lot of space. The width of the Alex is the same as the Michael's "melmers."

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  4. It looks awesome! I wish I could get that drawer system but since I live at home, I don't think my mom would appreciate me getting such a big furniture item just for my polish, lol!

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  5. Do you find that it's hard to find polishes because you can't see them. I don't have many polishes (less than 100) so I have them in a display case. I like being able to see them all when I'm choosing a color. I know this won't last long because my collection is growing rapidly.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Erika! Not really. I know which drawer has which brand and I organize them either by color or collection after that. I generally know which drawer to go to when I'm trying to find a polish.

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