One of the many requirements we had to meet when we applied for our visas to Portugal was to show “proof of accommodation”. Acceptable proof was usually a lease or proof of ownership of a home or apartment. We had no interest in buying property right away, so we started a search for a rental. Easy, right? Not so much.
We enlisted the help of our new Portuguese friends, we tried working with a Portuguese realtor, and we tried booking our new home on a rental website called Idealista. Nothing worked, but we eventually arranged a long-term contract for a furnished “T3” (3 bedrooms) with 2 full baths through AirBnB.
The AirBnB Experience
Have you ever stayed at an AirBnB? Our first experience was in October of 2013. We stayed in the basement of a wonderful brownstone in Brooklyn, NY. Since then, we have stayed in over 30 AirBnB’s.
We have had a few lemons, but for the most part they have been gems. A few years ago we did a driving trip from Los Angeles to Vancouver, staying in Airbnb’s all along the way. They included a “secret garden” apartment in Carmel, a writer’s cabin in Napa, a converted Bluebird school bus in Portland, a cozy apartment in Seattle and a high-rise in Vancouver. Each was unique and all wonderfully fun and furnished, it seemed, by the folks that invented Pinterest.
The Secret Garden 
The Writer’s Retreat 
The Bluebird Bus 
Seattle 
Vancouver
We stayed in an AirBnB in Rome, within walking distance of the Colosseum, and in another in Barcelona, near the Plaça de Catalunya.
Around 2019 we noticed a change. Everyone and anyone started renting their homes using Airbnb. Then we noticed another change – everyone was “decorating” with IKEA.
The IKEA Ecosystem
Now don’t get me wrong – we have owned our fair share of IKEA furniture. The kitchen cabinets in our last home were put together with nothing but pictures for directions, a screwdriver and an allen wrench. But here in Porto, we have discovered that you can have too much IKEA.
If you have been to an IKEA store, you will have seen the display rooms – areas where they assemble all the furniture for a living room or a bedroom or a college dorm.
We are living in rooms like that, though ours are more sparsely furnished. And we don’t have price tags.
We knew from the pictures on the AirBnB site that our apartment was going to have some IKEA furniture, but upon arrival we were amazed by what we encountered. It looked like every item in the place was from IKEA.
Living Room 
Living Room 
Dining Room 
Bedroom
In order to confirm our suspicions we made a visit to the local IKEA here in Porto. Sure enough, there was our couch, our coffee and end tables, lamps, beds, linens, dishes and flatware. Even the knickknacks were Swedish!
We even found the weird basket rocking chair that was in our apartment. It’s called Gullholmen, and is made made from banana fibers. It wasn’t in the clearance bin – they wanted 59 Euros!
We’re not faulting our landlord for his choice in furnishings. His approach makes sense. If you need to furnish an entire apartment in a hurry and on a budget, this is a sure-fire way to get it done. We’re just amused that were no other items in the place to give it some personality. Maybe we expect too much.
Before leaving the IKEA store…
We had seen enough, so we headed for the best part of the store – the cafeteria. They had the obligatory Swedish meatballs, but they also did several local dishes to satisfy the natives. I had the meatball entree and Mike had his first serving of bacalhau (dried, salted cod fish).
We were reminded that we “weren’t in Kansas” anymore when we were able to select a couple small bottles of wine to go with lunch. Lunch was good and dessert (pasteis de nata!) was included with the after-lunch coffees. Two espressos later, our appetites and curiosity were satisfied and we left one big IKEA to return to our very own miniature version.
What’s unique about the place that you live? Share your thoughts in the comments below, or send us a note using the Contact Form.
Goodbye for now / Adeus por agora,
Mary
The Cook
Hi, Mary & Mike: Your AirBNB stats are impressive—over 30! What a great variety of them, too. ?? Funny about the IKEA mattress…our current mattress is from IKEA and is just as you describe—VERY firm (and probably only about 4-5” thick ?), but we love it for our backs! We discovered it at an AirBNB-like house we stayed at in Florida one time and liked it so much that we looked under the sheet to find out the brand and style name (you know how every product at IKEA has a Swedish “name”). ? Sorry yours isn’t quite what you prefer, but the other parts of your new life sound like they’re going well! ?
Hi Carol,
Thanks for your comment. Mary thinks she’s taller now that she’s been sleeping on this hard ass mattress. But we really can’t complain about the place. It has more than the minimum essentials and it’s in an interesting neighborhood. Heck, it’s in Portugal! What else matters?
Our best to you and Richard,
Mike
Looks like some cut flowers and plants would do a world of go in adding to life to place. but i fully understand this is a pause in your travels so buying plants to leave behind may not be on your agenda and hopefully most of your days are spent exploring. sounds like checking out the mattress in your next locale may b a priority. Love, reading about your adventures!
Adeus por agora!
Agreed. I have brought a couple of herb plants and potted them. The owner had some dust catching artificial plants. We moved them off to the side. I couldn’t agree more about the mattress -it is awful, although I think I have grown a couple of inches.
I once took a short cut, deviating from the directed path, at IKEA in Fort Lauderdale. Bad idea. I was terribly disoriented for at least 15 minutes, but finally relieved to stumble out of the maze in sight of the cinnamon rolls.
Once I figured out there was a secret passage out of the maze of hell, I was content. Glad you found the delicious cinnamon rolls.
It just gets better all the time. Such great fun and a far cry from Indianapolis!!!
Thanks Linda. You are right – we are a far piece from Indianapolis and trying to enjoy every minute of it.
What a fun read! Take care and have a great weekend!
Thanks Nan.
Hey! We are headed to IKEA on Sunday with our little boy to buy necessities for his first apartment! While we bought the furniture at a local shop in Lafayette, he needs everything from dishes to towels to pillows to a mattress (that seems to be backordered at every furniture store). Looking forward to shopping with my boy. When I asked him what he wanted his bathroom color scheme to be, he looked at me like he was already dreading Sunday’s adventure.
Take care and thanks for all the updates!
Bonnie
I think IKEA is a great place to stock a kitchen and a first apartment. You can’t beat the quality and the inventory and the price. Be careful on the mattress. I didn’t see any when we went here locally, but I didn’t look. The mattress we are sleeping on is hard as a rock. I think I have grown 2″ due to the pull on my vertebrate. “B” doesn’t need the added height :-).
Hi guys!!
Carol and I appreciate the “weren’t in Kansas anymore” reference!! We wish we “weren’t in Kansas anymore”
either!! We love IKEA, but have to go to Kansas City for our nearest one. We’ve talked about getting an apartment and furnishing it with IKEA, when we sell our house!! Hope you’re both enjoying your adventures.
The Kansas Kids
Hi Richard,
We used to have to drive to Cincinnati (1 1/2 hours) to get to a store. Now we can get there in 30 minutes on a bus. The Porto store is attached to a large indoor mall, so you can imagine the immensity of the complex. You’ll get out of Kansas someday. I think it involves clicking your heels together, doesn’t it? (Or is that the other way around?)
Our best to you and Carol,
Mike
Funny, but Jeff and I don’t own one piece of IKEA. We aren’t that handy and the thought of working all the time and then coming home to assemble furniture was something we never wanted to partake in. Our “Ikea” in Southwest Florida is called, “Rooms to Go” furniture. They have furniture packages and will decorate your whole house based on a floor plan. All of that furniture is intact and the prices are reasonable.
Hey Robert, thanks for your comment. Yeah, I don’t see you and Jeff as IKEA types, but you should go visit sometime anyway. If nothing else, go for the Swedish meatballs! The path through all the furniture sections can be a bit too long, but the housewares department is worth the effort.
Our best to you both,
Mike
That was a good Friday morning read. I never did care for IKEA after my 1st and only visit. But after seeing pictures of your place, I may have to give it a other try. Love the pic Mary.
Adeus por agora
Not sure what I just typed?
Thanks, John. You’ve already started talking about a trip to Portugal. A visit to IKEA is a lot easier. I’m not sure their stuff would fit well in your place, but sooner or later Trev will need to furnish an apartment. Have a great weekend! And “adeus por agora” is “goodbye for now”.
Mike