Love Letter to Råskog – the turquoise Kitchen Cart for all Artists
Råskog – the turquoise Kitchen Cart, you know it? Yes, I’m guessing you already know the piece of furniture I’m addressing today? It’s IKEA’s Kitchen Cart Råskog. You know the metal cart on wheels, made out of steel with a epoxy powder coating in the most delicious sea foam kind of color? First only available in turquoise, but now also in gray and most recently beige.
I got mine a while back, but I still adore it and thought I’d write a love letter to it. Because why not spend your love on inanimate objects, when your heart is so full of love and there is not enough humans around? I don’t use my cart in the kitchen of course, I have it in the studio space, and each day I love it a little more. A lot of artists find this cart convenient to use, and an awesome storage unit in the studio, just like me. It’s an artist love story for sure.
Here is my ode to this cart, or my Love Letter to the Artist’s Best Friend Råskog.
Dear Råskog Cart
You know I love IKEA a lot, and I’ve done many IKEA hacks through the years, but so far you are my personal IKEA favorite, no hacking needed. When I first spotted you I thought you were a bit too pricey being an IKEA piece, but I still had to have you. I didn’t hesitate, I took you with me home and it was love at first sight.
Now I think you are the winner around here. You shine brighter than even Billy the Bookshelf, though he is an old favorite and much appreciated by me and my books. We’re keeping him too. The more storage the merrier, as you know.
Actually, like with many of my crushes, I first saw you online, and knew I needed you in my life. You could never fit into my kitchen of course, because my kitchen is a one person space with no extra room to move around. But I knew you wouldn’t be a kitchen cart to me. You were born to become an Art Cart, the best friend of my acrylic paints, pens and some other random art supplies!
After the hard fight to assemble you, you’ve been rolling well and fitting into my life. I keep you close to my polka dot art desk, like a big drawer that can move around when I need you to. I love that you help clear the desk of little things like stray tape rolls and pens. I love that all my acrylic paints fits into shelf 2 and 3, easy to access and overview at all times. If one color seemingly is missing, I spin you around a couple of times and then I often find what I’m looking for.
Your top shelf is not constantly the same, but at any given time I know I can find regular tape rolls there, my favorite crayon jar and my set of watercolors. Sometimes I store a newly made journal at the top shelf, sometimes a transparent box of deco tape, or my washi tape holder. There’s a few pens, pencils, ink bottles and most of my scissors (those not currently in use or lost in a pile of paper somewhere)…
I so love you dear turquoise Kitchen Cart! You truly are the perfect organizer for all creative things that I need close at all times. What would I do without you, what would my studio be without you? And yet I have not even mentioned how sleek you look, how easy you maneuver around and how lovely your color is, matchy-matcy with my turquoise table and stool of course. I love the endless possibilities that good storage can bring, and you bring it straight to the table – every time!
I have a very small space, but I’ve designed it for me and my creative needs. And in that space you are a given. IKEA say this about you: The sturdy construction and four casters make it easy for you to move the cart and use it wherever you like. It even fits in tight spaces because of its small size. I couldn’t agree more. You even wheeled yourself into my heart, you darling cart you.
Thanks for all you do for me, Råskog. I love you.
kind regards
/iHanna
I would love to know if you have a cart too, or a similar relationship to another piece of furniture in your studio? And if you haven’t already bought and fallen in love with this kitchen cart that IKEA named Råskog you could go check it out on Pinterest or in any artist studio you visit probably. It has a cult following, so just join us.
PS: This post is not sponsored by IKEA, it comes with a smile and some very silly love.
Oh Hanna…I had the biggest smile on my face as I read your love letter. I too LOVE my Råskog cart. It was THE only gift I wanted for Christmas last year & it has been my constant art studio friend ever since. I want another one for the bathroom…and maybe a third one for my sewing supplies…it can move wherever I need it. Thanks for your love letter…and for making my day brighter.
Debbie
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So happy you share my big love for this “kitchen” cart Debbie! I would wish for a cart number two and tree too, if only I had a bigger apartment… :)
It’s easy to see why you would love that cart. It brings you closer to your art! I’m in love with Ikea’s Trofast–a wall storage with bins, meant for children’s rooms. Mine is in my studio holding my paints, papers, equipment–all within reach, and nice and tidy when I’m not using it. I feel the love!
It’s not because I am Swedish that I am a fan of IKEA, hehe, but because of (affordable!) designs like that wall hanging. Trofast means “to be loyal” by the way, a dog’s name too in the old days actually.
I have four Andy rolling cabinets. They are made of a sort of metal netting and have three drawers each. I don’t think they sell them anymore (at least not here in the Netherlands), but they have pretty much saved my life. I have two on each side of me so they form a little cubicle together with my worktable. They make it possible for me to have just about everything at hand. They were dirt cheap too, about 20 euro’s a piece. I love them, but I’m sure that if the Raskog had existed when I bought the Andy’s I would have bought several of those instead, because that cart is seriously cute!
I agree with you Caatje, any cart is a good storage idea. Or anything with wheels. Or any storage for art materials and office supplies, right? This one just had the color going for it already… Cute is a very good description, thanks.
Turkosa Råskog – jag är också mer eller mindre kär i min Råskog, sååå härlig och perfekt färg! Behöver fler av dom bara känner jag, för än så länge har vi bara en i köket (fylld med kokböcker och pysselsaker). Jag fick lite pengar till födelsedagen och dom fick bli till en Råskog, hoppas på en likadan deal nästa år! :)
Ja egentligen borde man köpa minst en Råskog till – pronto, för tänk om den tar slut… Försökte köpa det turkosa plåtskåpet förra året, men då hade de tagit det ur sortimentet för det var inte säkert för barn. Typiskt trist för mig, jag som hade så svårt att bestämma mig och sedan när jag väl gjort det var det borttaget.
I have a Raskog too. I soon as I saw it I knew it would be an art cart. I could have had it in grey but I chose the turquoise one since it is my favourite colour. I totally agree about all the qualities you find in it. On of the things I love most about it is how you can roll it so easily and its sturdiness. I have had rolling carts mad of plastic whose wheels always ended stucking or twisting. I’m thinking of havind a second one.
I love that you wrote a love letter to your beloved piece of furnuture. When I cycled the Swedish and Finnish islands many years ago (maybe you remember) due to a lack of humans around me I talked to my beloved bicycle and said her Good Night every evening.
As soon as I moved into my new apartment last year I got raskog to move into my new home. Only for the color!!! I love turquoise. Sea foam – what a lovely name for it too.
Hannah, enjoy your raskog love ongoing and some more human love as you already have too.
Greetings from Hamburg to Sweden!
That looks much sturdier than the metal (and plastic) rolling cart I put together. Love the color too!
{:-Deb, the storybeader
Just found your blog through a comment on Elise’s.
I love this cart and how you’ve filled it with art supplies. I used to be really into art, like in high school and college, and my husband and I now talk about picking up our old hobbies like painting and drawing. It’d be such an inspiration to have a cart like this staring at us to make art. And it’d also be so fun for little kiddos too. One day. :)
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your love letter to your Raskog rolling cart. I could just “feel” the love. :-) I too have a Roskog cart but in beige. Boring beige. I really wanted a turquoise cart but my art “studio” is the breakfast nook in our kitchen and it’s open for all to see the conglomeration of colors and mess. I didn’t want to add more visual clutter in an already full apartment. I adore my cart though and would absolutely love several more.