As if you all need reminding that back to school mania is in full swing, right? Well, most of you know that student living quarters can be pretty cramped, leaving little to no space for a full-fledged desk to do work. Sometimes, a laptop needs a non-lap to sit on. Where should one turn to for a (relatively) cheap and stylish solution?

Ikea, naturally. The store's new 2009 catalog is full of amazing things, but a notable new item is this laptop workstation. It's something you can mount on a wall and fold out to reveal a small tabletop, just big enough to hold your laptop. There are also little cubbies for storing small things and lockable sections for security. This would be the perfect addition to a dorm room where the resident can't even stretch without scraping their knuckles against a wall.

[via Unclutterer]

The best advice we ever heard from Ted on Queer Eye was to get inexpensive wine glasses from Ikea instead of paper or plastic cups. It doesn't cost that much more -- in fact, over time it's actually less expensive -- and it's about a million times nicer to sip from glass than plastic. Not to mention the carbon footprint you're reducing by skipping the red keg cups.

A quick spin around Ikea reveals additional party supplies that are as affordable as disposable items, but give your party a more festive, grown up feel. From plates to cutlery to our favorite paper napkins, some of Ikea's best buys in the gallery.

One fast way to dress up a table or make a gathering festive is to pull out the party napkins. And our favorite place to get stylish, inexpensive paper napkins is that cathedral of stylish and inexpensive, Ikea.

We stocked up on our last trip to The Great Warehouse! Check out the great variety of colors and patterns. Also, you can't beat the quality. The heavy-weight paper is absorbent and lasts from hors d'oeuvres to dessert.

At the bargain price of $1.99 (on average), you can afford to pick up as many packs as strike your fancy. We like to keep several on hand so we can set a mod table or mix and match colors, depending on our mood.

Ikea also has several options for napkin holders, if you want to dress up your table even more. The only disappointment is that you can't order these paper products online -- just browse. Oh well, every excuse is a good excuse for a trip to Ikea!

There are some decent options out there for environmentally conscious home decor. But really...some of them are kinda beige. Or cookie cutter same-same, or just too burlap-ish crunchy, you know?

Relax, you have options.

For one-of-a-kind decor, in the words of 1stdibs.com, "Do the planet a favor, buy vintage."

When you're looking for affordable, stylish furniture for your home, apartment, dorm room -- wherever really -- IKEA is your store. They've managed to bring fun modern styles to all of us who can't afford to drop $5,000 on a designer kitchen table. But even if you're totally obsessed with the store's streamlined solutions for modern living, you wouldn't want to live there -- right?

Probably not, unless you're this guy. Mark Malkoff was having his apartment fumigated, which meant he needed to find a place to stay -- bummer. He's a comedian and filmmaker, and all his starving artist friends didn't have room in their tiny studio apartments for a guest. Instead of blowing money on a hotel, Mark had a novel idea -- why not just stay in one of those display apartments in the local IKEA?

Seems crazy, but for some reason, the store actually agreed to let Mark take up residence in their New York location. He lives on the shop floor, eats all his meals at the cafeteria (hooray, Swedish meatballs!), and showers in the back offices.

The best part is that if you'll be New York this week, you can actually visit Mark. He'll be at IKEA through January 12th (after which he'll be heading home to his apartment). Everyone else can check back on Mark's website for daily videos about what life is like instead the home style mega store.

Are you into pseudo-cheap modern furniture created by hip Scandinavians? Then, chances are, you're into Ikea. Those of you lucky enough to live within striking distance of an Ikea location have probably noticed (even if you haven't been inside) that the stores are shockingly enormous. So big, in fact, that I have no idea how a person could make it through the entire place in one day.

That's exactly what they were thinking at the Ikea location in Oslo -- so the company came up with a solution: when closing time comes, let the customers stay overnight, and finish their shopping in the morning.

The sleeping arrangements are mostly dormitory style, with many beds stacked up together. However, there's also a bridal suite (complete with chandelier), a luxury suite (where you get breakfast in bed), and a family room for parents and kids. Everyone gets breakfast in the morning, and it's all absolutely free.

So now you can shop 'till you drop. Sleep. And then shop some more.

[via Boing Boing]

Armani is not a name you'll ever associate with discount clothes and that's just the way Giorgio likes it. At Milan's Salone del Mobile where he showed off his his latest Armani Casa range, Armani held forth to WWD on all things discount. His take on the fast fashion fad is that "H&M is fantastic, but this kind of strategy is depressing because it plays with people's sense of inadequacy, treating customers as schmucks because they need the endorsement of a high-profile person to feel worthy" Ouch. You may not see Armani at H&M but he has thought about doing a low-priced version of his deluxe made-to-measure Casa furniture line for Ikea. Assembly-required Armani? Somehow I don't see it.

It's that time again -- time for me to move into a new place. Usually, this event is exciting and only a little bit stressful, but this time around it seemed to be the opposite -- mildly exciting and overly stressful.

I'd heard about the holiness of all that is IKEA. The company recently opened up a store in my hometown of Atlanta. In truth, it's really much, much more than a "store" when it's bigger than a warehouse and has its own restaurant.

Anyway, first on the list -- a black leather couch perfect for a bachelor like myself. Next -- a nice, big rug to cover up that weird stain in the living room.

I couldn't stop there. I picked up a few more things, and when I checked out, I realized that the ol' VISA wasn't hurting too bad. If you want stylish and affordable, IKEA helps those of us in the ATL get by.