Thoughts on Ikea

We went today. DD1 asked, "Is this supposed to feel like a maze?"

Stupid to go on a Saturday afternoon? Very. Is that my last trip to Ikea? Probably. At least for a while.

On the upside, we will have a vanity in our guest bathroom. I came home a few days ago and found the guest bathroom vanity and toilet in the backyard and Bryn scraping linoleum off the floor under DH's direction. I guess we are remodeling that room.

[SuzySunshine]

Re: Thoughts on Ikea

IKEA is supposed to feel like a maze IMO, they try to make sure you go through the whole store. Nothing like impulse furniture shopping. It really can get addictive! If it wasn't for IKEA we'd have very little furniture, and would have had none when we lived in CA.

[alison]

Re: Thoughts on Ikea

In Bryn, you've got a remodeler in training!
Hate, Hate, Hate the Ikea in Seattle. It brings out the worst in people.
The one in the sticks here (Schaumburg) has 3 floors and is NOT like a maze at all. It is so much more sane, but you'd still have to cattle prod me to make me go there on a weekend.

[houseelf]

Re: Thoughts on Ikea

Sorry, I don't mean to be disagreeable, but I love IKEA. Still, I agree that IKEA is best suited for a once a year trip, preferably at an off time without kids, spouse, or anyone else. It can be overwhelming. You have to think of it like going to a theme park and bring your A game or you'll be drained and disoriented.

Kelly

Re: Thoughts on Ikea

That was our mistake, Kelly. We decided to just "swing by". Duh! It is great because we got a new vanity and faucet of reasonable quality in a low use room for far less than it would have cost at Home Depot or the like. It comes at a price. We finally found an Ikea employee who didn't know if we needed to buy hinges or not (WTH?) and so we bought them anyway. Not a huge loss at $5. Oh yeah, and don't forget that you have to go to the aisle/bin system for the legs for the vanity and it is a good thing we asked otherwise we wouldn't have them!

It isn't our last purchase from Ikea but might be quite a long time before I am the purchaser again.

Lily, it is too contemporary for the rest of our house. Since the bathroom is in the basement, I figure we can shake things up.

[houseelf]

Re: Thoughts on Ikea

I'm drawn to IKEA products, even though much of it is particle-boardy (a new IMSN term? ), because we need durable goods that can survive kids, moves, or at least not break our hearts and wallets if we don't use it at the next place. IKEA just makes sense for where we are at in our lives. I just outfitted two kids rooms and a bathroom for abou $300 (not including beds).

I too love the timeless elegance of dark wood and fine craftsmanship, I'm just not living a "dark wood" type of life. :huh: I like to call my style American eclectic (read as: early American garage sale).

Ah, the glamour of being a dawkters' wife.

Kelly

[Auspicious]

Re: Thoughts on Ikea

IKEA was actually one of the first stores we took the baby to! At this point I'm familiar enough with them that I can just swing by. Plus the Schaumburg one is pretty swing-by-able.

We also would have little furniture without them and previously would have had almost none. I'm currently typing this sitting in my Allak pulled up to my Mikael.

[houseelf]

Re: Thoughts on Ikea

It is a little known fact that you earn an honorary degree in linguistics if you can appropriately pronounce at least twenty items that they sell.

Kelly

[SuzySunshine]

Re: Thoughts on Ikea

Items we own from IKEA:
- my desk/computer cabinet
- buffet
- bed
- pantry
- garage storage cabinets which were our closets in CA
- dresser
- DH's desk
- DVD cabinets

All of which are still in great shape after a cross country move, someday we'll get rid of all of them but for now on a residents salary they're great and maybe its just the pieces we chose but they don't look particle-boardy at all.

I'll never forget when the IKEA in Palo Alto opened, the GO was hilarious - the line was ridiculous and highway 101 was backed up for miles because of it.

Re: Thoughts on Ikea

We had an Ikea armoire and dresser in our bedroom. With the last move, the armoire would be dangerous to have in a house with kids. I'll give it credit though -- it lived in Atlanta with a college student for a few years and we picked it up when she put it out on her porch. The set survived the move after that. DH did have to do some rehab work with additional hardware after we found it on the porch. For less than $5 and an hour or two of his time it was *totally* worth it. We wouldn't have had the storage space otherwise. It didn't seem particle-boardy -- until the particle board on the back fell off every couple of months.

I'm not saying I want high end furniture all over the place. There are lots of other ways to get furniture and not spend a mint. We just re-painted a metal bedframe and nightstand we've had for almost 15 years. The paint store told me the best results would be from spraying the paint on so I decided to hire someone to do the spraying in a shop. No way am I learning how to use a paint sprayer with black paint. For $400 we have a like-new bedframe and nightstand. I'd rather do that than buy something new. I'm not sure if I could go through the maze again before trying some other avenues. I like some of their textiles and lampshades. It is mostly too contemporary for my taste though.

We got a trashcan for DD2's bedroom. At the checkout, they asked if we also wanted the top to the trashcan. There is a top? Do we want it? Hell no, let me out of here!

Re: Thoughts on Ikea

Back to the original point ... that was an awesome observation Bryn!

I feel the same way Kelly does. We've worked our way through most of our Ikea pieces -- but there are still times I wish I could drop by one to pick up something for the boys.

Re: Thoughts on Ikea

Oh no! The person who put the order together gave us the wrong doors for the vanity cabinet. I think Ikea has the process flow for picking up furniture better worked out than for ordering bathroom or kitchen components.

Someone is going back there and it is not me! But maybe the person going back will get some lingonberries for me.

[SuzySunshine]

Re: Thoughts on Ikea

I'll never forget the time DH and I looked all over tarnation for lingonberries and then figured out we could get them at IKEA.

[Deebs]

Re: Thoughts on Ikea

There are definitely good and bad layouts to Ikea. The one in Schaumburg (near Chicago) is great - you can shop for what you want. The one in Minneapolis is designed to make you look at every item they carry. DH and I went there when I was pregnant, and I had to corner an employee to lead me out through a back hallway - I felt totally trapped. Ikea definitely allowed us to have furniture through med school and residency, and I still have quite a bit (probably will for a while).

Re: Thoughts on Ikea

All our furniture is from Ikea. We had almost nothing a year ago so went there and got everything. Except our couch and mattress which are from JCPenney Outlet.
We did decide to "upgrade" to their real wood furniture though, except for one chest of drawers and our TV stand that are particle board, and so far are really happy with it all.

I am not so happy with the kitchen stuff I got from there - pots, pans, utensils etc. They are awful and make me want to weep every time I cook. I am hoping to upgrade after the move.

Even though we have all Ikea, and the store is only about 2 miles away, we have only been there 3 or 4 times because we just don't enjoy the experience! We just got a lot each visit!