Me and IKEA, It’s Complicated
January 4, 2011
I’m helping a friend style a wall of family photographs, so naturally for picture frames, one goes to IKEA. It takes me over an hour to get to the closest store, and I have to plan to spend at least half a day or more of my time on an IKEA excursion. In winter, in the rain, it is a complete hassle, but with all those deals to be had, I make the trip twice a year.
IKEA and I have a complicated relationship. Every time I pass one, I long to go in, and consider it complete torture to pass one on the freeway without stopping. Once I’m in, I go through a series of emotions. First, frustration at the miles of parking lots, tens of thousands of square footage to navigate, glaring florescent lights, and the disturbing feeling we’re all being herded like cattle. Moooo.
Next, admiration when I remember IKEA has a professional daycare that greets you at the door. Clearly, this is a store designed to trap you and your children inside for hours at at time. That, or they’re just tired of cleaning up broken vases on Aisle 242.
Then comes the anxiety that sets in trying to follow all those blue signs with all the arrows pointing you to go here or there. It’s quite a disturbing labyrinth and it frightens me so.
Anxiety is always followed by hunger requiring that I get in the long line to wait to dine on their Swedish meatballs. Once revived, I experience the delight of scoring some pretty good deals on some cheap goods.
Last weekend, I made my semiannual trip. When I arrived, it was daylight. When I left, darkness had set in, but this is to be expected when one travels to IKEA. I spent a few hours poking around, inspecting all the furniture, linens and fixtures and found some things I liked. For fun, I created a few rooms with my favorite finds.
Stockholm curtains; Leran pendant; Karlstad chair; Leatorp coffee table; Jonsbo table lamp; Hol side table; Stockholm Cirkel cushion/pillow.
Jorun rug; Knappa pendant; Vilmie curtains; Karit bedspread; Hemnes sidetable; Gilda throw; Ljusas lamp.
Bild poster; Maskros ceiling pendant; Alvine flora cushion; Ofelia throw; Ofelia duvet; Knubbig table lamp; Lonsboda scented candle; Nojs alarm clock
What’s your relationship with IKEA? Love it? Hate it? Scored any great finds? Do share.
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Tags: ikea
They built one 10 min from my house. It is torture, I think I can just run in and get this but oh no 2 hrs and a lunch later I am gone. It is definitely love/hate!
I have never been to Ikea……I know sad isn’t it?? But it’s about an hour and a half away….and I just haven’t been able to get away long enough yet.
But I long to go!! I do think I need a seasoned Ikea Vet to go with me though! LOL
God bless!
I love Ikea! My husband is from Atlanta, so whenever we visit his family we make a trip. A lot of our bedroom is from there, since we’re obsessed with the Hemnes collection. And I don’t mind putting the pieces together since we’re getting such a great deal with prices. It’s funny- we have the curtains you posted in the natural spread in our bathroom, and those pillows in our living room.
love love love ikea!!! when my daughter and my friends 2 girls were little we took them there for the day like other kids got to go to the amuesment parks! hot dogs swedish meatballs ice cream cones they never knew the diffrence!!!
I used to go once a week when I lived 5 minutes from one. It gave me all sorts of ideas plus got me a little exercise….once you’re in you might as well walk the whole store. I swear half of our old house was Ikea.
I haven’t been to Ikea in 1.5 years and I’m starting to go thru withdrawals. After seeing your photos of curtains, etc., I may have a venture back there. Its so wonderful.
I love IKEA!!!! have you checked the clearance section…great finds sometimes :)
oh good heavens, my Ikea is less than a fifteen minute ride by i95!
I have been debating, do I *really* need to go and waste money I shouldn’t spend?
Hmmm…. on the one hand, I save money by staying home.
On the other, I miss touching the fabrics in the fabric department, looking at all the plants and picture frames, and oh yeah – the swedish meatballs! (I love them too!)
I may see a trip there in the next week or so, I know my kids are dying to go spend some cash too!
I have to say I am not a big fan. There is one very close to me although with San Fran bay area traffic, it feels like it could be on the other side of the country! Too many things there feel a tad cheap.
I think that far better furniture can be found in antique and thrift stores at better prices, but I love the hunt for that perfect piece at a bargain more than actually owning the piece! However, I have an Ikea drafting table (with integrated light table) which I love for my art projects, and I recently redid my nephew’s bedroom using a clearance find Ikea bunk bed system which is really sturdy.
I also like their printed textiles but haven’t found a use for them yet. My favorite part of Ikea is their annual catalog and how they blend colors and textures (ok, and the swedish meatballs).
I’ve never been to an IKEA and feel very left out. The good news is we’re finally getting a store here in Denver this Fall and it’s about 10 minutes from me! Very excited. I didn’t read through all of the comments but scanned them and noticed many of your readers really like IKEA as you do. I’ve heard mixed reviews, the negatives mostly about their furniture not being high quality and difficult to assemble. I would love to know what you and your readers thoughts are on the quality of their furniture? I’ve been drooling over the cubed shelving unit and hope it will be worth purchasing. Thanks and I love your blog!
I have mixed feelings about IKEA. One part of me loves to go through the “maze” and see all the model rooms that are set up. The prices are great and you can furnish a whole house for a great price, if the goal is price. But the look of the furniture is all very “IKEA-y.” We were shopping pretty frequently at IKEA for furniture for our new home… until I did some more research and found that many stores were selling better quality pieces at (almost) IKEA prices if you used their promo codes and waited for online and in-store sales. Right now my favorite online shopping resources are Wisteria and Williams Sonoma Home. Both had great sales that brought their steep furniture prices down to (almost) IKEA prices.
WE don’t have an Ikea store however I have heard of it and really really wish we did!
I have no stamina for shopping so Ikea is a true test. I am an Ikea convert and will search for items I have seen in magazines/blogs that have been mixed with high end pieces. Check out You Tube for Ikea -Parody to Owl City ‘Fireflies’ by davedays – I hum this as I wander about and find it calms me and keeps me focussed.
The only IKEA store in my area is a good 40 minute drive away, thank goodness. Coincidentally, my niece called and asked me to go with her yesterday, right after I read your post. We headed specifically for organization supplies, her for home schooling, me for my studio, so we didn’t do a lot of dawdling in other departments.
I don’t like the labyrinth – I resent being deliberately manipulated. We kept looking for the shortcuts to get where we wanted to go. So I guess I have a love/hate thing going.
I did like the Swedish meatballs, though!
I Love Ikea. Mostly for their storage options. oh–I love their fabric too! Their furniture is fun but I have a hard time getting my husband to like any of it. He thinks its “cheap crap”. :) So, when I go once every few months I stock up on my favorite straws, napkins and add any other little home accessories I need or want, actually,more like what I can afford at the moment. :) That image is so true though. They plan it that way on purpose I am sure. Just to get you hungry and tired and want to take a break that will give you more energy to get lost again and spend more money. :)
Got married & moved into our apt a month and a half a go. Our IKEA is about 30 mins away but I was able to go and gather up all that I needed in two separate 2-hour trips. Got some larger items like a TV stand and two end tables (the dark wood in the photos), organization boxes, pillow inserts and covers (including the polka dot in the photo), and random stuff like large cereal bowls a potato masher!
I actually work across the street from Ikea and have finally figured out the floorplan. I run over there on my lunch break…stop in like it’s Target. But I wouldn’t be caught dead there on a weekend!!!!
We drove SIX hours one way to go to IKEA the weekend after Thanksgiving (I know, we’re nuts), shopped (and dined on meatballs) for five hours, then turned around and drove the six hours home..all in one day. Like I said, we’re nuts. Love/Hate for SURE. Your description of the IKEA experience made me LOL cause it was so dead-on. Love!
Ikea and I too have a love/hate relationship but not for the same reasons. I love the style of their items but the nearest location is 6 hours from my house. And they don’t ship hardly anything! It drives me nuts how they are promoted everywhere-books, magazines, tv, blogs but I can’t get to any of the stuff!
I love a little cake with green frosting. Yum. I have only been once but will go many times when the Ikea is built in Denver soon!!
We totally have a love/hate relationship. If I want hubby to go there, we have to be there as soon as it open and then get breakfast.
I love IKEA. My husband and I usually spend the better part of a day there which includes lunch (had the Swedish meatballs for the first time last visit-yummy) I usually buy items or furniture that will go with my revamped bits and pieces. I love the walk through the store as it gives me great ideas for my home.
[...] made my semiannual trip to IKEA for frames for this wall [...]
I am pretty obsessed with IKEA. You can’t beat the prices and here in the Netherlands they have them all over. The only problem is it is so common here that you see the same piece in every house! I love how you add your own personal touch to pieces so they can stand out!
@Paige:
In my opinion, their couches and plush items are crap, but their bookcases and cubbies and storage options are awesome.
@Paige,
Also — not sure what cube unit you are talking about, but I bought three 4-cube bookcase cubby units and they were actually *extra* easy to assemble.
I both like and dislike Ikea. Some good deals to be had on some decent things. Need storage containers? Ikea’s great. Need furniture? Their quality is terrible. It’s not just inexpensive, it’s cheap. And it looks cheap. I think it’s the ideal place for a college student or young apartment dweller to shop.
But I LOVE their design and smart storage solutions. I love how they can maximize space with creative ideas. It’s a great place to learn about design and storage and plan your space. But if you want good quality furniture that won’t fall apart in a few years and end up in a landfill and requiring you to replace it, you won’t find it there.
Don’t you just love IKEA and just strolling around? I recently went with a friend who is remodeling her kitchen. So fun to spend someone else’s money.
I adore IKEA on the one hand, but on the other, yeah, same things as you: hate the parking lots, the labyrinth, and the fact that I can never get out of there without spending hundreds of dollars! Oh, I also seem to forget how small my car is and have been known to “overbuy” before, once I had to strap a rather large wall unit to the top of my little car and hope for the best driving home!
IKEA to me means “disposable furniture” — I don’t think their quality is that good on many of their items, but the accessories are neat and of good quality for the most part, and one can get some necessity items for not a lot of money.
Loving your blog, and am a new follower!
Kimberly
We live 15 minutes from an Ikea so I go about once a month. I think every other trip is a longer one, but I’ve definitely been able to go in and out in 30 minutes before, especially if it’s a weekday. Unfortunately the last time I went (the 30th of Dec) I had plans to return a Christmas gift idea that we didn’t end up needing and pick up two things. Well I was able to get the two things (and a third item I found) in only 15 minutes including check out. Too bad it took 35 minutes to return the toy though!
I find my love/hate is because I love so many things at Ikea and the prices but I hate that people can immediately tell that something is from Ikea when they come into our home!
I have to say thank you! Those Stockholm curtains may nearly match our bedding set. I can’t wait to take a throw pillow down to Ikea and see them in person. Thanks!
I love Ikea! It is about 10 minutes away from my home so we go there alot. Bored nothing to do let’s go to Ikea. The picture frames are the best and I probably have Ikea frames in every room.
I really love ikea! i’m always working on a pretty tight budget, so it’s a Godsend for me! ;) The nearest one is about 45 minutes away, but it’s not too bad! i’ve only actually been once, but am planning to go back in the next few weeks. My favourite purchase was definitely the KARIT deep purple throw and pillows. It was a bit pricey at €50, but it’s been on my bed ever since, and is really good quality, really heavy and luxurious, it adds a touch of class to my room! Also, I made sure to pick up at least 5 pillow inserts. i’ve been on a pillow-case making kick lately, so they came in handy, and at only 99cents each?! I’m there!
I looooooove Ikea. In fact, that leafy design curtain you posted in neutrals, we’re planning on buying that one in the multi-color to go with our new couch. Just took a trip to Ikea on Saturday with a friend. Love their food sometimes, other times, not so much.
I have to say that although the design of the store is like a giant maze that keps you trapped forever, I LOVE Ikea! This store allows you to decorate using some very pretty things on a budget. I purchased a desk from Ikea for 79 dollars and it was solid. I mean it was quality. I eventually gave the desk away. So, if you’re on a budget and you have the time, then check this store out if you haven’t already.