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| - Our recent trip to Ikea played out like an episode from Mission Impossible for us....
*insert tape into our car radio*
*tape hisses and then begins to play*
"Good Morning, Mr. Phelps. A couple recently purchased a new home and have moved all of their possessions into it. Their boxes of books and papers lay in disarray on their pristine, newly refinished hardwood floors. There are no rugs, no lamps, no accessorized items within their new home. They need help, but are under a budget. Your mission, should you accept it, is to find and furnish their home under an extreme budget. Please assemble your team accordingly. You will require Dale Earnhardt driving skills, Ninja assembly skills, Tetris packing skills for their small Subaru Impreza, superb steno skills for jotting down those aisle and bin numbers, a strong stomach for swedish meatballs, and strong arms to push that dolly cart around the concrete floors. As always, should you or any of your I.M. Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim."
*smoke emits from the tape*
* queue in theme music....* Duh-Duh, Dun-da, Dun-Dun, Dah-Dah,. Da-Da dun-, Da-Da Dun-, Dun-ah!
So, what else can be said about Ikea that others haven't already said? Yes, I've been to other Ikea stores elsewhere - even in my hometown of Houston since the early 90's. They all look the same - a cafeteria, a ridonkulous showroom layout, a kiddie playpen, tons of Swedish names[1] like ORGEL or GRÖNÖ, and a huge self-service area for picking up your furniture. We debated between coming our here for shelving storage units or going to other pricier solutions elsewhere, but really decided on Ikea based on our budget and for what we wanted - cheap storage[2]. I know, everyone makes fun of it and it's cheap mass produced furniture out of MDF and fake wood veneers like "Birch Effect" or "Black-Brown", but if you've got a several hours and you plan well, a trip out here can lead to some great finds - esp. if you're looking to furnish under a budget. We found decent neutral rugs here for several of our rooms. Of course, the Billy shelving units are the bomb[3]. And the lighting section gives me goosebumps.
Our notes:
1. It's crowded - esp. on a Saturday afternoon. If you're like us and you have to drive to this place from the Triangle (~2 hrs), plan ahead to make the most of your visit - take the time to measure all of the dimensions you're interested in furnishing, take color/pattern swatches with you, scout out the website before you go so you can find your exact solution, and bring a big car (or have some contingency plan[4] in case you can't fit everything you purchased into your car!).
2. The As-Is super duper clearance section is located at the *end* of the "experience" - right before the checkout line and after the self service area. So if you're on a budget, bypass everything and go straight there for some sweet deals.
3. It's supposed to be baby/family friendly here with lots of activity centers (beside the big kiddie playpen at the entrance) strewn throughout for kids (e.g., chalkboards and such).
4. They have a fairly liberal 90 day return policy. If your GILDA BLOM pillow cushion case doesn't exactly match, you can return it with your receipt of course.
5. And...if you plan to check in via wifi....don't plan on it. I didn't find any free wifi here.
OVERALL: Not the best *quality* furniture, but a great deal and perfect if you find exactly what your looking for - style and price-wise. It's just a downer for us Triangle-ites who have to drive 2 hours to get here! 5 stars for the Swedish hospitality! Tack så mycket, Ikea!
[1] Generate your own Swedish furniture names he e! http://www.blogadilla.com/2008/05/11/the-blogadilla-swedish-furniture-name-generator/
2] I have way too many physics, chemistry and other scientific reference books that really need a good home after all these years of being in storage.
[3] I secretly get all wet when I see rows of book shelves....yes, I'm a geek/nerd.
[4] See Luke C.'s suggestion for home delivery.
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