(no subject)
So, IKEA. It's been a couple weeks since we went, and I've been meaning to write about it. We left Chapel Hill around 9 in the morning, met up with our bro-in-law, and started the drive to Woodbridge, Virginia. It took us about 3 hours and 45 minutes to get there (I squealed when we saw the huge bright blue rectangle that is IKEA from I-95) and about 15 minutes to navigate the gigantic shopping center of Potomac Mills. It's just south of D.C., so it's a really popular place to shop, and there are a ton of chain restaurants and box stores all over. We pull into the IKEA parking garage (yes, garage) and head inside.
My first thought is that is looks like an airport, because there are signs hanging from the ceilings and people bustling or wandering everywhere.
Here was our game plan:
1. First we ate lunch at the IKEA cafe, and I had an okay cold salad and water; Dan got some kind of cooked vegetables; bro-in-law got the Swedish meatballs and said they were pretty good. There are only 5 or so meals to choose from, so I personally wouldn't suggest eating there, esp. if you don't dig on the animal flesh.
2. Next, we got a map and started investigating the showroom. The way this IKEA worked is, you walk through the upstairs, which is the "showroom", where they have little furnished rooms set up. There were lots of rooms that I just wanted to take home all put together like that. Adorable. Then mixed in with the rooms are different areas for each kind of item, like coffee tables or storage or sofas, where you can look at and compare all the kinds and decide which one you want. Then you write down the item's lovely Swedish name, like MALM or HOPPEN or MIKAEL, along with the aisle and bin #. This part is fun but also a little unbearable, because you just want everything.
3. After you wind your way through the showroom, you head down a staircase into the "marketplace". This was the "aaaaahhhhhhhhh trumpets playing angels singing clouds parting" moment I'd been waiting for. Because they sell everything, and you walk around putting everything you want in your cart, and it's amazing. It's divided, like the showroom, into areas of the home or type of item, like kitchen, bathroom, curtains, frames, etc.
4. Then after the frenzy of the marketplace, you head on over to the warehouse, where all those names and numbers you wrote down come in handy. You find the aisle and bin of the item you want, and load the box(es) onto your cart. This is where the beds, tables, chairs, etc. are, in flat-packed boxes. If you're buying something really heavy or big or unwieldy, you have to stand in line and pick it up from the customer service area after you pay.
5. And then, finally, you check out. Which basically sucks, because you have to put everything on the belt, pay, and then bag up everything on your own and somehow get it all back in your cart while the bored and hostile cashier stares at you in disgust. Perhaps this was just our own experience, though.
Overall, it was one of the funnest days I've had in a long time. Usually, when I'm shopping at a mainstream store, I have to keep my eyes peeled for things that are stylish and that I actually like amongst the piles of ugly, tacky crap. At IKEA, I had the opposite problem of coveting everything I laid eyes on. Some caveats, though: be mentally prepared to do battle with a million screaming children. Also, you will spend the next five days messing around with hammers and screwdrivers and cursing the text-free building instructions to put together your new furniture.
So, on to the goods. We got:
MALM bed in medium brown
MALM bedside tables, also in med. brown
ENETRI shelving unit
MAGICKER side table
And I got for myself:
VESTBY storage
JULES desk chair in light blue
We also got some small things that we didn't have but which I think every civilized home needs, like a bathroom rug and a set of wine glasses (for $4.50!!!) and a coat rack (for $3!!!).
My first thought is that is looks like an airport, because there are signs hanging from the ceilings and people bustling or wandering everywhere.
Here was our game plan:
1. First we ate lunch at the IKEA cafe, and I had an okay cold salad and water; Dan got some kind of cooked vegetables; bro-in-law got the Swedish meatballs and said they were pretty good. There are only 5 or so meals to choose from, so I personally wouldn't suggest eating there, esp. if you don't dig on the animal flesh.
2. Next, we got a map and started investigating the showroom. The way this IKEA worked is, you walk through the upstairs, which is the "showroom", where they have little furnished rooms set up. There were lots of rooms that I just wanted to take home all put together like that. Adorable. Then mixed in with the rooms are different areas for each kind of item, like coffee tables or storage or sofas, where you can look at and compare all the kinds and decide which one you want. Then you write down the item's lovely Swedish name, like MALM or HOPPEN or MIKAEL, along with the aisle and bin #. This part is fun but also a little unbearable, because you just want everything.
3. After you wind your way through the showroom, you head down a staircase into the "marketplace". This was the "aaaaahhhhhhhhh trumpets playing angels singing clouds parting" moment I'd been waiting for. Because they sell everything, and you walk around putting everything you want in your cart, and it's amazing. It's divided, like the showroom, into areas of the home or type of item, like kitchen, bathroom, curtains, frames, etc.
4. Then after the frenzy of the marketplace, you head on over to the warehouse, where all those names and numbers you wrote down come in handy. You find the aisle and bin of the item you want, and load the box(es) onto your cart. This is where the beds, tables, chairs, etc. are, in flat-packed boxes. If you're buying something really heavy or big or unwieldy, you have to stand in line and pick it up from the customer service area after you pay.
5. And then, finally, you check out. Which basically sucks, because you have to put everything on the belt, pay, and then bag up everything on your own and somehow get it all back in your cart while the bored and hostile cashier stares at you in disgust. Perhaps this was just our own experience, though.
Overall, it was one of the funnest days I've had in a long time. Usually, when I'm shopping at a mainstream store, I have to keep my eyes peeled for things that are stylish and that I actually like amongst the piles of ugly, tacky crap. At IKEA, I had the opposite problem of coveting everything I laid eyes on. Some caveats, though: be mentally prepared to do battle with a million screaming children. Also, you will spend the next five days messing around with hammers and screwdrivers and cursing the text-free building instructions to put together your new furniture.
So, on to the goods. We got:
MALM bed in medium brown
MALM bedside tables, also in med. brown
ENETRI shelving unit
MAGICKER side table
And I got for myself:
VESTBY storage
JULES desk chair in light blue
We also got some small things that we didn't have but which I think every civilized home needs, like a bathroom rug and a set of wine glasses (for $4.50!!!) and a coat rack (for $3!!!).