NationStates Jolt Archive

My wife wanted to stop at the new IKEA store in Atlanta. What's worse is that she wanted me to go with her. I wasn't sure what the draw was, but the trip did beat painting our barn.

So we finally got to the store. The architects did a lousy job of planning the approaches, entrances, and exits to and from the store. The flow of traffic was about what you'd expect anywhere on a Sunday afternoon, but it completely overwhelmed the area around the store.

Then we got in. We looked at the stuff and I still can't decide which is uglier -- the blue and yellow building or the furniture inside. The furniture is about as simple as it gets. I'd rather see some ornamental features on my furniture. Everything in that store would fit in a single flat box that you could stack on a Volvo luggage rack.

I sure hope that this is something Sweden exports to the U.S., not something that is consumed internally. I can't imagine living in such flat rectangular surroundings.

Shhhhhh....people are obsessed with IKEA. They hate it when anyone talks bad about it...like how the furniture is crap, and you can never manage to get it all together with perfect straight angles, and basically it's a stop-gap until you can afford real furniture:)

I walked through the IKEA store in Palo Alto, bought a shelf, and vowed never to enter one again. It's like the designers consciously tried to model it after Dante's rings of hell or something.

I did like the shelf, though. Not enough to ever go back, mind you, but it was a good shelf.

Shhhhhh....people are obsessed with IKEA. They hate it when anyone talks bad about it...like how the furniture is crap, and you can never manage to get it all together with perfect straight angles, and basically it's a stop-gap until you can afford real furniture:)
Maybe so, but the founder and Bill Gates are battling over who is the richest in the world.

And what was that about blue and yellow being ugly!? It´s alot nicer than red, white and blue anyway!

j/k

I walked through the IKEA store in Palo Alto, bought a shelf, and vowed never to enter one again. It's like the designers consciously tried to model it after Dante's rings of hell or something.

I did like the shelf, though. Not enough to ever go back, mind you, but it was a good shelf.
I make a lot of stuff and if I just wanted a plain shelf, I'd order it from the catalog. They do a good job with price and materials -- I could never buy maple for what they sell a finished unit for.

On the other hand, if I wanted a cabinet suitable for dishes or guns, I'd probably build the thing.

Maybe so, but the founder and Bill Gates are battling over who is the richest in the world.

And what was that about blue and yellow being ugly!? It´s alot nicer than red, white and blue anyway!

j/k
I don't mind it on a flag. In a neighborhood that is primarily converted factory spaces, it doesn't blend with the surroundings.

Speaking of flags, aren't national flags flown at the same height? Aren't non-governental flags flown below those? IKEA gets points on #1, but not on #2.

But ze swedish modular furniture, it is so Ungeböring! Und after you get it home, it is so Ungeüseful!

Its stop gap furniture for students and peoplke too poor to afford real, properly ugly american style furntiure from places like Leons or The Brick.

I'd love to see a commercial where the Swedish guy from the Ikea commmercials is jumoed in a back alley, stabbed to death and left bleeding in the gutter, all to sentimentasl sounding music. The camera would do a close up oin his dead face, and ask "Do you feel sorry for this man?"
"Silly, its just the Ikea salesman! Get some real furntiure at Roche Bobois!"

I'm afraid I'm quite the opposite. I like Ikea - not just for the furniture - it's easily my favourite large store. I've even been known to drive up to the local Ikea just to wander about, without buying anything.

They just opened an IKEA in my area. I'm going there this weekend to get some pots and pans. Having two pots and one skillet is getting old.

I like Ikea. Not for the furniture, which is mostly crap, but for the ambiance. I don't know what your local Ikea store is like, but the one in Elizabeth, NJ is kind of trippy.

The store's basically like a two story warehouse, with the "showroom" section above and the actual warehouse underneath. Although it's a big, wide open area they've erected walls that separate their bedroom furniture from the office furniture and from the kitchen stuff, etc. It's like a warehouse-sized maze filled with shoppers milling about.

Go around one corner and you encounter bins filled with weird little stuffed animals and pillows. Continue through and there's a snack bar. Get separated from the person you're with and you can make a game of finding her. I kind of feel like I'm on a very low dose of acid when I'm in there.

I'm afraid I'm quite the opposite. I like Ikea - not just for the furniture - it's easily my favourite large store. I've even been known to drive up to the local Ikea just to wander about, without buying anything.
I would if I didn't have to drive halfway up the NJ turnpike each way to get there.

But ze swedish modular furniture, it is so Ungeböring! Und after you get it home, it is so Ungeüseful!

Lol. That´s German. "U" is more or less never used, and "ü" isn´t used in swedish, it´s a german letter. If you´re going to make fun of my beloved homenation, at least do it properly.

Being German, I grew up with Ikea furniture. I always liked it for being simple... No matter what style your house is, be it a 15th century town house, an 19th century large apartment with 3m hiegh ceilings and plasterwork or a modern apartment block (I lived in all of them), you can use the same furniture and it doesnt clash.
You can take it apart, move to the next place and put it together again, no problem. My furniture did that 7 times in the last 10 years and is still as good as new (all the stuff the wasn't IKEA fell apart after the 3rd time)
I particularly love my shelf-system. You can buy additional shelves anytime anywhere, you can adjust the shelves to exactly the height you want, there are no fiddly ornaments and it is sturdy.
It is laden with books, 5 shelves carrying around 1700 books at the moment, and the shelves won't bend. Whatever other system I ever had, after half a year the shelves looked like U's. As a librarian, I simply love that system :D

I bought my entire kitchen from Ikea. It was easy to fit, looks good and was half the price of a compable kitchen from anywhere else.
All I didn't do was fit the worktops - had a friend do it.

Oh, and I work in the kitchen industry doing 3D plans so I have some contacts but still couldn't beat the price.

As a librarian, I simply love that system :D
Which library do you work at?

yes, ikea is certainly different from the traditional furniture store. eccentric, perhaps? i, personally, do not spend my time comparing furniture stores, and I do not really have an opinion on this, except that it has nicely-priced items

I thought IKEA was a car...

Which library do you work at?

None. Not any more. I worked at a library in Germany and at one in Montreal, but here in Ireland, it was way easier to get a job in IT

I like Ikea. Not for the furniture, which is mostly crap, but for the ambiance. I don't know what your local Ikea store is like, but the one in Elizabeth, NJ is kind of trippy.

The store's basically like a two story warehouse, with the "showroom" section above and the actual warehouse underneath. Although it's a big, wide open area they've erected walls that separate their bedroom furniture from the office furniture and from the kitchen stuff, etc. It's like a warehouse-sized maze filled with shoppers milling about.

Go around one corner and you encounter bins filled with weird little stuffed animals and pillows. Continue through and there's a snack bar. Get separated from the person you're with and you can make a game of finding her. I kind of feel like I'm on a very low dose of acid when I'm in there.


*L* I 've been in that very store. I was worried I'd be thrown out when they found I wasnt wearing tweed and I wasnt driving a saab or a volvo.
And why was it so warm in there?

I like IKEA, was in the nearest one (Wednesbury, Midlands) just yesterday in fact, were there for some shelving for the garage, and cheap batteries, and picture frames, and some more of their biscuits and Daim cakes. They'd run out of the cakes though :(.

And there's a massive B&Q next door, which had aluminium piping and halogen lightbulbs and an LED torch that I was after. Forgot the silver industrial-strength duct tape though. That's just another excuse to go back though. I like IKEA.

Shhhhhh....people are obsessed with IKEA. They hate it when anyone talks bad about it...like how the furniture is crap, and you can never manage to get it all together with perfect straight angles, and basically it's a stop-gap until you can afford real furniture:)

I do have this to say for it -- we bought some "cherry" bookcases from them probably ten/fifteen years ago and put them together -- and overloaded them.

The shelves have never sagged, nor has anything come loose, and they are very pretty.

I agree a lot of it is minimalist, but I am given to understand that is the style preferred in Sweden.

I thought IKEA was a car...
That would be KIA.

That would be KIA.
So if they merged with Apple and made a car, would that make it an iKia?






Sorry. :p

Forgot the silver industrial-strength duct tape though. That's just another excuse to go back though. I like IKEA.


there are two kinds of people in this world-those with duct tape and those without... (whistling from The Good,The Bad & The Ugly)

The people at IKEA are very clever. The layout has been planned and implemented with such skill it defies belief. Lets say you pass something you like the look of on your way round (America so to make you feel disoriented it'll be from theleft side of the shop to the right - opposite from the way you drive) and want to go back for another glance. Chances are you'll have to go around the same way again cos you won't see it by retracing. Such is the layout and display.

The people at IKEA are very clever. The layout has been planned and implemented with such skill it defies belief. Lets say you pass something you like the look of on your way round (America so to make you feel disoriented it'll be from theleft side of the shop to the right - opposite from the way you drive) and want to go back for another glance. Chances are you'll have to go around the same way again cos you won't see it by retracing. Such is the layout and display.

They have what is called a "guided system" of display and arrangements in their shops, as opposed to a free system.

That system ensures that all customers and shoppers will take the exact same way through the shop. It has several advantages for the shop : The display can be set up in a way that shows of the best part/most of the product (as you always know what direction people will be coming from), shoppers will see the entire range of products and if you want to go back to find something, you'll have to go through all of it again. Clever concept, really.

IKEAs fun. Especially when you're waiting for your friends to show up because they're over an hour late again.

Hohum.

It's just easier to get stuff at IKEA, they deliver and what not. The fact that they deliver to my neighbourhood is really something. Plus, for such minimalistic stuff, they're incredibly cheap, unlike those '$1999 and up!' stores that we have litered around hong kong.

One in every 10 Europeans was concieved on an IKEA bed.

One in every 10 Europeans was concieved on an IKEA bed.

And 1 out of 20 on an IKEA kitchen table :D

And 1 out of 20 on an IKEA kitchen table :D

Haha!

Hm, that got me thinking. I don't know where I was conceived. The Philipines was all I got out of my mum.

Maybe if I poke her enough she'll tell me whether it was an IKEA or not.

Now I'm getting worried that if I ask, I might get scarred for life.

Haha!

Hm, that got me thinking. I don't know where I was conceived. The Philipines was all I got out of my mum.

Maybe if I poke her enough she'll tell me whether it was an IKEA or not.

Now I'm getting worried that if I ask, I might get scarred for life.

There's an easy way to find out : Browse the IKEA catalogue for your name and you'll find the piece of furniture you've been concieved on ;)

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org): "The IKEA Catalogue, containing about 12,000 IKEA products is reputedly the second most widely distributed book after the Bible with a hundred million copies produced every year."

I agree a lot of it is minimalist, but I am given to understand that is the style preferred in Sweden.
*nod* And that's the style I like. (I'm not an Ikea freak though, just few simple things which are överexpensive everywhere else.)

*nod* And that's the style I like. (I'm not an Ikea freak though, just few simple things which are överexpensive everywhere else.)

"Överexpensive". Haha!

"Överexpensive". Haha!
I thought it was more suitable than the regular über-something... :D

I've bought bookcases from them, as they're the ONLY store in my area that sells *wooden* bookcases (other than custom shops, and I'm not spending four digits on my ever-expanding libarary!).

It's not a bad place, but I only really like about 10% of the stuff there.

And apparently, in a some stores, you don't have to follow the 1 way system. There are shortcuts listed on the storeplans or something. :eek:

And apparently, in a some stores, you don't have to follow the 1 way system. There are shortcuts listed on the storeplans or something. :eek:

Yes, the New Haven, Connecticut store has that feature.

They have "Shortcuts" in the Long Island store that are so well hidden, it is faster to go through the store.

I don't care much for the furniture, myself, but I do like all the other, smaller household items that they have. In fact, IKEA will soon build a new store right here in my town. Yay!

The furniture is only crap when the person who puts it together is crap.

That's why my IKEA furniture is good while my father cursed the store after he spent six hours making a coffe table that fell apart the next day.