IKEA

Saturday we went to our local IKEA store- what an adventure! It was amazing and lots of fun. I have never seen anything like it, well, maybe some of the multi-floor mega stores I went to when I lived in Europe, but this was different in a lot of ways. You have to have a map to find out where everything is, and even then it can be confusing because the place is so massive.

IKEA is not just a store, it is a destination. There is a parking garage, to begin with, and a cafe where you can get a swedish meatball meal for only $4.99 (look at the tasty meatballs in the picture above!) plus other cheap meal choices. I had a buffalo chicken wrap that was pretty tasty and fresh. Our whole family ate lunch at IKEA for $10.00, which is unheard of! I did have a coupon for the kids to eat free, but even without that their meals would only have been about $5.00 total. IKEA also has a play-place for the kids. We didn't have time for that- maybe next time.

The concept of the store is to keep prices low by letting the customers find and assemble stuff on their own, shipping everything flat and using inexpensive materials. I had already shopped online and found what I wanted, and I had printed my shopping list which told me what aisle to find what I needed. We toured the "showroom" where you can see every product displayed, mostly in decorated rooms, then you proceed to the "marketplace" where you can find all the products. Then there is the big warehouse-like area where you find the pieces to the furniture you picked out. After you pay you go down to the loading area, where you pull up your car, load your own stuff, and head home for a nap.

My favorite purchase was a bed! We've had just a metal frame for the last several years, but I've been on the lookout for a pretty iron bed with a headboard and footboard. The price on this one from IKEA was too good for me to pass up- $99.99!! I guess we'll see how it holds up over the years and multiple moves, but I guess steel is better than wood. I think it is beautiful and I love how it really makes our room feel like a BEDroom. (The quilt is from Urban Outfitters. I love it too. It is so vibrant and fun.)

Our other purchases were two of these basic but fun blue end-tables for either side of the couch ($7.99 each). The green lamps ended up being the last two, and floor models so we got them at about half the regular price ($20.00 total). They are sort of funky-whimsical, and give off a mellow, glowy light. Not bad for a quick two room makeover! I enjoy finding bargains that I really like, not just settling for something because it's cheap. Most of our existing furniture is hand-me-downs or inherited, which is wonderful, but it's not always what you would pick if you could just go out and pick it. I'll post more pics of the house soon, it is still in progress. I feel like I have so many ideas for decorating that never see fruition, and I'm working on some of them now. I also feel like I've never been able to achieve my style- a kind of whimsical-bohemian- shabby-eurofleamarket-chic. Or something. So I'll keep trying.