The thread about Random IKEA Experiences

[Elliette]

It seemed a good idea, and actually went a bit better than I expected. I took the child with me and we just played in some of the "rooms" and I measured a few things to give myself something to think about (the answer is "maybe"), and of course saw yet another book shelf that I like but did not buy. All told, we got our of there for just under $15.00 including lunch, which I am told is a miracle of some sort, but there you go.

I will say that I love to put things together, and my power drill/screwdriver makes it all too easy to volunteer my services.

Lunch, though.... It always seems a good idea, and then I end up feeling stuffed but not so much nourished. This time I had a chicken wrap (most of) and brought home a box of lingonberry juice (and saying "lingonberry" always reminds me of The Big Lebowski). I was thinking the wrap would provide the right amount of protein/lettuce/etc. Not so much.

And your random IKEA experiences?

[joesixpack]

Oh Dear God, the Ikea experience.

I suppose that it must not be SO unbelievably horrible for most people. The last few times I went, I was with a compulsive shopper, and the experience was unbelievably stressful. Imagine the worst argument you could ever have with your spouse over money, in public, and then having her buy the crap anyway and not speaking to you the entire trip home (2 hour drive) except for her to tell you how awful you are for not letting her spend the way she thinks she should (remember now, all that crap still got bought and it's in the back of the van, so it's not like letting her spend the money shut her up, you still have to listen to her bitch about how you DIDN'T let her buy it).

Then when you get it all home she does nothing with it. Doesn't assemble it. Doesn't even have room for it. Some of it may get taken out of the box, but it never gets assembled unless YOU do it, which you will after you've tripped over it a dozen times and you realize that the hardware is getting lost because she only made a half assed effort to do anything about it and left the bits all over the house while talking on the phone. So if you don't put it together it will have been a TOTAL waste of money. Actually, it was a total waste. You'll sell it at your next garage sale for $2.

Yeah, we're getting a divorce.

After my divorce is final, I may go into an Ikea just to leave empty handed.

And yes, Lingonberries remind me of the Big Lebowski too.

Do I sound bitter?

[Elliette]

A bit. Sorry. Though I will say that it is likely that IKEA contributed to my divorce as well. No compulsive shopping, but imagine going to IKEA with someone with severe ADD who likes to wander off.... He was too big to fit into the shopping cart. I like going with the kid a lot better.

Mostly we look, we play, maybe we buy something, but not generally.

When my friend helped me move and I did buy a passel of furniture for my apartment, he was amazed that we were in and out and on the road in about a half hour flat. The thing is to know what you want, where it is, and have the cash money ready. Done, furnished, and I put it together within a couple of days.

My apartment is spiffy. So spiffy that my ex-mother-in-law found nothing about which to complain, aesthetically. She was a bit disappointed, I think.... heh.....

[holli4pirating]

I wish I had an Ikea near me. I was lucky enough to get a Jerker new in the box off Craigslist a few years back; unfortunately they have since been discontinued. It's a great desk and I love it dearly. (On a computer forum I used to spend a lot of time on, there was a whole thread where people posted pictures of their setups on Jerkers.)

[GadgetGeek]

I know many people who have been kicked out of IKEA for playing hide and seek, photo scavager hunts, social experiments etc.. so much fun. I even know a couple who go on dates there, granted, they have two kids, and are rather eccentric to begin with. I like it, but then I'm all about the DIY

[jockeys]

I have never been to an IKEA store, but I have found flatpack furniture in general (and IKEA desks in particular) to be so flimsy that they border on useless.

[joesixpack]

I have never been to an IKEA store, but I have found flatpack furniture in general (and IKEA desks in particular) to be so flimsy that they border on useless.

Ikea seems to have two grades of furniture. Flimsy and pricy. The more expensive stuff seems to be pretty solid and I've been happy with it, but they lure you into the store with the very low prices on the flimsy stuff.

They seem to have invented a type of particle board that has a very high content of air. Seriously. I think they use some sort of foamy glue so the particle board is very much lighter than you'd expect, but it's also much weaker. Progress!

[LX_Emergency]

Yup, the flimsy stuff is crap. Went through 3 beds in a matter of months. Luckily their warrantee is good though.

I like em mostly for the small things. Plates, pillows, kitchenstuff, cd racks etc. They're good value for that kind of thing.

But I dislike going there with my wife. We always end up with more stuff then I wanted. Although since my wife is cheap like me we never spend out of our budget.

[JMS]

I have been to an IKEA once. I hated it.

I like do it yourself. I never liked painting by numbers though.

[Bruno]

IKEA does have good stuff, but it's more pricey. However, it is still a lot cheaper than 'real' furniture, and it is at least pretty functional.
Usually we have a pretty good idea of what we want, and then just go in to look at it in real life and buy it.