Sweden's 2nd greatest export (Ikea)

Member Name: poddle911

Product:	Ikea
Date:	16/02/09 (462 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good value, wide range of products and inspiration

Disadvantages: The experience can be quite traumatic

Like most people, I have a love/hate relationship with Ikea; I appreciate the range of good value products, but I don't want my flat to resemble an Ikea showroom.

There are 16 stores in the UK, with another 2 due to open in 2009. My nearest store is Croydon, which is an hour away, so each trip is carefully planned to avoid crowds, traffic, rush hour, children etc except yesterday when we spontaneously decided to go at 1pm. Big mistake? Surprisingly not.

The opening hours (at Croydon) are:
Mon-Fri 10am-midnight
Saturday 9am-11pm
Sunday 11am-5pm
Bank holidays 10am-10pm

I've ventured to Ikea a couple of times after work and ended up queueing with hundreds of other miserable people at midnight so I always assumed that the Ikea experience took at least 5 hours. I was happily wrong, as we arrived shortly before 2pm and were out just after 4pm and home in time to cook a well-deserved dinner.

The CAR PARK is fairly huge and we managed to find a space straightaway. They have a system of loading bays just outside the store so you leave someone with the trolley, go and get your car and you can load up easily without pushing your wonky, overloaded trolley across the car park in the pouring rain. You'll notice that this plan is flawed if you go on your own, but who goes to Ikea alone? In fact, I've been on a Friday night and seen people on dates there - honestly... table for two, cheap food, bottle of wine, huge bag of tea lights - what more could you want?!

The appeal of Ikea for me is that you can buy cheap but durable furniture which is great for furnishing a first house or student accommodation. The LACK side tables (£8) and the FLARKE bookcases (£12) are a staple part of many homes. For me, the idea that I can gradually replace these things over time knowing that I haven't forked out a lot is perfect.

However, there is a lot more to Ikea than a cheap double bed. There are some really lovely (and expensive) products, especially sofas, kitchens and wardrobe combinations, which I would love to furnish my house with. Each range has a Swedish name which is distinctive and easy to remember if you want to buy an additional BILLY bookcase or MALM chest of drawers. These basic ranges are stocked year in, year out.

In addition, Ikea bring out more products each season; some are variations on a theme, some are totally new. There are 775 new products in the 2009 catalogue. The showroom is laid out to display all the products in various size rooms, layouts, styles and budgets so you can wander around and pick out the bits you like.

The SHOPPING bit.
As you walk around, you have to make note of where the product is stored. The larger bits, including the flat pack furniture will be in the market hall and labelled with the aisle and location. If you need help, there are service points and (mainly) helpful staff on hand. Everything else is on display in the Oasis; from fabrics to pictures and plates to plants. Once you've collected all the bits, you proceed to checkout. The queues can be a nightmare, but there are generally lots of staff on duty. They don't give away free carrier bags, but you can buy one of those huge blue bags for 30p. There is also a 70p charge if you're paying by Visa or Mastercard. If you can't fit all your purchases in your car, there is a delivery service available, but it's not cheap.

I challenge anyone to go to Ikea and not come out with armfuls of tealights, kitchen implements and lampshades that you didn't intend to buy. I'd say that I only plan to buy 80% of what I come out with, such is the lure of the bright colours, the bargains and all those things I didn't even know I needed! If you're on a budget, I'd definitely recommend looking at the catalogue and planning what you're going to buy before you go. I always thought that Ikea furniture was such good value because people inevitably spend more on the extras on their way around the store.

There's no doubt that Ikea can be great value and it has a lot to offer, including kitchen/office planning stations instore (and 3D planner online), a supervised playroom, great ideas and a customer ordering and delivery service.

I will definitely shop there again, even though they offer online shopping on their website. It's worth it to see how big things are, to try out beds and sofas, get some inspiration and pick up some quirky items for the house. Also, Ikea beds and duvets are a very strange size!

And, in case you were wondering, surely Abba are Sweden's greatest export?

Summary: Some fantastic products for fantastic prices and a lot more besides