MetaChat - I lost my cherry today!

I've never been to an IKEA before, and was delighted when one opened (amid scenes of incredible chaos) about 30 minutes from where I live last year.

But because of the crowds, and because I wasn't quite sure how to get to it and didn't want to end up in some godforsaken part of North London (sorry, dodgygeezer!), I didn't go.

A few weeks ago I took a friend to Costco for the first time and on the way home she showed me where IKEA is.

So today I made the trip. It was both awesome and sucky in equal measure. I hate it that you can't just go to the department you want because it makes you walk round the whole place. But I loved (some of) the furniture, I saw 'my bedroom' that I will one day have, I had a decent lunch for not much money and I bought two chopping boards for £1.39, and four cushions (for the cats beds) for 69p (about a dollar) each.

I could not work out how you buy big things like furniture. It all seemed a bit daunting.

But I will probably go again.

posted by essexjan 13 October | 10:50

Yay IKEA! I went for the first time in August, and I'm going again in a week. Can't wait!!!!

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 13 October | 10:57

the last time we were in dc we stopped by the one in college park, md, for the express purpose of stocking up on singoalla raspberry cookies. :)

posted by syntax 13 October | 11:04

Also, it made me sad, a little bit, because it was all couples and families, people planning their homes and lives together. I really don't want to feel sad any more and most of the time I'm not, but then it blindsides me.

posted by essexjan 13 October | 11:27

I hate IKEA. It makes me want to kill.

That said, our apartment looks like an IKEA showroom. Lives were lost though, my bunnies, lives were lost.

posted by gaspode 13 October | 11:29

Also, it made me sad, a little bit, because it was all couples and families, people planning their homes and lives together.

I'm an Ikea junkie myself, to the extent that I even dragged pups and specklet in there en route to the April Seattle meetup. I have noticed this too. I'm always aware of the optomism of the young couples I see strolling around the store. Ironically, I've been on numerous trips up there with both my parents since their divorce three years ago, to help them furnish their respective homes.

posted by pieisexactlythree 13 October | 11:31

Specklet and Mudpuppie at the Seattle Ikea:
≡ Click to see image ≡

posted by pieisexactlythree 13 October | 11:33

Yeah, Ikea is the bestest. I can't believe you've never been!

Also, it made me sad, a little bit, because it was all couples and families, people planning their homes and lives together. I really don't want to feel sad any more and most of the time I'm not, but then it blindsides me.

I totally know what you mean ej. It can be overwhelming, especially when you go late at night.

posted by flopsy 13 October | 11:51

And North London could totally have Essex.

posted by flopsy 13 October | 11:54

I went to Ikea for my first and so far only time five years ago. I expected to love it. I really disliked it. Everything looked cheap and trendy. And I thought, five years from now, it's going to look cheap and dated.

But then my tastes are classic, not modern. I find the modern esthetic so lacking in visual interest. Pleasingly simple as it can be, it doesn't hold the eye. And modern and classic stuff do not mix well together.

My father is a woodworker (it's his passion and he's a total prima donna about it though in every other aspect he's the most easygoing man in the world) and it's not safe to even mention the word IKEA to him. He went once, and went on and on about how their products looked like a bunch of packing crates nailed together.

posted by Orange Swan 13 October | 12:15

I love IKEA. It's more than shopping, it's a day trip. The aroma of cinnamon buns! The people-watching! The way folks temporarily 'move in' to the room set-ups, lounging about on couches and around tables, pulling drawers and peering under beds! The 'Marketplace!' The As Is section! The finds!

The one in Elizabeth, NJ, is doubly interesting because of the profound diversity of the shoppers. I understand there's an IKEA bus that will even take Manhattanites down for some browsing.

posted by Miko 13 October | 12:41

Also, it made me sad, a little bit, because it was all couples and families, people planning their homes and lives together.

That's why I hate doing any kind of shopping for most things - far too many couples. Supermarkets are full of couples and families (it seems to me, anyway), and as for work, all my friends are all coupled-up. I survived my first, and please God, last, Ikea trip earlier this year - I went to the one at Lakeside with a female friend, so I guess we looked like a couple. One day, I hope to be part of one.

posted by TheDonF 13 October | 12:44

An Ikea or a couple?

posted by LunaticFringe 13 October | 12:53

I love Ikea; I wish there was one near me but alas, the closest Ikea is like 500 miles away. I furnished my first house with Ikea and I still have some of that furniture, like my dining room table, which I will always love. Ikea's like anywhere else: you get what you pay for. Sure, they have cheap particle board shit that will fall apart, but they also have some really nice, well made, long lasting stuff.

posted by mygothlaundry 13 October | 12:59

An Ikea or a couple?

LOL, a couple. A tried getting surgery to turn me into an Ikea sign, but my head wouldn't squish into either an I or an A, so I'm left with permanently blue-and-yellow stained skin. That, and I light up when it's dusk.

posted by TheDonF 13 October | 13:06

That must suck for sleeping but would be good because you wouldn't have to pay for lights on at night!

posted by LunaticFringe 13 October | 13:10

I love modern and classic together. To me nothing but classic looks stuffy and unimaginative, and nothing but modern looks uninviting and studied, but a mix is eclectic heaven.

I like Ikea - it's fun furniture that doesn't take itself seriously. It's a godsend for people with kids - cheap furniture that while not in it for the long haul, looks cute and is made well-enough to last until your kids get sick of it. I like how the furniture is so accesible there - everything looks so ripe with promise, like if you take it home it will somehow change your life. I used to be a snob about Ikea, until I realized that I was full of shit and needed to get over myself.

TheDonF, do you have adequate parking? That's the one thing about my Ikea that really frosts my ass - they never have enough parking!

posted by iconomy 13 October | 13:14

That must suck for sleeping but would be good because you wouldn't have to pay for lights on at night!

Insert joke about planes crashing into house because of leaving the landing lights on.

do you have adequate parking?

I have a heart as big as a whale that was going to be used as parking space. Mostly it's under-used (and confused). Woe is me, etc

posted by TheDonF 13 October | 13:29

My father...went once, and went on and on about how their products looked like a bunch of packing crates nailed together.

That's the whole charm. It's furniture for young couples starting a journey together. Antique sideboards don't really fit into that.

posted by flopsy 13 October | 13:36

That's the whole charm.

Part of what's appealing about the trendiness/impermanence of the products is that they don't insist to become heirlooms. There's an airiness to the promise of fitting out your apartment a certain way now, and then doing it completely differently next time you move, without spending a fortune. The philosophy is one of freshness and ability to change. That's also evident in the way they depict some of the sofas or bookcases: they'll show a room with black Billy bookcases done all grey-black-white and modern, next to one done all natural-red-walnut-brown and classic. This one piece could go either way, and so could you.

posted by Miko 13 October | 14:27

≡ Click to see image ≡

posted by pieisexactlythree 13 October | 14:52

What's in the big yellow bag? Whadidya get?

The soft closing drawers (it's like magic) are all shades of awesome. Though you can't slam them shut anymore, which is a shame, because they a great way to communicate.

posted by flopsy 13 October | 15:12

I agree with everyone who's said that a lot of the furniture looks cheap. I looked at some desks (my desk is too small) and they really weren't very nice at all. I'd be better off with a second-hand pine table from a charity shop.

The bedroom I loved was an iron bed and a wall of mirrored wardrobes. It was the dark crimson and gold fabrics and the chandelier that made it so beautiful.

My bedroom is pale yellow, white and lilac with pine furniture. I want something more 'boudoir-y'.

posted by essexjan 13 October | 15:19

Stop posting pictures of me!

posted by mudpuppie 13 October | 15:21

The bedroom I loved was an iron bed and a wall of mirrored wardrobes.
Ha! I have that bed, EJ!

posted by pieisexactlythree 13 October | 15:24

Didn't tangerine just buy that bed?

posted by Miko 13 October | 16:03

I wuv IKEA. I can't wait 'til our first shopping trip there after the house closes!

posted by deborah 13 October | 16:28

Shopping at IKEA as part of a couple is indeed very intoxicating. Me and the ex fell in love with this coffee table that we paid for together... but that he also ended up with custody of when I moved out because he picked it out first. I ended up with a flimsy futon they had on clearance but that he bought off of me because there wasn't room for it in my new place.

The beauty of my current relationship is that he's already got his own furniture, so if I decide to get a little hausfrau and buy him stuff for his place, it's small stuff like this 99 cent spatula rather than something big like a breakfast bar.

posted by TrishaLynn 13 October | 22:44

essexjan, there was a really interesting study done a few years ago about IKEA. This group began to look for single men at IKEA and asked them what their relationship status was and found out that a ridiculous % of the single men at IKEA were guys going through a divorce or broke up with someone they were living with. It was a fascinating story and at the end, to add some levity, one of the women who did the study said "And I'm now single for the first time in years and considering trying to pick up guys at IKEA." Not that I suggest it, but it makes you think

posted by Cinnamon 15 October | 00:40

I love Ikea and the closest one to us also has woefully inadequate parking - so bad that you have to prowl the car park following behind people walking back to their cars so you can pounce on their spot.

BUT, they are almost finished building a new Ikea a bit closer to us and it must be the absolute biggest fucking shop I have ever seen. I bet you can see it from the moon. We can't wait for it to open.

The best part about Ikea is the ballroom, where you can dump your kids for an hour for free. It's worth going just for that.

posted by dg 15 October | 17:08

13 October 2006