Calling all Ikea experts! (or Ikea beginners...)

[helloirishkitty]

My best friend and I are heading down to the Ikea in Pittsburgh on Thursday (We live in Buffalo, NY). It's the second closest one to us, the closest being the one in Burlington, Ontario, but with the exchange rate the way it is, Pittsburgh is more cost effective.

Anyways, what's not to miss? Does the one in Pittsburgh have an eatery? Can we really spend the whole day there?

We're in the market for a rug, a shelving unit, and whatever else we can fit in my truck

I'm about going!

 

[famofsix]

Check the weight limit for your vehical before going. I could only put one billy bookcase on my van top (I wanted two) plus the shelving with plastic bins in the trunk.

We went to burlington last time and we said the next time we are going to Pittsburg as well since the dollar dropped so much

 

[mirthmaiden]

What's not to miss? Pretty much everything. If you're just going to browse, plan to spend a lot of time.

Have fun!!

 

[aprilgail2]

A whole day??? Not even close.... The have a cafeteria there but it is no big deal. The furniture is dorm room quality- I don't get why people rave about the place. The place on the bottom floor where they sell the household goods is nice, but the furniture-

 

[mirthmaiden]

The furniture is dorm room quality- I don't get why people rave about the place.

I'm just cheap and easy to please.

 

[Cindy B]

I wouldn't say a whole day-- maybe 2 hours tops.

 

[famofsix]

My best friend and I are heading down to the Ikea in Pittsburgh on Thursday (We live in Buffalo, NY). It's the second closest one to us, the closest being the one in Burlington, Ontario, but with the exchange rate the way it is, Pittsburgh is more cost effective.

Anyways, what's not to miss? Does the one in Pittsburgh have an eatery? Can we really spend the whole day there?

We're in the market for a rug, a shelving unit, and whatever else we can fit in my truck

I'm about going!

IKEA is a great place and I love the trendy stuff they have. If someone responds from the area I suggest eating out elsewhere and think about what you want to buy and then buy your stuff at the end of the trip.

 

[Barb D]

The furniture is dorm room quality- I don't get why people rave about the place. The place on the bottom floor where they sell the household goods is nice, but the furniture-

Well call my house a dorm room, then, because lots of my furniture is from Ikea. Sure, I'd love Ethan Allen but I don't have that kind of budget.

I have tons of Ikea bookcases, a desk, my coffee table, wardrobes...

You could spend a lot more than a couple of hours, depending on whether you want to browse or if you know specifically what you're looking for.

I really like their Swedish meatballs in the cafeteria.

 

[PrincessPatty]

Pittsburgher here Im not sure you can spend the entire day in Ikea, so be sure to check out the Robinson area..the mall is awesome and plenty of other shops to check out!!

Bravo has deeeelicious food!!

 

[TXTurtles]

I IKEA! I've lived in four places in the past four years so their mix-n-match modular furniture is exactly what I've needed. And I've been really impressed with the construction - even after getting taken apart, moved, and put back together several times everything still looks new. So there's my endorsement.

As for how long - much as I love IKEA I really can only spend 4 hours there, at the most. But then I've been there before so the novelty's not the same. Just a warning - you will find SO MANY things you just HAVE to have down in the Marketplace (bottom level). They've got so much great stuff and such good prices ... it's easy to go a little crazy.

Unless your IKEA's a mutant, it'll have a little cafeteria. I've been known to stop in at IKEA just to eat there. They've got some good stuff. I love their grand lax platter and their meatballs are wonderful. The salads have always been good as well. Sandwiches? Not so much. Definitely try their lingonberry juice at the soda fountain. Kinda like very sweet cranberry juice. Very, very good. Have such a great time!

 

[bunnyscootles]

The first time I went to Ikea we spend 3 hours looking around. We browsed the entire store, stopped to sit on things, try other things out. Took our time.
I really love the kitchen stuff, it's cheap and decent quality. Curtains are another thing there that are really cheap, there's a white set for $15 that they sell!
If your there all day, I'd go somewhere else to eat (but grab cinnamon rolls for the way home!) the cafeteria is always crowded and the food, eh it's ok.

 

[bavaria]

DAIM chocolate bars

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I usually spend about 3 hrs in IKEA.

I'm pleased with everything I've bought including kids' desks, bookcases and a sofa and loveseat for our family room which have held up really well despite heavy use.

I bought some hand embroidered pillows there recently which I absolutely love.

It's kind of fun to get new stuff after a while - and at IKEA it doesn't have to break the bank.

Make sure you pick up some warm cinnamon buns on the way out.

 

[minnie56]

IKEA
SWEDISH FOR PARTICLE BOARD

Good Meatballs..that's about it!

 

[juligrl]

A whole day??? Not even close.... The have a cafeteria there but it is no big deal. The furniture is dorm room quality- I don't get why people rave about the place. The place on the bottom floor where they sell the household goods is nice, but the furniture-

I guess I'm nuts then cause I love the place!

If you're planning on buying anything, make sure you have a vehicle big enough to get everything home in. Take this as a warning though - everytime I've bought stuff there (I have 4 rooms full of Ikea furniture - dining room, study and both kid's bedrooms) it's always taken me 2 trips per purchase - one to get the stuff and one to go back and get missing parts or forgotten boxes. Fortunately I'm only about 45 minutes from the Pittsburgh store so it's not that huge of a trip for me. Make sure you get all the boxes to an item so that you'll have all the pieces to assemble it!

We always hit the upstairs first to check out the displays, split a lunch of sweedish meatballs in their upstairs cafe, then go back through marking down what we want. Then we head downstairs to locate the stuff we're getting (check the boxes to make sure you have 1 of 2 & 2 of 2 in the right color), purchase our stuff and load the car. Then we head back in to just the downstairs accessories stuff and shop that area and stop in the downstairs food area and each get a cinnamon bun. Two hours usually does it for us depending on how quickly we're moving.

Don't pig out at the cafe - save room and head down the street to Quaker Steak & Lube for the best wings in the world. Also if you're interested, check out the Mall at Robinson since it's right there.

 

[helloirishkitty]

Don't pig out at the cafe - save room and head down the street to Quaker Steak & Lube for the best wings in the world.

I think I have that covered being from Buffalo, but we'll head over there. It sounds really good

Thanks for the advice guys! I'm really excited... after spending WAY to much money on wall to wall carpet and new furniture (sofa, loveseat, end tables, coffee table, kitchen table), I've decided that I'm cheap and easy to please when it comes rest of the house

 

[Pea-n-Me]

IKEA
SWEDISH FOR PARTICLE BOARD

I'm really excited... after spending WAY to much money on wall to wall carpet and new furniture (sofa, loveseat, end tables, coffee table, kitchen table), I've decided that I'm cheap and easy to please when it comes rest of the house

Have fun! Will expect a trip report when you get back.

 

[georgina]

My kids are always commenting on the amount of things we have from IKEA - our family room bookcases, TV stand, computer desk, coffee tables, kids' beds, desks, dressers, kitchen glasses, bowls, lamps, rugs, picture frames, the list is endless. They have cheap batteries too!

 

[Disney Ontario]

HI From Ontario. I also LOVE Ikea, both DD15 and Dd19 have thier beds and dressers, ect,ect. Last time we went, we checked out the clearance part first and found what we were going for really cheap. Our girls didn't care about a scratch here or there. I am heading to the one in Burlington in a couple of weeks with a couple of girl friends, One of them has never being to one.

 

[Diznygrl]

I really like Ikea. Sure, the furniture isn't top quality (something my dad likes to remind me of constantly ), but it's great for people who can't buy all their stuff at Ethan Allen. What I like about their furniture is the brilliant space saving designs, which is something MUCH needed in this house. Plus I think it's just a fun store to hang out in.

I love the meatballs and lingonberry juice!