Ikea - what do you like?

[twinklebug]

I've been to Ikea three times. The first time was for exploration - cool!
Second time we were bored and bought a cheap teakettle that talks to itself all day long. The third time we discovered cheap frozen yogurt .

I must say the novelty of the place seems to have worn off, but this summer since I'll be bringing my kids near one several times (orthodontist) and they'll be asking for the frozen yogurt treat from there before heading home, I figured I'd ask what the rest of you like to shop for there.

BTW - the coolest thing I have seen there was the plastic egg chair with a tent like front. Made me wish I was 5 again They need one in adult size....

{{
kid 1: "hey, where's mom?"
kid 2: "In the chair, shhh don't bother her, she's being quiet!"
kid 1: "ohhhh" tiptoes away
}} hey - a mom can dream

 

[bbangel]

They specialize in furniture for small spaces, which is great if you live in a tiny place.
They have a great hot dog special and wonderful cinnamon buns here.

 

[TheBeadPirate]

We don't have one here but when I flew to visit my DH in Houston I took an empty suitcase and came home with- a knife magnet(to get them out of the drawers, Nylon storage cubes(sorts socks, undies, tees, shorts), a dog butt hook(for Wanna B's leash), and cd holders for our dvds for $4.

And that was after eating the swedish meatballs! yummmmm

I'm joining DH in Michigan Sunday-and have plans to go to the big mothership there. Dh has never been and wants to know what the deal is. I told him if we get our RV it'll be pulled up out front and outfitted from Ikea- decent quality for a decent price- Kinda like Walmart and Target mated and the result-Ikea!

 

[ballle_98]

They just opened an IKEA near us this year. I love the lighting. They have so many great ideas for dramatic lighting. We have a library and we love their bookcases. My DH drilled through the top shelf of the cases and installed under cabinet lighting. Sounds strange but it looks really nice. We also have their halogen spot lights directed at the cases. I used my crystal clock collection between books. The effect is very dramatic. We also have a bookcase light in the playroom and a few painting spotlights. And we have two bookcase lights in our master. I also have 2 Lack wall shelves in front of my treadmill. One is mounted just above the treadmill so I can set my laptop on it. The other one is closer to the ceiling and I have under cabinet lighting mounted to illuminate the shelf underneath. We also have 2 bookcases with doors to hold the kids craft supplies and the wall mounted star lights in the playroom. Can you tell I love their stuff? I'm sending DH to buy me a chaise lounge for our room this week.
They opened the store about two weeks before we moved to a new house so, I went a little crazy buying at IKEA!

 

[WDWHo]

I have to say NAPKINS! LOL They sell the best napkins. Cheap and nice patterns. My Ikea is about 50 minutes from me, when I go I buy about 50 packages of napkins, they last me forever...and love them!

 

[kittymarcy]

Cheap candles, really fun and cheap kitchen gadgets (my drawer is overflowing), kids art supplies, $0.99 plastic shoe trees for women's shoes, all the kids plasticware (cups, plates, bowels, utensils) -not to mention the ballpit for my 4 year old and the softserve $0.99 cones on the out. Really, there's too much to mention.

 

[poohbear158]

Everything... and that's the problem. I can spend all day in there looking at all of the neat things they have. Hubby and I were there just last weekend and I bought some bedding that was in the clearance department and I got it 1/2 off .

Love those cinnamon buns too!!!

 

[dvcnewgirl]

I loved buying a wooden bunkbed for $49.00 on clearance!! I love to go and browse now I live far away from one so I miss it!

 

[vegasnative]

The chocolate chip cookies!! Ya know it is usually down by the registers they have a small food section where they sell some Swedish imports, well their chocolate chip cookies are great!!

 

[ogreenlee]

My daughter has an Ikea bed. It's her "big girl" bed. I liked it b/c it's low to the ground and I never had to worry about her falling far if she happened to roll out of bed. It came in unfinished wood, and we painted it white.

She also has a tall bookshelf from there. We use their plastic utensils from the kid section, too.

We have a big long shelf, but haven't put it up yet.

I have two comforters from there and a set of curtains.

I have two duvets from there, too.

Good lord, now that i think of it... I have way too much stuff from Ikea. LOL

 

[ogreenlee]

Oh, and not to mention the swedish meatballs, lingonberry sauce, and cream sauce everytime I go.

 

[branv]

I love their items for organization: drawers, cabinets, bins, food canisters, etc. If I was moving into my first apartment I can imagine what a life saver their furniture would be. I also like their kids bedrooms. Very cute.

I also bought some of my wedding reception decor there. For half the tables I used flowers, but for the rest I bought from Ikea big hurricane'ish lanterns with super cheap pillar candles, as well as umpteen jillion glass votive holders. Very cheap way to create a mood

Do you know every single time I've been to an Ikea a child smashes something(s) made of glass in the kitchen area? Either they need to store those things higher up or in more secure ways.

 

[twinklebug]

Do you know every single time I've been to an Ikea a child smashes something(s) made of glass in the kitchen area? Either they need to store those things higher up or in more secure ways.

That's OK, yesterday I took DD into the Christmas Tree Shop between orthodontist & oral surgeon appts. Keep in mind she's 13 -- as we walked about she announces to me "I feel like I might break something" Not 2 minutes later she's holding a ceramic ball...

"Put DOWN the ball and step away."

She puts it down gently and as we turn and walk away I hear SMASH....... SMASH. 2 balls rolled off the table. Grrrrrrr. They were $1 a piece and I offered to pay, but the employees (one was the manager) said that it happens all the time & not to worry.

I'll wrap her in a bubble before we go into IKEA.

 

[bumbershoot]

Also, if you have little kids, JOIN the Kid's Club! We went there on DS's 3rd birthday and talked to so many people with littler ones who don't think it's worth it to join, because they think it's only about the ball pit play area.

No! We went there to pick up the FREE bike helmet they give for a 3rd birthday!!! On the 5th birthday, they give out a lifevest!

And every time you go there, you want to swipe the kid's club card and the machines spits out a ticket with a special on it; on that trip we got a kid's meal free (now a kid's meal is only 1.99, but 1.99 vs free? I'll take free!). Other trips we have gotten coupons for free frozen yogurt...nice!

So if you have kids, join the kid's club for them.

Just, um, don't expect a brand new 3 year old who has never been in a ball pit, or away from both parents more than one time, to thrive in the ball-room play area. oops.



As for what we like....when DH and I moved in together, we went to Ikea with a camera and took pictures of the "Billy" shelves in one of their living room setups. Then pretty much copied it. We have a different apartment there and so the shelves are more spread out, but we still have them. And a mattress and bed base (not a frame b/c I'm not a fan of frames). And...oh I'm sure all sorts of things. Cheapie plastic place settings for DS when he's in a too-wild-for-the-Fiestaware mood. And so on and so on. Lots of stuff.

 

[ogreenlee]

i'm gonna go join that kid's club. my kid turns four in one month.

 

[virginiamama]

I have to second the cinnamon buns. Even after they sat all day in my car in November (in Virginia) they were great. I only get to go once a year, so I stock up on the scrub brushes for washing dishes and the dishwashing gloves. I bought a set of glasses that included 4 of each of a couple of different wine glasses, and high ball glasses. I pull those out for parties and then repack them in the box they came in. It beats a plastic cup any day. I have a couple of other everyday glassware items also. I bought a down comforter there and a duvet cover. The duvets are much more reasonably priced than in other stores. The thread count isn't that great on them but my sheets are what touches my skin, not the comforter. A friend bought a children's table set that was really cute and very reasonably priced. I'm hoping to pick up some of the really cute kids chairs (Mammut) for my new house (when we have more room to actually set up a table in DSs room(s). I bet if you took a look at the catalog online it would help you visualize how their products could fit into your home. Since it is set up kindof warehouse-like, I can see how it would be hard to figure out where things might fit in (if that makes sense). DH says he can't stand the store (from seeing the catalog and the idea that some items require assembly - he's a handy guy so I don't know what he's complaining about). He's never actually been there before but I keep threatening to pull our trailer up there to load up with furniture!

 

[bumbershoot]

DH says he can't stand the store (from seeing the catalog and the idea that some items require assembly - he's a handy guy so I don't know what he's complaining about). He's never actually been there before but I keep threatening to pull our trailer up there to load up with furniture!

I'm the furniture-putter-together around here, and I tell ya, there's nothing like knowing that you have put together your furniture, and nothing more satisfying than a job well done. And if you have several things to put together, you get those feelings for each and every one!

editing to add...the furniture is pretty much put together with allen wrench (which they always include), some screws, maybe a nail (included) or 20. Simple stuff, really. And their instructions are pictures rather than words, so it doesn't matter what language you read. Pretty basic! But if you're making a special trip for it, you'll really want to check each box (open them after purchase, perhaps as you're loading them) to find the bag of nails/screws/etc. They usually give too many, but I've had one or two things missing on occasion, and it's annoying enough to find that out when you're half an hour away from the store, let alone when you're a huge trip away! They are great about replacing things like that (the "Seattle" store even has bins on the wall of that department, filled with the usual items one needs so you don't even have to stand in line), so check before you leave, if you're making a big trip.

 

[rparmfamily]

I have couches from there--the Ektorp ones (slipcovered style). I wish I had an IKEA closer! The closest one is San Diego, which is quite a hike from O'ahu!! LOL...

 

[gris gris]

. DH says he can't stand the store (from seeing the catalog and the idea that some items require assembly - he's a handy guy so I don't know what he's complaining about). He's never actually been there before but I keep threatening to pull our trailer up there to load up with furniture!

Tell your DH my 4 year old daughter has helped me put together shelves. It's not that hard! The most frustrating part is trying to put it all together with no written instructions.

We have too much stuff - DD's bed is the Hemmnes daybed, her entire bathroom is Ikea (mirror, rug, shelf, shower curtain). We have bar stools, Ektorp sofa & chair, Kilby bookcases, various shelves, art work, a TV stand and a bunch of stuff from the kid's area. If we need to buy furniture, I don't look anywhere else other than Ikea. Love it.

And I know this is weird, but I really like their white rice and I have them put the meatball gravy on it. Reminds me of the rice in the cafeteria at college

 

[dzorn]

Breakfast.

Denise in MI