Confessions of an Ikea virgin!

I don’t own a Billy bookcase, whatever that is, or anything else from IKEA but I have visited the shop on the Algarve for lunch!

When I am going for something specific rather than ideas, I simply enter via the exit and head straight for the rack required. Works well for me.

This is the reason I have never set foot in Ikea having been warned in advance.

I’m an IKEA fan but usually follow the fast trak signs to get to the Marketplace area, where I stock on bits and pieces (that I don’t really need) and then head for the unscented candles and buy a year’s stock. The furniture area is usually full of families out for a stroll.

I love IKEA but yes, being forced round the showrooms is a pain. Of course they're hoping you'll impulse buy something or other.

When I lived in Spain it was possible to walk through the exits and cut through to the places where you actually bought stuff. I assumed that was the case in all IKEA stores, but not so; I found myself having to scramble up a down travelator in Bristol. I did get my Variera boxes though!

Just love a visit to Ikea - now! Its taken me quite a time though to get to this stage and to be able to say this......the products I have always liked, but it was the confused state I would get into when I went to the store to look for something I wanted to buy....and once I had seen it on display the challenge was to find it in the warehouse and get it through the cash out and loaded into my car.

But - through practise - I’ve conquered my confusion and am now very comfortable zipping in and zipping out of the parking lot and into the store and at other times meandering around and taking my time to discover new products they have on display. It all depends on how much time I have to shop.

In fact I made a quick IKEA run just yesterday .....needed some salmon, a lightweight duvet, and a shoe rack..... and also enjoyed a light lunch in the restaurant too. But one good tip I would pass on.....Mondays are good days to go to Ikea ....rarely over crowded!

DIL couldn’t wait for one to open in Sheffield just over a year ago. I’m sure she goes in every week. DH and I have been twice and got lost each time. He prides himself on his sense of direction so told me to ignore the arrows and he would find what we were looking for although it took an awful long time. But I do think they have some great stuff and at very good prices so we will eventually manage to find our way around!

No no no no no!

Our days of flat pack ended 20 years ago when dh threw a hammer across the room in frustration.

We now only order assembled furniture from the oak place or have it installed.

Ikea is for penniless youngsters who have patience.

When we lived in East Anglia it was a long way to any Ikea store so I had only visited two stores with my DD. Now we live 75 minutes down the motorway to the one in Loures Lisbon. My friend and I used to have a day out there. We would arrive about 9.30am and have a coffee and pastel de nata before heading round the upper floor. The route ended up at the cafeteria again so we would have a leisurely lunch before going round the ground floor and paying for our purchases. After putting our purchases in the car it was back to the groundfloir cafe for a drink before heading home. Unfortunately my friend now looks after her DGGD and I can't walk far with my back problems.
If you are planning on having an Ikea fitted kitchen or the fitted bedroom units I would advise you to use the Ikea fitters because they know what they are doing, make a very good job of it and take away all the packaging when they leave. Whenever I visit I want to throw away my existing furnituure and furnishings but then I realise that it wouldnt look so good in my house because the windows and doors are in different places compared to the room setting .

Mycat I am not quite penniless, nor a youngster and am definitely NOT known for my patience, far from it in fact.

Having helped Mr P assemble flat pack stuff from Argos in the past, I can honestly say that Ikea products are in a different league, both for their quality and the clarity of the instructions.

pastel de nata
Do the British Ikeas have those?

They sell them in Lidl, in the fresh bakery section!

Oh good, we do have a Lidl but Ikea is a step too far

I am in awe of your organisational preparation and I applaud your kit building skills.

I have DD2 and DGD for kit building, they are much better at the assembly malarkey than I am and they don't get flustered or cuss.

I had a very lucky escape when I took OH to Ikea for the one and only time.

Unlike your good self I did not gather all the useful information before hand so not a good start. I did make sure the visit was a mid week, at least that was a good move.

Once inside we were both overwhelmed and spent way too long in all the wrong places - this seems to be fairly normal :-)

We did then have to retreat to the Cafe, thankfully this was a big hit whit OH, I took that as a small win.

Once we did find the right areas things were looking up. OH was merrily putting "Really Useful Things" into the bag - wish I'd taken a trolly. So far so good - until he saw the queue for the check outs - "I've had enough and my back in hurting, I'll wait in the car" said he.

I of course did the self check out - humm - not my best idea. Eventually I got to the car OH is asleep (post lunch nap) once I'd loaded the haul into the boot we were on our way home, a nice easy journey thank goodness.

After I'd unpacked and we were having a brew OH said "well that was a good use of a cold and rainy day, I'd go there again". DD's laughed when I told them he'd said that :-)

We have yet to go again but I live in hope.

However, next time I will be better prepared with a list, a store guide and I'll make sure it's a rainy day, mid week, over lunch time then I might be able to pull if off again.

May I wish anyone who is venturing into the isles of Ikea a happy expedition and a safe return.

Lovely story, allsorts!

We must have been very lucky, because even though it was a Sunday, we sailed through the checkout with no queuing or delay at all.

Took me 3 visits before I discovered the way to go straight in to the collection stacks. Looking up availability online and then going straight to collect it made life much easier. Confess on my own I might be tempted to wander and pick, but OH likes to shop fast!

Thanks phoenix. I loved your story too, I'm glad you survived to tell the tale :-) It was lovely to read something light hearted and fun as there is so much sadness and difficulties around so thank you for posting.

Willow500 I think your Dad had it right, bless him. I used to go to the Leeds store so I can picture the lift situation. We use Sheffield as it's so much easier now.

I understand there is an Ikea in New Zealand now too, when DD1 lived in NZ the nearest one was in Australia. There's a business spreading the joy lol or is it confusion

Happy shopping, browsing, getting lost etc

We both love Ikea and now that one has opened relatively near to us, we go more frequently than we used to. We sometimes take a freezer bag and ice blocks so we can buy some of the frozen meatballs and potato rosti and get them home before they defrost. If we're in the area for any other reason, we nearly always find ourselves in there for a coffee and cinnamon bun before going home!

Like others, if we know exactly what we want we go through the exit, past the tills, and straight to the items. Much better than trawling all round the store for hours trying to find a way down to the checkouts.

Well, my trip to the kitchen designer @ IKEA was impressive! A 2 hour consultation with a kitchen designer who slowly built up the kitchen in a huge 3D scale that helped you to see what was possible. She helped me to choose extractor fans, fridge freezer, oven, hob, taps, worktops and lighting options and all kinds of hidden storage solutions. Included a home visit to micro measure before final order is placed, removal of old kitchen, fitting the new one and all electrical work undertaken. The price was very modest, compared to other quotes I've had.

IKEA has been a revelation today!

So glad it went well Chewbacca! Part of me wishes we were in the market for a new kitchen, but see other thread!

Glad you were pleased with the service Chewbacca, a new kitchen woo hoo.
As well as Aldi, our local Coop sell pastel de nata too.

We took our 3 year old Grandson with us once. Big mistake, I think he thought it was an indoor play ground.
We were exhausted.

I'm another who researches the location and uses the exit to gain entry straight to the warehouse.
All those crowds in the shop are too much.

I like IKEA but haven't been for ages.
The thought of getting locked in overnight is actually quite appealing but I must add that I'd prefer this to happen at a large M&S!

Our nearest Ikea is in Kiel, which is 100 km drive and we don't have a car.

Order online and have things sent.

Far less tiring than wandering around Ikea.