Trip to IKEA
This past weekend, I made a quick trip (as quick as can be made to an IKEA store apparently) to the local IKEA store in Atlanta. If you have never been to an IKEA store, you need to go if you get the chance. I’m still searching for the words to describe it. I don’t think I have ever been so amazed at a furniture store. With IKEA, I don’t know if it’s magnitude of the store, the chaos of so many people frantically running around buying stuff, the integrated fast food and Swedish grocery store, the well conceived example rooms/spaces. As much as I hated the crowds, I still found myself wanting to live in a smaller inner-city dwelling filled completely with IKEA furniture. And anyone who knows me would tell you that’s so not me. But with that in mind, IKEA chose their location wisely (inside Atlanta rather than out in the suburbs).
My purchases of the day: a corner desk and a matching 3-drawer chest that extends the work surface of the desk. When they get in the 1-drawer unit (not listed on the US web-site) I may get that too or I might try to build something to match. I also snarfed down a cheap ($2.50 including tax) lunch of 2 hotdogs, Swedish potatoe chips, and a drink. I thought IKEA was quite brave (but stupid) for serving all Pepsi products inside Atlanta (home of Coca-Cola). The least they could have done is had Dr. Pepper as a choice.
I’d say my biggest challenge was figuring out how to actually make a purchase. The desk had to be requested through an associate who handed me a paper sheet to take to the register and the 3-drawer unit had to be picked up by me from their self-service warehouse. But now that I understand how it works, I’ll be less intimidated by the process the next time I go. And I won’t go on a Saturday.