IKEA: Affordable Home Furnishings

IKEA. Most Midwestern Americans have never heard of it. That's because with over thirty stores nationwide more than 2/3 of them lie on coastline states. For those persons who haven't yet gotten an opportunity to shop this home decor superstore, I'd be inclined to say that it is well worth the trek.

This past Saturday morning I decided to take the IKEA plunge and shop for my new apartment in their Minnesota, Twin Cities location. Upon arrival, IKEA seemingly looked the size of a standing independent mall in its own. Finding a parking spot wasn't too bad; they had additional parking across a small inlet street for those who were unfortunate enough to not find a parking spot closer to a door.

As the doors to the home decor paradise opened I walked toward the escalator passing the free daycare center; I sighed with relief knowing that I wouldn't have the 2nd hand irritation of crying babies, or screaming kids. Ascending on the escalator, I entered what seemed to be a beautiful, fully furnished, fully decorated living room. This IKEA has "3 complete model homes, 47 detailed rooms, and 10,000 furnishings."

At first I didn't understand how the shopping worked...I was baffled. So a friendly worked explained to me that the 2nd level was the showroom and the first, the marketplace. She also explained to me that they have strategically placed brochures and pencils next to all their displays. This is so if I like something I can write down, the product name, the quantity, and where it is aisle number, and bin number located downstairs in their marketplace/warehouse. They also provide meter-long paper tape measures that depict inches and centimeters.

After leaving their huge showroom, I walked downstairs to the "marketplace." They had lamps, bulbs, stemware, plants, vases, etc. Anything and everything anybody could ever want. Where I got excited was when I looked at the tags! They had awesome, not good, or mediocre; awesome prices.

I ended up buying two beautiful table lamps at $5.99 each, two black end tables at $12.99 each, and a beautiful new coffee table for $129. I basically stole these items, they were so inexpensive! Needless to say, a little money goes a long way at IKEA.

Leaving IKEA was also fabulous; they had a food court where they offered inexpensive meals, and chocolate chip cookies. The workers were great, a friendly worker offered to help me load my SUV. In addition to providing my car with free cardboard racks and loading, the friendly worker outlined that IKEA offers a 45 day return policy that offers a full refund with reciept. He
also told me, "no worries," If I pass 45 days, or lose my reciept, I can always recieve store credit.

IKEA was a wonderful experience all around, and I would definately reccommend it to anybody. Whether you're a college student, corporate professional, or shopping for a cheap vacation home, IKEA is a definate hit! It's no wonder that IKEA is a number 1 seller on eBay; the proof is in the pudding!

(All information and pictures gathered from IKEA.COM)