IKEA at Atlantic Station in Atlanta, GA

It has been more than 10 years since I have been inside an IKEA. I use to visit the Potomac Mills location in Woodbridge, VA location as often as I could. The anticipation of spending a day at IKEA was heaven on earth! Just the idea of being able to see all the designs and check out all the nick knacks was better than retail therapy which for me always meant handbag and shoe shopping.

I recently had an opportunity to visit a local IKEA located in Atlantic Station in Atlanta, Georgia. As soon as I walked into the showroom, it was a feast for the eyes. The colors, the designs, the art! It was incredible! I didn't know where to start, but since I hadn't eaten all day, I thought the best place to start was with the food court area and get something to eat. I have never eaten at an IKEA, so either I was really hungry or the food was half way decent. I had a slice of pizza and soda for about $2.00....imagine that!

Once I polished off my pizza, I was ready to roam and roam I did. My first stop was the living area where I saw wonderfully decorated rooms with Italian leather sofas and sectionals. Some rooms were contemporary with dark rich mocha furniture while others were very relaxed and looked somewhat bohemian. After the living room area, I wanted to check out what delights awaited me in the kitchen areas. Again, it was delight to see all of the lovely marble and quarts counter tops in black, reds, oranges and blue. Some of the dining areas where fully decorated with French country, loft and very traditional styles. Although the kitchen and dining areas were my favorites, the decorators did a fantastic job with the bedrooms and bath areas as well.

There was one particular bedroom area that caught my eye; so much so that I wanted to pick up the entire vignette and have it delivered to my home. It was a lovely mix of French country with contemporary and the overall effect was simply chic! There was a decorated replica of a bath attached to this bedroom that was simply dreamy. There was a sunken jet tub that was surrounded with beautiful blue marble tiles and a lovely sink basin made out of glass.

The tour didn't stop there, as my next stop was the art work. There were prints that ranged from 3x5 to 6 feet tall. There was something for every taste. They had contemporary, Abstract and even traditional prints of flowers and gardens. I was almost out of steam when I finally made my way over to the kitchen area where I got my second wind as I felt like a kid in the candy store. I love to collect very unique glassware and flatware, so it was hard to pick just one thing, so I didn't. It's true that you will be tempted to shop till you drop at any IKEA, but the good news is you can find all the wonderful things that you want at very reasonable prices. I would really recommend IKEA for first time home buyers as you could reasonably furnish your entire home for between $3000.00 to $5000.00 and in this economy that's what I call a sale.

The Atlantic Station IKEA is located at 441 16^th Street, NW Atlanta, Georgia 30363. For directions, please call 404-745-4532 or visit the store from Sunday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. The restaurant hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Now the restaurant and food court areas are different. You can have an actual sit down meal at IKEAs family restaurant. The food court offers more fast food or food on the go items such as hot dogs and pizza. So the bottom line: Fabulous home choices at excellent prices. Once you go, you'll love it!