When I lived in Connecticut four years ago, I never heard of IKEA. When I moved to Atlanta, I fell in love with IKEA. For a married couple living in 800 square feet of space, IKEA is a God-send. The furniture helps us turn three rooms into five. We know we won't be living in this apartment for more than a few years, but we want nice furniture that we don't have to spend a fortune on. IKEA is the perfect place for affordable, nice looking furniture. You don't feel bad giving it away after a few years of use because you really didn't spend that much on it. You get your money's worth. As stated on their website "IKEA offers a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. This is the idea at the heart of everything IKEA does, from product development and purchases to how we sell our products in IKEA stores globally."
The Atlanta IKEA is located on the edge of Atlantic Station. Walking through this brightly lit, expansive warehouse is quite an experience. It's a maize of quaint show rooms giving you examples of what you too can create in your home. Each item has a very clever name, Swedish in nature, that gives each item a special pizzazz to it. My husband and I just recently purchased two nightstands to go with our platform bed frame we purchased last month. The set is called MALM. The couch we purchased a few months back is called the EKTORP; and the bookcases we have belong to the EXPEDIT family.
"The Affordable Solutions for Better Living" concept has a catch though... you have to put whatever piece of furniture you purchase together yourself. It seems quite daunting at first. Especially when you open the 4' wide x 8' long x 1' high box weighing 25 lbs and you pull out the pieces and parts that will eventually be your 7' tall by 8' wide shelving unit. All I can advise is that before you even open the box, you must set aside a least one hour, clear out a large area on your floor, keep dogs and cats away, pour yourself a glass of wine and say a little prayer for patience. Then open the box, lay out all the pieces and parts you find, especially the hardware included in the box, take a peek through the picture-only instructions booklet - from the first to the last step - and then begin. It's actually a rather great feeling of accomplishment once you're through.
One other note of importance regarding IKEA. There's a cafeteria on the top floor where you can get 10 Swedish meatballs with gravy, potatoes, and cranberry sauce for around $3.50, and oh my, they are good! You can't get this meal anywhere else. I love it!
If you haven’t already, check out IKEA the next time you have a few hours to spare on a rainy weekend afternoon.
(My Saturday afternoon putting together our two MALM nightstands):
