So on Friday evening I called up my friend Cricket and randomly decided that we should go to the IKEA Store in Paramus, NJ. So on Saturday we met up and hit the trail. I forgot how much I hate New Jersey drivers. People not only drive about 30 MPH over the speed limit, they drive for extended periods on the shoulder, pass you on the right, and basically use a single lane as two lanes. Luckily, due to my extremely defensive driving, we had a smooth (albeit expletive-filled trip).
So we arrive at this giant blue building which looks like it's big as a mall, complete with its own underground parking facility. We find a spot and we're off. I'm surprised by how many people are there at 4 PM on a Saturday. Inside there are tons of people, families, and little kids milling around. A lot are moving toward some sort of kiddie play place (or prison for the children while the parents browse housewares). There's even a Chuck-E-Cheese-esque ball pit! We decide to start on the 2nd floor so we take the escalator up and start browsing.
Basically the store is a winding showcase of rooms all furnished with IKEA products. Every item has a tag attached to it detailing the name, color, and price. Pretty much everything is for sale, except for some pieces of artwork. But yes, you can buy prints in the store too. Everything looks so nice when it's arranged by professionals in a little vignette of a room and it's tempting to buy everything. In general, IKEA stuff is very affordable and for a few reasons:
1. Cheap materials - particleboard for instance
2. Self-assembly
3. Mass-production
Now for most people, particleboard is fine. It probably won't standup to you taking it apart, but as long as you don't jump on your coffee table you'll probably be fine. The self-assembly part could be a pain, but I'm one of those weirdos who LOVES to assemble things. In fact when I was younger whenever my parents bought anything which required assembly I'd race to open up the package and put it together.
One funny thing is that until recently I never knew that IKEA was known as a manufacturer of cheap stuff. I always thought it just looked very classy and stylish.
I just found out that my parents house had an IKEA coffee table, desk and dresser. All 3 pieces still remain fully functional today even though they were purchased over a decade ago.
Oh yeah, IKEA also has a restaurant in it! The food is cheap too! Unfortunately there were huge lines so I passed on the Swedish meatball platter.
So what did I buy? Quite a lot actually. Here's the list.
Coffee table
Side table (2)
Dining table
Chair (4)
Chair cushion (4)
Wisk (2)
Floor lamp (2)
Table lamp (2)
A few complaints about IKEA:
- I was missing a screw in one of my floor lamps
- Directions for the table lamp were blatantly incorrect, they required me to pull the light base through the bottom of the lamp when it was clearly impossible due to the base being a larger diameter than the hole
- The dining table had a little chip come off its surface
- Pilot holes weren't always lined up very well
- There's a little crack in the base of my coffee table
However, overall you can't beat the value and style of IKEA. All that stuff cost under $500 including tax. Chances are you can't buy a dining table in a traditional furniture store for under $500.
Thanks Ingvar Kamprad!
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3 comments:
Damn, that's a lot of furniture, man. I like to keep my hex wrench in a holster. Cowboy style.
Topical song reference: http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/rob_paravonian_lyrics_33495/other_lyrics_64396/particle_board_lyrics_637132.html
F. That link didn't work. Anyway, some dude named Rob Paravonian wrote a song called Particle Board. The Google can help you find it if you give a crap.
The link did work. I'll have to see if I can actually find a clip of that song. I have a HUGE blister on my thumb now from 6 hours of continuous furniture assembly. In retrospect, using an electric drill instead of a screwdriver probably would have been smart.
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