And then you bring the stuff home and you realize it's inexpensive crap for college and 20 year old's.

Just keep bringing me meatball and lingonberry sauce and I'm happy.

I love it, too

I love it too--since my (long-ago) college days... Could have written every word of the OP.

I love it too. DH hates it with a passion. I hate Costco. He loves it. I am convinced that if we ever get divorced, one of those two stores will be to blame.

I feel like it needs a facelift. The store looks exactly as it did 14 years ago when I started furnishing our first place. My oldest is 11 and youngest is 6 mo and I feel like the children's department hasn't changed one bit over that decade. They need some new stuff and to change the show rooms around.

Anonymous wrote:I am the opposite. I hate their layout the way that to find something you have to walk so far through other departments hoping you will buy something you see along the way. Then it is almost impossible to find the exit. I do not find it relaxing at all,

You don’t actually. There are shortcuts. Look at the map before going in and decide on the shortcuts to take. You can get very quickly to any point. The place exhausts me as well though, but it’s more the people cause I usually go on weekends, like most everyone else. Wish had time to go there mid-week.

I’ll find an excuse to go just for the ice cream

Anonymous wrote:I am the opposite. I hate their layout the way that to find something you have to walk so far through other departments hoping you will buy something you see along the way. Then it is almost impossible to find the exit. I do not find it relaxing at all,

Me too. I find it stressful and creepy. Like being trapped in a maze.

Anonymous wrote:

YES

Anonymous wrote:The few times I go I always get annoyed at the maze layout and always notice how everything is cheap crap. They decorate the showrooms decently enough but you know if you tried doing it at home it'd look cheap and will start falling apart and get dinged quickly. All their wood furniture is cheap fake wood nowadays. It's just a prettier looking version of Walmart.

But Ikea does have solid value linens and towels and everyday home goods like glasses. And the food isn't bad.

I have some IKEA furniture that has lasted 10 years and is pristine through several moves (Hemnes line). I changed the stock hardware and it looks GREAT. I did, however, have someone who used to work at IKEA and really knew what they were doing assemble the pieces. They’re rock solid.

I thought that and then I went to the Newark ikea. They are not all created equal.

The few times I go I always get annoyed at the maze layout and always notice how everything is cheap crap. They decorate the showrooms decently enough but you know if you tried doing it at home it'd look cheap and will start falling apart and get dinged quickly. All their wood furniture is cheap fake wood nowadays. It's just a prettier looking version of Walmart.

But Ikea does have solid value linens and towels and everyday home goods like glasses. And the food isn't bad.

I love it too! I love how they set up the little rooms so you can imagine yourself living in something similar!

IKEA pioneered the concept of affordable furniture, and for that, deserves its place in the commercial history books.

Personally, I love IKEA, because as a child moving from country to country in Europe, the first thing we'd do in a new country would be to find the nearest IKEA store and replace a few items for our house. It was a familiar face in a whole new environment.

Now I bring my kids to IKEA here and they love it. They've been to a few IKEA stores in Paris with their grandparents. Slightly different food offerings, same furniture