IKEA

I had never really known much about IKEA other than that they manufacture furniture. Outside of that, I was clueless. What I have come to discover is that they are the kings of modular furniture. It is what it is, cheap – well designed furniture. I went to the IKEA store Sunday with my roommate Jen, and got to experience this Swedish sensation first hand. I was amazed by the sheer quantity of stuff they had available. There were roughly 1 million different shelving units, each coming in a variety of dimensions, and each in varying finishes. Then there were accessories, bookshelf lights, desk lights, floor lamps and ceiling mount lamps. They had an entire department for kitchen accessories. Many areas were broken up into little mini display rooms that showed rooms created with different pieces coordinated together. In the middle of it all they had a cafeteria where I ordered an open face egg and shrimp salad, and Jen was able to order Swedish meatballs. One confusing thing was that each item was labeled in English, Spanish, as well as given a Swedish product name.

All in all it was a very overwhelming experience and by the time I got home from shopping I was exhausted. Unfortunately we still had shelving and what-not to assemble. It is very smartly designed but when you are trying to get 6 pairs of pegs to align perfectly with holes predrilled on another board, THEN hold it still while you screw something else together…you stand the chance of getting very upset, and sweaty, and being already exhausted, you may be prone to take many breaks.

I’m so tired from just thinking about it that I’m going to stop typing now.