The State of....IKEA

So it has been far too long since I have updated this blog.  Once upon a time I tried to do it daily.  But without further ado or gilding of the lilies...

My parents have been visiting for the past couple days.  It has been enjoyable to take a couple of days off in a row (something I don't usually do, even during the slowness of winter) and spend them mostly away from work.  We did run into the Creation Museum once today--but that was because my mom wanted to get something at the bookstore before they headed home.

Yesterday we headed up to IKEA.  My wife had never been there before, and my parents hadn't been in a while (there are several in California, but the closest one to Tennessee is in Atlanta.  I'd been to this location before with some friends, but it had been several years.  For the heck of it I took a picture of where we had parked, just to post on Facebook.  The parking lot wasn't that big, but it was fun to do--something that might actually be useful if you were parking at Disneyland or King's Island (or even Dollywood, where the parking lots just stretch on and on).

You certainly can't miss the entrance, but as Amy discovered (though we had fun going through the showroom--she thought it would never end) it is a big place.  I think it was early afternoon when we arrived, and dinner time by the time we departed.

Walk up the moving staircase to enter a wonderful new land of rooms and furniture that you never knew you needed.

But which way do we go?

I think my wife could use a couple drawers full of shoe-holders like these...at least I think that two would be enough, ;-).

The eProp devices were quite clever--I liked how their logos were quite similar to real ones, but didn't quite look to be copyright infringing.  Some though were a bit dated...notice the type of drive in the CPU on the far right.

I really enjoyed this piece of artwork.  I wouldn't mind decorating with photographs like this.

My mom and my wife both quite enjoyed looking at the kitchen catalogs.  Now I have to admit that I quite enjoyed myself too--but it was fun to take pictures of them (even if my mom did try to get me to put away the camera).  I wouldn't mind redecorating like some of the setups we saw. I did find the small spaces filled with many clever uses of space to maximize arrangements.

I like our gas range...but there were some that appeared a bit futuristic (yes, I'm sure this says I'm behind the times on kitchen technology), like these stove controls to the left.  I assume that they were similar to touch screen controls, but since they weren't active I don't know how much pressure had to be applied to operate them.  I don't think that I took a picture, but there was another stove that had a cool looking panel.



This was one layout that quite efficiently used a small space.  I like how the couch and table create a faux wall between the living room and dining area/kitchen.

Of course the ceiling was unfinished--so it reminded me of a bit place like Costco, which was the first store that I remember looking up at the ceiling and realizing that it looked like a warehouse.  When did large stores start adopting this ceiling design?

I even found some books while we were browsing--but though I recognized one (a fantasy book whose author I'm quite familiar with), I couldn't read any of them...

These tables didn't look too useful at that angle.

I've never seen a pan this size before--but I suppose that it could be useful--for large omelets perhaps?

I've also never seen so many tags on such a small animal!  I hope this moose didn't simply ingest too much paper, ;-).  I did buy this little guy, and today I realized he would make a good companion for a book that sits at my desk: Thidwick,the Big-Hearted Moose, which is all about guests.

These beds are the same model.  One is set up for two kids, with a mattress on the bottom sitting on the ground whereas the other one is set up for one kid--a bit older one that also thinks that a covered bed is cool, but has a bit more headroom.  I think that both of them look pretty neat.

Amy really, really, really liked these leaf pieces.  If they're still around when we have kids I fully expect her to still want one for their room.

 Now I'm not sure if this is a plus, but IKEA also has plush Veggie friends...  I think that they, along with the moose shown earlier (and other animals not shown) were tied in to a couple of kids books.

This kiosk was neat.  You could sign up for a free IKEA Family card. It included discounts on select items, as well as a free coffee or tea in the cafe and since we'd just signed up, you got a free frozen yogurt in the downstairs cafe area.

I thought that these items (the RARITET series pieces with a measuring cup in the lid) sounded cool and wanted to find them just so that I could see them.  Sadly though we found a section of RARITET storage containers we couldn't find the ones mentioned.  :(  Edit: Here it is, I just thought to search on-line and I found the containers.  They're really cool!

I've learned that a warm Amy is a happy Amy.  And yes, she likes blankets--preferably many blankets when it is quite cold.

Do you need some fun towel hooks?  Look no farther than these colorful animals who have cheerfully buried themselves into your wall so that you may hang your towel on their tails!

 This area really reminded me of Costco...or was it the warehouse where the Ark of the Covenant was stored?  I always get those two confused.  Which one has the free food samples?

The As-Is section didn't have much that was useful, but it was good to know that you could get an even greater discount if you visited on Wednesday. I imagine that it is better to visit earlier in the day in case people come in early to pick through things.

We didn't have a regular cart to put our items in, so Amy and I bought a bag (it was only 59 cents!) and filled it with the few things we bought and what my parents purchased.  All in all it was a fun trip and some good times spent together with family.

~Matt