Happiness... Scandinavian Style

Yesterday, someone asked what I did over the weekend. I said, “We went to IKEA in Charlotte.” With a quizzical look, he asked, “What’s an IKEA?” Hmmm, I thought about it. How do I explain this?

IKEA is “Happiness…. Scandinavian Style.”

IKEA was founded in southern Sweden in the 1940s and now offers unique and innovative home furnishings to the global masses. The wares happily combine form with function, and high quality with low price, so IKEA treasures appeal to everyone from the Glamour Gal who wants to decorate in sleek European lines to the Bargain Betty who wants a table service for 12 to come with price tag for two. There’s something for everyone and I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll find something you didn’t even know you needed.

A trip to IKEA begins with a ride up the escalator to the Upper Floor where rooms are showcased for your enjoyment. Living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, even bathrooms, are all staged with IKEA furniture and furnishings that are discretely tagged with item numbers. You jot down, on the blank side of the store map you got at the front door (they’ll also give you a pencil AND a tape measure), the item number of anything you fall head over heels in love with, anything you think you might fall in love with later, or anything you might just want to look at again. Don’t forget to open the kitchen cabinets and drawers; those are stocked with nifty gadgets and tools too! Apparently European kitchens are small or narrow so IKEA has an extensive array of items that use wall space instead of counter space. While it’s different than what we’re used to by American standards, the innovative and creative storage options are definitely worth considering in my own counter space-saving missions. IKEA rooms allow you to go from Modern and Industrial to Country and Classic, or to mix it up to go somewhere in between.

   

By the time you’ve perused the rooms, you’ll need a moment to regroup from all the things you’ve seen and all the creative ideas that are bouncing around in your head. Luckily for you, you find yourself at the IKEA Cafeteria and it’s time for lunch.

For the sake of the complete experience, I had Swedish meatballs with ligonberry sauce and Swedish apple cake. If you’re not familiar with ligonberry, it seems to be a magenta-shaded cross between a cranberry and a blueberry. I think ligonberry sauce might show up on my Thanksgiving table this year…

After lunch, refueled and recharged, and hopefully with a plan, you head back down the escalator to the Lower Floor where all of the furniture, house wares, dishes and utensils, bedding and towels, prints and frames, candles and vases, and on and on and on, are stacked in tidy bins and on shelves for you to shop. Our convoy included a cart, a hand truck, and three big yellow shopping bags.

I found these two prints at IKEA and words can’t express how much I love, love, love them. Since I really have nowhere to put them, I caught myself thinking, “I wonder if I could build a house around this print in the same way that I build an outfit around a pair of shoes.”

I bought a few fun and fantastic things and stayed well within the budget. I didn’t buy everything I wanted but I may have worked on my birthday list should anyone who loves me (hint, hint) need some ideas…

And, oh, I almost forgot one of the best parts of the trip! After you check out (but keep in mind, this is a minimalist, environmentally friendly store so don’t expect the cashiers to bubble wrap or tissue paper your items; if you want that, you have to DIY at the ‘wrapping station’), swing by the snack bar for cinnamon buns. And, a word to the wise- pack some plates & forks for your trip home because as much as you say you’re saving those cinnamon buns for Sunday breakfast, someone will want one before you get out of the parking lot.

IKEA is a full day’s trip but it’s absolutely worth every minute and we’re already planning our next adventure.

I hope your weekend held something as yummy as cinnamon buns or ligonberry sauce (but not together, ‘cause that’s just gross!), something as memorable as a road trip with friends, or something as exciting as a short trip to Europe (or a European-inspired store a little closer to home). I hope your weekend was… Something More.