For this post, all photos were taken by Devon Ault (@devonault)
And we’re back! A trip to IKEA is more like an expedition, so it only felt right to put it into two posts. Here, we’ll cover the rest of our time on IKEA’s top floor, move downstairs, and then through the warehouse. We’ll be able to look at some great pieces for your home and more!
Great Stuff Can Be A Great Deal
It’s easy to get caught up believing that throwing out money is the only way to get stylish, high quality furniture. This might lead us to believe that the styles we want are always out of reach. What if that isn’t true? At IKEA, it’s not! I was amazed at how much awesome, heavy-duty stuff is available at a really good price.
Sometimes when I look through the Lykens Instagram, I wonder how people can get their homes to look so good. Now I’m seeing that it’s possible. Check out this SALMI table, for instance. How great of an addition would this versatile glass table be to any Wonder Bread Loft dining area (or really, any place out there)?
In another case, I was walking through the bed section when a simple, unstained bed frame caught my eye. It was bare enough to blend into any style of room, but its bright wood grain let it stand on its own. I think about some of our units with exposed ceilings and brickwork and imagine the raw materials complementing each other well.
Lighting Makes Things Elegant
Rooms at IKEA are staged like something from a dream, a dream where everything is always clean and you never have dirty laundry or dishes lying around. Every corner of a room feels perfectly executed, down to the pillow placement. What’s the common thread? For the most part, a simple strand of LED lights or a well placed lamp make the ordinary feel extraordinary. Take this glass armoire as an example. A few suit jackets and white dress shirts should never look this good. Why do they? Lighting. These subtle accents enhance a room and showcase the things you love without making you upgrade all of your furniture.
And at IKEA, there are plenty of lights to choose from. Take a look at that wall! Choose from hundreds of options. Among all the lamps and bulbs, I found my favorite item of the whole trip: the IKEA Floor Lamp. While it’s labeled as a lamp, it feels more like a spotlight. This piece can be put on a table or directly on the floor. Shine it toward the center of a room to add light or turn it toward the wall to create a warm (romantic?) ambience.
Find Your Finishing Touches
Whether you’re trying to find the best giant clock to put on your wall or just looking for a shower mat, IKEA offers its customers dozens of options in dozens of categories. On IKEA’s bottom floor, customers can get hands on with the items that IKEA filled their floor rooms with. Handle each kitchen utensil, sort through each towel, or smell each candle. It all depends on how much time you have.
If you’re trying to stay on the affordable end of decorating, be sure to sort through their varieties of both real and fake plants. Apparently, the new craze with houseplants doubles as decoration and a way to fill the void in our hearts, according to the Washington Post. Moving on, if you’re looking for a more permanent fixture in your home, sort through dozens of unique rugs and fabrics.
Inside The Warehouse
IKEA’s warehouse can feel overwhelming. Two stories of boxes tower over you. Instead of walking past hundreds of signs and hoping for the right piece, use the app we talked about in the first part of our journey. In minutes, you’ll find the furniture you scanned and get on your way.
Don’t Forget The Deals
Most people don’t mind a scratch on their dresser if it means saving a lot of money. Any item that is returned to IKEA gets sent to their As-Is section. Here, you can find items for up to 50% off their original price. Check out the $600 couch we found for $300. Most times, you won’t even need to worry that your item is damaged. If a person just didn’t like it, it gets returned and discounted without even having a fault. Another perk, you won’t have to worry about putting the pieces together. That said, bring a car big enough to haul your new purchase.
A Journey’s End
Before I left IKEA, I grabbed a cone of frozen yogurt and ate it. Outside, dusk was approaching. I ate my cone and looked out at the parking lot, where a sea of cars ebbed and flowed. I thought of all the food I ate, the furniture I saw, and the things I learned. Here, there exists a world apart from any other. IKEA is more than furniture. It is the unyielding pursuit of idealism. Here, every piece of furniture in every corner of every room sits with enough conviction to make you believe that you, too, can have a space this complete in your own home, your own life, your own dream. In the end, IKEA operates under the same principles that the American Dream does, only this time, with Swedish furniture.
