Monday 28 January 2013

Adventures in Ikea

I suppose since Ikea officially opened its first store in Manitoba two months ago today, it's appropriate that I write my post on not only mine and Derek's first Ikea purchase, but also our first visit to an Ikea. Ever. It seems strange that even though I grew up in Southern Ontario, surrounded by the stores known for their classic blue and yellow theme, I never actually made it into one until I'd moved away - to a land of snow and cold... and no Ikea's, well, at least none until two months ago. The Swedish store, known world wide for its affordable yet stylishly modern furniture finally graces our frozen home, with a building more than 400,000 square feet, and a parking lot with more than 1,600 spots. And when we did make it out (close to a month after it opened) it was with happy hearts, and sore backs that we trudged in - though Derek may not have felt quite the same thrill as me. After all, according to CBC News, the arrival of Ikea to Winnipeg is for the women what the arrival of the Jets to Winnipeg was for the men. And, for me, after over a year and a half of sleeping on a mattress on the ground, I was ready to have it lifted up - with an Ikea bed frame. 


The trip itself was... overwhelming to say the least. By the end of our trip, we were all (me, Derek, and Lana) dazed after spending hours walking in what seemed like circles, through hundreds of displays. I'm pretty sure you'd need at least a month there, just to explore the entire top floor... let alone the bottom one. But as overwhelmed and tired as we were by the end of our excursion, I was certainly inspired, by so much of what I'd seen. Of course, I don't want to turn my house into a series of Ikea showrooms, but that isn't to say that we'll never be visiting the store again!

Unfortunately, because we hardly have a large vehicle, we weren't able to take our newly purchased bed frame home with us that evening, though, if it hadn't been for the logic of Derek and Lana... I certainly would have tried! Since we live in Steinbach, and not in Winnipeg, it was a bit pricer for us to have the bed delivered (in the city it's $50, but for us it was $100), so that's something we'll need to keep in mind for any future purchases - to either borrow a vehicle, or just simply factor in the delivery fee as part of our budget. But all that aside, a week later, it arrived on our doorstep, and I - not listening to the instructions, of course - decided to try to put it together by myself (the instructions tell you not to do it alone). After setting the mattress and box spring to the side, I unpacked both the boxes and got to work. My bedroom was an explosion of boards.


Derek got home when I was about three-quarters of the way through, and he helped me finish it up. By the time we got the box spring and mattress back on, I was just ready to collapse. It was getting dark, and sleeping on that beautiful new bed seemed like the best possible idea.


 Once it was made, of course!


After having the bed frame for about a month, we're still in love. Both Derek and I really love the difference in makes. For the first few nights, we marvelled at how "tall" we were while lying in bed. And for me, the fact that I'm no longer reaching up to get to my nightstand is essentially a miracle. All in all, I'd say we're both quite pleased that Ikea has crossed over our borders. Even if, as Derek says, it is one of the most blatant examples of consumerism he's ever seen!


1 comment:

  1. I can just imagine you on your SECOND trip to Ikea driving a TRUCK you borrowed for the occasion!

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