Start The Car!

You may recognize the title of this post as a phrase from an IKEA commercial advertising the affordability of their products. I love this commercial and have been known to utter this phrase myself when it comes to IKEA, not because of their prices, but rather because I am excited to go to IKEA. You see, IKEA and I go way back. I am a huge fan.

The Light Goes On

Because we lived in a lot of small towns, I didn’t always have the opportunity to visit IKEA. But when we moved to a city that had an IKEA store that I could visit regularly, I was hooked. Oh my, the furniture, the rugs, the lamps, the picture frames, the bedding and almost anything else you could want for your house was all there in one magnificent setting. The Scandinavian flair made it all the more attractive, and for a young family on a budget the prices were appealing enough that I was willing to spend the time assembling my purchases.

After many trips to browse and coming away overwhelmed with all the choices, I finally made my first purchase – a red floor lamp. I do have to say, figuring out which light bulb to use almost ended my IKEA love affair before it began, but after a few days of admiring my new red lamp I was back on board.

We still have that lamp and it gets used regularly. I don’t really remember why I chose red, but it has done yeoman’s duty over the 30+ years we have owned it. Many a good book has been read under its light.

Onward and Upward

Over the years, as friends and family gravitated to more “upscale” furniture, I have remained steadfastly true to IKEA. The list of things I have purchased is a long one, and so, I have become quite proficient at reading IKEA assembly directions. Though I do have to say, even though there are no words just pictures in the directions, it still seems like a foreign language. And I’m not gonna lie, from time to time, words I cannot say around my grandkids have been directed at the funny little person who appears innocently smiling in every set of IKEA directions.

My husband and I have also learned that it is best for me to tackle the assembly myself and call on him when I need help. Case in point – I like to make sure that all the screws and dowels and nails are there before I start. My husband is less concerned about this and prefers to “wing it” and is not averse to using brute strength to get pieces to fit together.

How Are You Holding Up?

One of our more memorable purchases was a new bed frame. Given that I had waited a long time for it, I was anxious to put it together but also concerned about my ability to maneuver some of the big pieces. Fortunately, my father-in-law was visiting at the time and he and my husband “volunteered” to put it together. I quickly agreed and went off to do some shopping, happy that I would be sleeping in my brand new bed that night.

Once home, I was delighted to see that it was all assembled, the mattress was on and the bed made up. Later when I asked my husband how it went, he said his dad was a great help and they even had a few screws left over. What??? After assurances from my husband that “it will be fine, it was only a few screws” I spent a few fitful nights perched on the edge of the bed ready to jump out should it come crashing down.

I’m happy to report that it was and is fine. The bed frame is still together twelve years later. But I still have no idea where those extra screws were supposed to go…

Together Again

My husband’s favourite part of IKEA is the cafeteria, the furniture and browsing not so much. So I was very happy when he agreed to visit IKEA with me recently. Armed with a list of things we had in mind to purchase, we strolled the aisles. We found the chairs and sofa we were interested in and took our time to make sure they were comfortable and fit his 6’4″ frame. He even went so far as to lay out on the sofa to make sure it was long enough, which did garner some funny looks from other shoppers.

Delighted that we had found chairs and a sofa we loved, we were on to figuring out ordering and delivery, only to have our hopes dashed – some of our choices were not available due to supply chain issues.

Feeling a little deflated, we decided to go down to the Marketplace and browse, but overwhelm quickly took over and we left with only a few small kitchen items and a boatload of disappointment.

However, even though we came home empty-handed, I am hopeful that I can soon order online and tell my husband to “start the car” so that we can go and pick up our new IKEA sofa and chairs. I’ll keep you posted!

We plan on doing a new blog post every Monday so stay tuned for our next one entitled “Things My Mother Taught Me.”