IKEA: Love at First Sight

On Valentine’s Day, or All Hearts Day as it’s known in Sweden, I had a date with the new IKEA Fishers store! I’ve wished for a central Indiana IKEA for years, since the store closest to me until now was the Cincinnati location in West Chester, OH. So I was thrilled when IKEA opened just five miles from my house last October 11. (I’ll always remember the opening date since my friend Rebecca’s baby was born on the same day.) I can’t believe I waited four months to check out the new store. My mom came with me since she had never been to an IKEA, and she was pleased with the frugal housewares and the whole novelty of the place. (Among the bargains she bought: a $9.99 pillow, $1.99 set of two pot holders, $0.99 gift tags and $0.74 cookies.) She also liked exploring the fifty furniture show rooms and model home interiors. (Our favorites were the indoor-outdoor room/patio combos and the dream kitchen with LED lights that activate when you open the drawers.)

The layout of the IKEA Fishers store is very winding and twisty, but I think I will get accustomed to it after a few more visits. I’m used to the West Chester store, which has the showroom on the top floor and the marketplace on the bottom floor and a more direct path to get from point A to point B. The Fishers store is all on one level and crams a LOT of stuff into that one level. I thought it would feel smaller than West Chester but it doesn’t. There is still a lot of walking, only it feels like you’re doubling back on where you’ve been before. Maybe it will make more sense when I get more familiar with it. Every inch of the one story building is utilized. I’m eager to locate the shortcuts the next time I go and don’t have to see every nook and cranny. I wasn’t really paying attention to the signs other than to see what number we were at in the showroom to match it up with the map and see how far along we were on our journey. The map tells you a lot while telling you nothing at all.  The departments are tagged by number (example: 5=kitchen) and they’re listed in a straight line like a subway map, but there’s nothing linear about getting from one number to the next.  The little subway map also notes the locations of the shortcuts.  There is also a store overview map which is just a big square that shows the location of the showroom, marketplace, and restaurant, without showing where each numbered section is actually located.

To get from the showrooms to the marketplace (where you pick up all the non-furniture items you want to buy such as pillows, dishes, and rugs), you walk through IKEA’s cafeteria style restaurant. I think this is the perfect location, because you are definitely ready to sit and refuel at this midway point. The restaurant is about three times bigger than I expected it to be, and has a huge number of tables, cute IKEA décor and a sitting area with couches. I’d never eaten at an IKEA and had set my expectations low, but the food was delicious! We each had the Swedish meatball dinner for just $4.50. I don’t know if this was a special price, but it was ridiculously cheap for a whole dinner plate of awesome. It included meatballs, seasonal vegetables, mashed potatoes, gravy, and lingonberry sauce, which is like cranberry sauce but sweeter. The seasonal vegetables were carrots, cauliflower and – parsnips maybe?  Whatever they were, they were absolutely delightful. Who knew I even liked this mystery veggie? For dessert my mom and I split a slice of Daim cake on the advice of my friend Jen, and boy was it a winner: almond cake, custard, toffee and chocolate made for the the perfect combination of flavors and was unlike anything I’ve had before. I’ve decided my next trip to IKEA will include a stop at the Swedish Food Market after I checkout for some lingonberry preserves and Daim cake to go. We did get an eight pack of cinnamon rolls to split, marked down from $4.00 to $2.14 since it was the end of the day. (Jen clued me in to the cinnamon roll end of day bargain on a Cincinnati trip a few years ago.) They keep several days in the refrigerator and are delicious heated up in the microwave.

I’ve heard IKEA Fishers is still nuts on the weekend, so I recommend you plan your visit for the end of the day on a weekday if you’re able to. We were there from 6:00-9:00 PM and had some areas of the store completely to ourselves. So go late and make sure to get some bargain cinnamon rolls! And don’t forget you’ll need to bring your own bags to hold your purchases. You can buy a HUGE blue reusable IKEA shopping bag at checkout for 99 cents. I bought one and it held everything my mom and I purchased, including three bulky pillows.  (The yellow IKEA shopping bags that hook onto the carts are for in store use only.)

In addition to IRIS pot holders (which are a nice large size, and thickly quilted – a steal for $1.99 for two), I bought these items:

Here are a few additional tips for first timers:

• Sign up for the free IKEA family loyalty program before you go, to take advantage of discounts and special offers:
• Snap cell phone photos of the price tags at IKEA for items you’re interested in purchasing that day or on a future trip. The price tags are very detailed, with available colors, exact dimensions, and the shelf number where the item is located in in the warehouse if it’s furniture. The warehouse is self-serve and is located at the end of the marketplace, right before the checkout lanes.
• Visit the As-Is section of marked down items right before the checkout lanes. Some of the items are perfectly fine and others are damaged, so inspect the items carefully if you find something you like. I got a perfectly good kitchen chair at West Chester several years ago that “needed tightened” and I’ve never done a thing to it. It’s a wonderful chair.
• For experienced IKEA shoppers seeking maximum efficiency, I’ve heard you can print out your shopping list of what you want to buy online, bring it to the store, go in through the out door and head straight to the warehouse shelves. The shopping list shows the aisle and bin location of what you’re after.

I can’t wait to get back there. I want to get serious about cleaning out my spare room and turning it into a craft room, then I can look at Kallax bookcases and other craft room furniture. IKEA is like Disney World for adults, and I’m so lucky to have it so close to where I live. I’d love to hear your IKEA recommendations, tips and tricks in the comments. What are your favorite things to buy at IKEA or best bets for deals?

Happy IKEAxploring! Denise