I have a love/hate relationship with Ikea. I often joke that my flat is 'the home that Ikea built', but with many first-time buyers, bargain hunters and people on a budget, it is always a great place to start; no doubting that.
When i first moved in to my flat, i had one of my best Ikea experiences; i had a decent budget and a list of things i needed that was as long as my arm. Unadulterated shopping frenzy commenced, and my flat was almost fully furnished withing 2 hours.
But then, there are the other, more banal and downright annoying Ikea 'experiences'. Like today. When you get up early and go 'to miss the crowds', only to realise that everyone else within a 50 mile radius was thinking the same thing. Then there's the kids - now I'm not anti kids (well, not entirely...just not in shops. Or any other enclosed spaces), but they are everywhere. EVERYWHERE. And there's the meanderers. Walking slowly...then stopping. Right in front of me and my trolley. Can't you see I'm in a hurry? I'm on a mission. Get. Out. Of. My. Way. And then there's the trauma of having spent what feels like hours deliberating over an item, writing it down with those little fiddly pencils, and walking around and around the never ending corridors of brown boxes...to find what you are after is out of stock.
Motherf***er!
Guess I'll be back next week, then.
