IKEA as Disneyworld?

Saturday, June 24, 2006 at 03:26PM
Sherri Caldwell

We've just returned from a day trip to the Wonderland that is our new(ish) IKEA store in Atlanta at Atlantic Station. All I can say, having had no preconceived notion about, knowledge of, or prior experience with IKEA is...WOW. I had no idea such a full day of fun could be had at a assemble-your-own furniture store!

And I have to say, neither the IKEA catalog, nor the IKEA website does justice to the in-store experience, in this case--

We went in search of a simple computer desk for the kids. I hadn't seen anything I liked on the IKEA website, but my husband wanted to "just go see," so we went as a family adventure on a hot, smoggy, stay-inside summer Saturday in Atlanta.

I have been over to the new mall at Atlantic Station several times, but I'd never gone far enough on 17th Street to see the HUGE IKEA store, which is self-contained and separate from the mall complex. The IKEA store has AMPLE parking, in two levels beneath the store, which are roomy, well-lit, and very well-designed, with signage to rival the parking lots at Disneyworld -- this is a good thing.

The parking is at least one-fifth of the fun of the whole IKEA experience. For one thing, it's FREE, unlike at Atlantic Station (which has the worst parking design & implementation, ever). And the other fun thing is the people-mover systems to ride up into the store and back down again: traditional escalators, an elevator, and a cool, down-escalating ramp. (Hard to resist the urge to send a shopping cart down the ramp, but we held back. There were people in front of us, and we didn't have a shopping cart anyway.)

The second-fifth fun thing was the IKEA cafeteria. The upstairs cafeteria is HUGE, and rivals some of the eating facilities at pricey resorts we've visited, with efficient buffeteria service; good food, cheap (including phenomenal desserts, which are first on the line); and clean, comfortable, open seating, with special areas for kids (kid-size furniture, toys, TV, etc.), and even baby feeding stations, with microwave ovens and whatnot for formula and baby food prep (not breastfeeding stations, but I'm sure those are in the store somewhere).

Third-fifth...in order of our experience, although I think this was the VERY BEST thing: We signed the younger two into the IKEA play area for 45 minutes of kid-free shopping! Everybody loved this arrangement. The kids had a great time playing in a larger, nicer version of a McDonald's Playland, with a ball pit, a climbing wall, and all kinds of other clean, safe fun, attended by IKEA employees, who were friendly and nice and checked the kids in and out. It was the quickest 45 minutes of my life! They have an efficient in-store beeper system to time the 45-minute visits, and also to call parents if there is any problem. The attendant told us she would not page us if there was no one waiting to come into the play area, but Saturday is a busy day at IKEA, and there was a long line of parents waiting to drop their kids off, so we got the beep at 45 minutes and we were happy to have that time.

Fourth-fifth was the shopping experience at IKEA -- the merchandising, which is almost overwhelming. In fact, we didn't end up buying anything (sorry, IKEA -- I'll be back!), because we used up our 45 minutes just walking the guided trail through two levels of warehouse shopping in awe...it's kind of like the biggest Sam's Club or CostCo you could ever imagine, without the bulk groceries, filled with everything else imaginable -- a huge, home shopping bazaar. I was very impressed with the room set-ups, where they have set up a 300-, 500-, 800- (etc.) square-foot space and designed an entire household of furnishings and detail set up for that particular square footage. Besides the whole-home layouts, there are dozens of model kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, and work areas showcasing all of the IKEA designs. It is really quite amazing.

The final fifth of the fun of the IKEA experience would have to be the PRICES on everything, which are LOW. There are many reasons given for the low prices everywhere, and IKEA has subtly incorporated explanations and portrayals of their philosophies top-to-bottom throughout the store, including flip-card holders on the tables in the cafeteria, in the IKEA guidebook and maps located everywhere, and a pictorial timeline of the history of IKEA along the hallway to the restrooms.

When you can feed and entertain a family of five for $25 (cost of lunch) on a lazy Saturday at a furniture store...that's a good day! In fact, I'm planning to take the kids back to "Camp IKEA" sometime this week -- we'll have lunch, check the kids into the play area, and browse again -- I have my eye on this big, comfy round beanbag cushion thing on sale for $25, and about a dozen other things for house & home, but I have to go back without hubby! ;-)

Article originally appeared on The Rebel Housewife (http://www.rebelhousewife.com/).