Adventures at Ikea
I know most people would blog about anything before they would blog about Ikea. But so many people in my MHCI program are shocked that I had never been to Ikea, that I feel my first adventure there deserves an entry.
In all, if I could avoid it, I wouldn’t go back there. There are good things there, don’t get me wrong. And it was a good place to go to get some things for the “Creative Corner” of our new Project workspace (which rocks, by the way. I have a window!). I imagine it is also a good place for single people to go to buy cheap furniture that they don’t intend to last past the duration of their graduate program.
Cozy… but is it classy?
But when you start getting to the upscale parts of Ikea, I am steering clear. “For $1,300 this bedroom set could be yours!” That’s a lot of money for what I saw. This is the benefit of being from Nebraska (and yes, there is more than one of those). Nebraska Furniture Mart has nice furniture in the price range of a little higher than Ikea. The furniture can be quite nice, and if you know where to look and how to barter with the salespeople, it doesn’t have to be that expensive.
Their website states Mrs. B’s motto: “Sell cheap and tell the truth.” While some people have occasionally had difficulties with NFM, I think they are running a solid business that gets better over time. But hey, I might be slightly biased. All of my furniture, TV, and PS2 are from NFM. So there ya go.
My official policy, then, will be to furnish my home space from NFM. If I need cheap add-ons for my office (to make it more “Creative Class,” shall we say?) then perhaps I’ll indulge Ikea with a tour around the floor.