Monday, November 24, 2008

Pilgrimage


It's not far away from us, but for reasons I think we all understand I only visit IKEA a few times a year. This morning, can you believe we were actually too early to go in (it opens at 10am) and had to wait for the announcement "our beautiful IKEA store is now open" before the barrier was removed and we flowed in. I was a little embarassed at queuing for a store to open, not sure I've ever done that before.

As I mentioned, I only do this trip a few time a year for my IKEA staples and whatever else we may have grown to need/want in the interim. My staples are:

Plain white paper napkins; tealight candles; Ribba black frames in all sizes for photographs of the girls which adorn most walls in our house. Today I also added half a dozen feather cushion inserts (great value at only $7.95 for 50x50 size) to use as the stuffings for some gifts; Christmas wrappings; a new bath mat; that's about it. Free parking for only $119.00!
What are your IKEA staples?
PS Christie's posting reminded me that there is one more staple I bought, the role of paper for the girls easel - only problem with it is I find it tears very easily, like it's too recycled, if you know what I mean. Does anyone have another source for similar paper that's a little denser? does that make sense?

9 comments:

Christie said...

the ONLY time to go is when it first opens!!!

i LOVE the down pillow inserts too, so glad I found them

my staples inc: the rolls of plain paper for the kids, brown paper & string for wrapping gifts & the picture frames

i go there WAY too much, the other day I saw the cutest wooden kids rocker, think I will have to go back for it...

mrs boo radley said...

We have an old IKEA futon with a number '6' spray-painted on the back of it, and we have yet to upgrade beyond our mismatched IKEA wood table and metal chairs!

Kym said...

I've only ever been to IKEA a hand full of times. There's another trip planned in the not too distant future for another expedit (?) cube shelving unit. Is it a staple if we bought one last time we were there??

Anonymous said...

I sometimes meet a few mum's and kids upstairs from 9.30am in the "restaurant" (between ikea and McDonalds, they've rewritten the definition of the word) and we get brekky for $2! I haven't eaten the past few times, but have had really good coffee from the cafe at the front of said restaurant (where the couches are in the Melb store) and then you don't have to line up.

My staples are: fabric, straws, napkins and wrapping paper, and of course picture frames. There must be a stat on google, but imagine what % of households in the western world have at least one item from Ikea?!

Jasmine said...

Haha! I have a list on the go too and I'm just about ready to take a big breath, gather up the small ones and cross the bridge to Richmond sometime this week.

My staples are the same as yours, including the paper rolls -(I haven't noticed the tearing). But I've never actually come away with just my staples...

Lindsay said...

How good are the Ribba frames? We always stock up on them, plus the obligatory tea lights. And everyday glasswear, especially wine glasses, and white dishes. And a big bag of mini Daim bars too!

Angie said...

Because we don't have IKEA in Hobart (a blessing in many ways) I really do have an annual pilgrimage to either the Melbourne or Brisbane stores. I've just been going over the catalogue & writing a list for our next visit in January...including frames, fabric, wall hooks, & a shelf for the laundry. I also usually grab a few kids presents to store away for birthday parties.

Thankfully we have limited space!

Christelle said...

I'm thinking of how many time I went to IKEA over the last 4 weeks and the result is 5! Of course I had a good excuse: I re-arranged my kitchen from A to Z and they had very nice things to make the change. The rest of the year, I usually go there for candles, napkings, new knives and swedish treats!

Sandy said...

I love Ikea, but the nearest one is about an hour away. I like the toys and kid plates and cups. I buy almost the same stuff you do: wrapping paper, tea lights, Ribba frames, and an occasional lamp. Almost all our bookshelves are from Ikea, great stuff for a low budget!