Ikea

by Nick Coons
Nov 17, 2004

I'm going to assume that this article is not your first exposure to the fact that Ikea has opened a location in Tempe. This has been huge and all-over-everywhere, including the news and television commercials, and even hype through word-of-mouth. Even until just recently I've only known that Ikea is a Swedish company that sells furniture, and never understood what the hype was all about. After all, there are a lot of companies that sell furniture. So what's the big deal? So I decided to check it out.

I went to Ikea on a Sunday to find out what it was all about. Apparently it's a huge dream warehouse full of furniture and home settings. This 23-acre two-floor store is so massive that there are maps of the store posted in various places indicating that "You Are Here." There are arrows on the floor that direct pedestrian traffic through the store to help alleviate congestion. And there's even a restaurant inside with seating for over 250. They begin serving breakfast at 9:00am, an hour before the store opens.

The furniture is probably what you would think for Swedish -- Sharp edges and clean lines. Very little if any of it fit my personal taste, so I probably won't be doing a lot of heavy-duty shopping there. But with the literally thousands of people that were packed into that store (hello, fire marshal?), I don't think they'll be missing my business.

Even if you're like me and prefer more rustic furniture over the ultra-modern, just the shear size of the place, overflow parking and all, it's definitely worth the visit -- Just to see what all the hype is about.