IKEA advice

Making the trip from Waterford to Belfast to hit the floors of IKEA. Borrowing a transit and to say the least I'm not really looking forward to it! (the shopping that is!!)
We've been looking online for ideas as of what to buy........mainly looking at shelving/wardrobes/study furniture........
Any advice for a reluctant shopper on the best approach or what to watch for??
Heading there for a Friday, as it'll be hopefully quieter than a Saturday

Take measurements from any room you're interested in buying furniture for, it's a pain when you buy something that doesn't fit!

When you get there, go upstairs to the showroom first and take a quick walk-through, following the arrows on the floor - it'll take less than 10 minutes if you don't stop to look at things - and you will get a good idea of what's on offer. Then, having seen the layout, have a more detailed look around. Some stuff can be picked up in the showroom area, bigger items have to be picked up downstairs.

Downstairs also has arrows directing you through the shop which is laid out in departments, you start with kitchen (cutlery, storage containers, dishes, pots, cooking utensils etc.), then go through to soft furnishings and so on. You can load items into a trolley as you go through. Then you get to the storage area for large flat-pack type items, and if you need help there will be someone around, just ask. Then you go and pay and head back to the car park.

It's very sensibly organised, and even though I'm not a shopper I would happily go there again, having been twice to date!

I don't like the food though, so brought sandwiches the second time. (By the way, there is a little food shop just after the checkouts but they don't accept euros which are accepted at the main tills, doesn't make sense to me really as I would have bought a snack for the trip home. They charge 75p for using a credit card.)

Hope this helps a bit.

Good advice from TreeTrigger (although I found the food to be ok - very reasonably priced). Do check in advance if they have what you're looking for!! It's a long way to go home empty handed.

Bring plenty of bubble-wrap with you to protect the little items you buy such as cups, plates, lamps etc from getting broken on the way back. They provide an area to wrap what you buy but for a long journey to Waterford you might want extra wrapping. Also, don't presume you won't buy anything like that because once your in there you just buy buy buy!!

Good advice,
if you know the item numbers , would suggest phoning store evening before you travel, when we arrived (it was a Sunday however) they were out of stock of a number of items.

Hi, I would have a good look at their website before travelling to get an idea of what you like, they give all measurements and costs online. We bought alot of our furniture for our new house and because we had done the research it took alot of arguing and frustration out of our day in the store.

Doe anyone know if Ikea have much of a range of bathroom accs - wall cabinets etc. I have'nt seen much on their catalogue but a lot of people have said to me that there is a lot more in store

tara83 said:

Doe anyone know if Ikea have much of a range of bathroom accs - wall cabinets etc. I have'nt seen much on their catalogue but a lot of people have said to me that there is a lot more in store

Click to expand...

They have a decent, selection. When I was there the first time I spotted one or two cabinets I wanted but put off buying them. In the end found a much more attractive and contemporary system in Dublin so went with that.

I love IKEA and have some stunning pieces (a great chair and TV/Wall unit) but I was slightly disappointed by their stuff on a whole. A lot of it is exactly what you pay for, cheap and nasty looking. It also doesn't help that a third of the homes in any country is stocked with it. I keep seeing the wine racks I was going to buy there on TV and in friends houses.

Be sensible in the last section with the household ware. I had my trolly stacked sky high, eventually took a lot of the stuff out as I reasoned that I didn't really need it all. Even with what I bought I'd say 50% is now in storage because it was just a gimmick I bought into.

I like Ikea for their gadgets and kid sections. I found Ikea good as a start up as their furniture are cheap and cheerful but the quality for some is not great (you cannot expect too much of flatpack furniture). I

Would having a look at their catalogue before the trip help.

Cards on the table - I'm a major Ikea fan

My tips from my 5 trips in 2 months:

1) Do your research before going. I think the website is more useful than the printed catalogue. Know what you want and make a list. Check the measurements so you know the stuff will fit. It's worth dividing your list into 2-3 categories - Must Haves, Would Really Like to Have But Can Wait For and Might Get But Not Sure. Then you can put your energies into getting the Must Haves and see how shopped out you are after that. I think Ikea is great for storage furniture in general (shelves, cupboards etc), lighting, kitchenware, I could go on and on Be careful if buying beds, mattresses or bed linen. I think they are great quality and value but they are continental sizes, not the British sizes we are used to.

2) Check the really important stuff is in stock (online stock checker or ring the store).

3) Have all your measurements to hand for any impulse buys.

4) Choose your travelling companions carefully. Leave the children at home if possible - although it can be a nice family day out, I reckon with the long journey it might be a bit much.

5) Wear comfortable shoes!

6) Go as early as you can. Weekdays are best.

7) Resolve beforehand that any arguments/tiffs in Ikea stay in Ikea.

8) Before picking up the items in the Market Hall, do the Self Serve/Full Serve items. That way you won't run the risk of them being out of stock by the time you get there and you won't have to deal with your trolley full of kitchen gadgets etc whilst trying to heave huge flatpacks around. Bear in mind there can be delays waiting for Full Serve items so the sooner you can deal with that the better. For Full Serve, the floor staff print you a sheet with a bar code which you take to the till and pay for. Only then is the item reserved for you. You hand in the sheet of paper and receipt at the Full Serve desk and they go and pick the item(s) for you. Meanwhile you can always go and do more shopping while waiting.

9) Take plenty of breaks (free tea and coffee on weekdays) and make sure to try the Daim cake ... mmmm!

10) If any Self Serve items were missing when you first checked, have a quick look before you leave. I've sometimes been lucky enough to find they are back in stock after being returned.

11) Leave before you totally run out of steam. You can always come back again (as I found to my credit card's detriment).


12) Stock up at the food shop before going. I love the reindeer salami, mini Daim bars, sour cream crisps and Skum Mushroom sweets.

13) Have a hotdog for the road.

14) If you have the energy, stop by Sainsbury's down the road to pick up some wine. Great value while sterling is so cheap.

You really need to work out what you want before you go and obviously you can change your mind when you see the stuff in real life. It's way too overwhelming to be deciding most things there and you won't believe how quickly the time goes.

Plus you'll be tempted to throw in loads of cheap bits and pieces and it will end up costing way more than you expected. Still you'll have loads of cool cheap bits and pieces. It's a great place to buy things like those meat rack things you hang utensils off for a few bob.

The design is usually visually great, and well thought out, the meat rack thingys hooks are magnetic so don't pop off the rack when you pick something off it.

Check the materials used to make the products you are buying.The quality on the whole is a little bit rubbish but way nicer looking and cheaper than the equivalent money will buy you elsewhere. For example we bought a chest of drawers, one of the cheapest they sell, looks really modern, has lovely deep smooth drawers but the quality is awful, the top is bubbling, there are broken bits, and it's less than a year old.

I don't see how you can complain that you see their stuff everywhere, it's IKEA!! If you want exclusivity you'll have to fork out the cash.

tara83 said:

Doe anyone know if Ikea have much of a range of bathroom accs - wall cabinets etc. I have'nt seen much on their catalogue but a lot of people have said to me that there is a lot more in store

Click to expand...

In general, there is much more in store than in the printed catalogue. I find the online catalogue better but I found that a lot of their stuff looks a lot better in reality than in the photos.

I thought they had a really good range of bathroom cabiniets and plan to go back to get one! There are some you can customise by picking your own doors, handles, carcass and other more traditional types, some of which are lockable so good for keeping medicines in. They also have various inserts to store your cosmetics and toiletries neatly.

I also found them good for other accessories like toilet roll holders, bins, towel rails etc (cheaper than Argos I think and a nice range). They also have some nice and cheap bathroom lighting. They don't do baths and toilets and have a very limited (but nice enough) range of basins.

Don't go for the absolute cheapest range of furniture. As indicated above, this can be quite poor quality. The slightly less than cheapest range is good value and normally hard wearing, but do check out the stuff on the floor. It might look cool in the catalog or online, but you live in the real world, so make sure you check out how it looks, handles, etc . . . before just blindly putting things in the trolley.

Have a look at the corners of the wooden furniture on display - if you see little chips or damage on the floor models you know what to expect at home.

If you are interested in kitchen chairs then check out the food hall - they use the range of chairs there so you can sit down, have your food, take a while, etc . . . this gives you a better idea of how the chairs feel than just sitting on them for 10-20s each on the shop floor. Watch how other people sit in them, move around, get comfortable, etc . . .

As above, make out your list of "must haves" - the things that you actually need rather than the things you can wait a few months for or do without. Get the must haves first and drop them out to the car/van/trailer. That way, if you do get tired/bored/hungry you know you have the important things organised already.

Don't try to do it all in one sweep through the shop. You may end up with a really heavy trolley, a million little cups, knives, bulbs, etc . . . better do it in a few sweeps.

Before you end up buying all these little things which all seem to be good value, do a quick reality check and ask yourself if you would actually be buying a ginger grater if you were at home and not just because it seems like just the thing you were looking for and you've come so far, and sure it only costs €9, and, and, and . . .

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