Trip to Ikea for a few things is it worth it?

I have been thinking of making a trip up to Ikea for a while - I have not been yet. I need to get a few things bedside drawers and drawers for clothes plus a nest of tables. Anyway I was in Homebase yesterday got some stuff and then realised it did not all fit in the car and had to get someone up to come and help me lug the stuff home.
It made me realise is it worth going all the way up to Ikea (from South Dublin) when some of the stuff probally will not fit in the car- large saloon car (not hatch). I heard it is £100 sterling to get stuff delivered down South. Anyone got any furniture from Argos some of the stuff looks reasonable enough.
So is it worth going all the way up Ikea or can I find most of the stuff down in Dublin for aroundish the same price when all things are considered?

Well worth the trip. I've taken the ferry to france a few times to go to IKEA. Living down south and half of my family have flown to Belfast and sent stuff home. It's worth the trip if you want to get a lot of stuff, but not for a few small items - surely you'll know someone going who can take another item home for you?
What about borrowing an estate car and/or roof rack?
All the way from South Dublin? Bless.

deadwood said:

Well worth the trip. I've taken the ferry to france a few times to go to IKEA. Living down south and half of my family have flown to Belfast and sent stuff home. It's worth the trip if you want to get a lot of stuff, but not for a few small items - surely you'll know someone going who can take another item home for you?
What about borrowing an estate car and/or roof rack?
All the way from South Dublin? Bless.

Click to expand...

Hmm you must like shopping then Spending a whole day up there does not really appeal for a few things - when they open in Ballymun I will be willing to venture that far Will think about it- my parents got a couch up there after delivery etc it was not that cheap- managed to find 3 seater and 2 seater which was alot more comfortable for same price- I guess if you are willing to look around Dublin there is value to be had.

Am planning a trip to Ikea in Belfast shortly. What's the best route to take from Dublin, bearing in mind I don't know Belfast at all?

Any hints for a plan of action?

I intend buying quite a lot of stuff, not furniture but cutlery, lamps, cushions, duvets, rugs, kitchenware, bed linen, etc.

Luckycharm said:

Anyone got any furniture from Argos some of the stuff looks reasonable enough.

Click to expand...

LOOKS reasonable in the catalogue. In fact......eeh........not worth it unless you're desperate - you'll only have to replace it a few years down the line. Same IMHO for Homebase which seems to be Argos furniture anyway. they use Argos to deliver at any rate.

I'd recommend the trip. Did it a few months ago.

We rented a transit van for the day and headed up early. You need a full day there for picking out, collecting, buying etc.

I plan on going again in early January. What I'll be doing is heading up for a day in the car for a look around at some of the stuff. A lot of it looks better 'in the flesh' - the catalogue or online examples don't do it justice. Then I'll be heading home and planning exactly what we need to get. Rent a transit van or similar and make the trip up on another day to buy, collect, packup.

It's not an easy day out, I'll be honest. But you'll save a lot overall if you're planning on getting a lot of stuff for your house or apartment. Bring someone with you who can keep you entertained for the long drive, and that can help with loading all the gear!

A few things aren't worth it. I wouldn't get kitchen stuff like pots and pans there. But the beds are excellent (and you can test them out there!), the furniture is great (sturdy and looks quality, unlike crap from Argos).

Hope this helps.

Gordanus said:

LOOKS reasonable in the catalogue. In fact......eeh........not worth it unless you're desperate - you'll only have to replace it a few years down the line. Same IMHO for Homebase which seems to be Argos furniture anyway. they use Argos to deliver at any rate.

Click to expand...

Argos and Homebase are part of the same group so there's is bound to be crossover in some places.

I have some Argos furniture .... it does the job for me .... I'm single so no kids about but it is easily marked.

It was a quick fix for me .... catalogue .... look .... order .... forget .... delivery .... put together ..... job done!

If I were to replace I would start with one piece at a time and get a better quality replacement next time round.

europhile said:

Any hints for a plan of action?

Click to expand...

Borrow a sat nav for the day? Log in coordinates and it'll bring you to the door.
Very easy to find anyway - head for the city airport. Borrow an estate/van/trailer as others have stated. It's almost impossible to just pop in and out!

Measure up at home and remember that IKEA fittings are not always compatible with standard units/drawers.

Well worth the trip and effort, though.

Get there for 9ish, go for a really good and really cheap breakfast (less than £2 and as much coffee as you want, if I remember correctly and they don't take euro cash). The shop opens at 10am but I think the restaurant opens earlier. Good spot for one parent to mind kids (there's a creche too, though) and watch planes land while parent no. 2 has a look around in peace.

When you go in, you are "guided" around the floor, so you won't miss anything. Do the display floor and note the products you'll collect in the collection area. Make notes of what you want to get, but remember, all those flat packs have to fit in the car later.

Downstairs are all the bits and bobs you seem more interested in. If you're anything like me, you'll fill the trolley - there's something in the air!

Go for a cheap lunch/coffee! Sit back and wonder how you managed to buy so much stuff you never thought you'd want for so little money.

Then you go into the collection area where all the flat-packs are. If you've made your notes, you'll find the aisles easily. Some items come in 2 or more boxes so be prepared for some parts not to be there. The staff are extremely helpful.

I went on a Thursday morning and it was quiet. I'd say Saturday is hell.

If nothing else, it's worth going for a look.

Enjoy!

That's very helpful. Thank you.

Is the food edible? I imagine that it would be on the grim side.

Food is fine - for some reason the meatballs are hyped up. Didn't like them myself.
But you can fill up on the cheap. Should keep you going for the day anyway!

For the person looking for advice on how to get there - if you can get a satnav, that's definitely the best thing to do. Otherwise, get a good road map and print out the route from AA routeplanner website.

If there are items you know you want. Go on line and check if they are in stock in Ikea Belfast. Also tells you when it can be found in the warehouse i.e. which aisle and rack. We are very pleased with the items we got. We were up about 3 weeks ago. there is a 70p charge on credit card transactions. They don't take euro in the restaurant but will in the shop.

In my opinion it's well worth the trip. You can certainly find everything you need in Dublin and you can probably find stuff here at around the same price, the difference is the design and quality of what they're selling. I simply haven't been able to find anything comparable here in design quality for their prices. For example, when I was last there I bought a nest of two occasional tables, cutting-edge design, space-saving and innovative for £19.99!!!, I also bought a non-stick saute pan for £29.99, a comparable one here was 96 euro and I bought a Bonsai tree for £11, a comparable one here was 89 euro. I would suggest that you check the catalogue online before you go, so that you get an idea of what's available, but bear in mind that there's far more in the shop than the catalogue, they also have "specials" near the checkouts. I think they're unbeatable for things like rugs, lighting, storage, bathroom stuff, bedlinen and towels. The kids furniture range is just brilliant. The food is good and incredibly cheap (I love the Dime bar cake) a two course lunch with soft drinks and coffee for 2 was £11.40 with free refills of soft drinks and coffee. Getting there is easy, just follow signs for George Best or City Airport but don't make the mistake of turning in there, go past it and take next turn left, it's well signposted. Details directions from Dublin on their website.

I visited Ikea recently. Didn't like the experience. Masses of people. Bought some stuff all of which was very cheap but turned out to be of awful quality. Found the style of the furniture to be out of date.
Cant understand the hype.

A word of warning;

If you buy anything in a box just check before you leave that everything that is meant to be there is actually there, I bought a box of nice cutlery which were expensive enough and when I opened the box a few months later there was only one fork, the one that was at the front of the box, the rest of the set was there but only one fork which is a bit of a pain.

I have been twice. Last time was Saturday.

Its very hard work. Mentally and physically.

However enormous savings to be had for items that just don't exist here.

Recommend going up alone so you have option of using space where passenger would be.

Obviously if not in a hurry wait for the ballymun one to open.

Anything I've bought from Ikea has stood the test of time, they are sturdy and well made and easy for anyone to put together. I wouldn't say they are beautiful. But they have some really clever/creative ideas, especially for space saving, storage, awkward spots. For examply I really liked the Billy bookcase concept, they have very practical dropleaf tables, washable couch covers, replacable covers etc. I hate the queues (so I go when it's quiet) but I like going there from time to time to see the innovations.

In relation to food, as the owner is really pushing all things Swedish, the menu, very reasonable priced and not toooooo bad, is also showing the 'best' of Swedish food, meatballs and gravalax (marinated salmon, kinda smoked salmon) springs to mind.

We made the trip there from the north-west a couple of weeks ago. Spent about 900 quid. We got everything we needed from the self-service aisles. However, one of the items we needed was a corner unit and it was a full serve item (you collect it from a counter from a memeber of staff). We presumed that was it as we were told to collect all the bits of the item from the counter. It wasn't until we got home and had most of the corner wardrobe made that we realised they forgot to give us the mirrored doors.

Now trying to argue the fact that they forgot to give us the doors (which they clearly did), so they should in fact courier them down to us as it was a 4 hour drive each way and we had to rent a van as the wardrobes are very long. Still on going, and now dealing with Ikea people in UK of course.

Apart from that, the stuff is great!! Functional, does what it does.