by Jill Jackson

Created on: February 20, 2009

My first trip to IKEA was the Grand Opening on March 12, 2008. I didn't camp out but I did arrive bright, and early, and stand in line with all the excited IKEAphiles. Up until then I'd only browsed the online catalogue and wasn't that impressed. Online, most of the furniture looked cheap and boxy and I couldn't really get a good idea of how it would look in my space. Not only that, but a lot of the items I did like were only available in-store. For me, in-store meant renting a U-haul and spending most of the day (and a lot of money on gas) driving to Pittsburgh or Chicago. The furniture didn't look that good, so it hardly seemed worth it. But, I'd heard good things about IKEA - from people whose opinions I trust - so when a the new store opened I decided to give it a chance. Especially since it was less than 30 minutes from my house.

I will say one thing about IKEA; they have traffic control down to an art. Upon entry the crowd was immediately directed upstairs to the showroom. And the entire store has signs setup to direct flow in a certain direction. You can walk against the flow but it's noticeable and is distinctly uncomfortable. Kind of like skating against the flow at a skating rink.

The showroom is great and it's one of the things that I love about IKEA. Like any furniture showroom they have mock rooms setup with stylish arrangements of furniture and accessories, so you can see how it might look in your own house - if you had any design sense. But they also have these great house mock ups like the 750 Sq Ft house or the 325 Sq Ft house, which inspires (or embarrasses) shoppers to quit complaining already about the design limitations of their own "tiny" (1000+ Sq Ft) spaces.

Another great thing about the showroom is that you get to see the merchandise up close. Stuff that looked boxy and cheap, online, looks much better in person. There was a lot of bedroom furniture that I would never have considered using in my space, until I saw it in person. At the same time, there were things that I thought I'd love that I realized wouldn't work in my space at all. And, of course, because it's all out there for you to see, you can see things that you might never find online because you're not looking for it.

I also like the cafeteria. It's cheap, the portions are pretty good and, my favorite part, you can find healthy menu items. Sure, they have the Swedish meatballs with potatoes and lingonberry sauce. Sure they have the spiced cake and apple cake. But you can also

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