# Can I get you ladies anything, I'm just popping down to IKEA ...... ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 12, 2003, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662 "2003-05-12T11:20:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/1 "2003-05-12T11:20:26Z")
I was talking to a friend who lives in Alabama and she seemed to think her nearest Ikea was in Pittsburgh or similar … so she pretty much slid down the wall and rocked back and forth glassy eyed with her tongue lolling when I mentioned I was going and had a 15 minute drive down the road to get there. That was Saturday, I think she’s still there. So, yep, I’m off for some shelving and to take a look around this two-story, quadruple-sized aircraft hanger sized emporium. Might even have a spot of lunch. To be honest, I find Ikea a bit cheap-for-students through to high-street-chic for my tastes but there is some good stuff there as well. And the prices, gals ! 😃 Anyway, [can I get you ladies anything while I’m there …… ?](http://www.ikea.co.uk/) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/2 "2003-05-12T11:22:47Z")
We don’t have an IKEA in Dublin (they tried, but the red tape kept them at bay). People actually take ferry trips to Liverpool just so they can visit it. So can you get me a floor-to-ceiling MDF CD rack please, so that the missus will shut up about it? ---
**Author:** ![Honeydew\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e19b73/32.png) [@Honeydew\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honeydew_1)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/3 "2003-05-12T11:36:22Z")
I was just going to say that **jjimm** (brat :p) I love IKEA stuff… good looking and good prices… why the hell did the idea fail in Dublin??? They’d have made a fortune. ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/4 "2003-05-12T11:39:13Z")
See, I have issues with the floor-to-ceiling concept. It’s fine in principle; minimalist, echo’s of space-saving, student lodgings days (and nights), etc. but the bastard thing is useless after 8 pints and a Camberwell Carrot - the CD you want is always near the bottom, or you assume it’s near the bottom because you can’t focus and missed it higher up. Nah ! learned my lesson. Parallel shelving for the CD’s (is there any other !). Time to re-think, **jjimm**. Btw, I’m jolly well orf … you’re all too late … ---
**Author:** ![Einmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Einmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Einmon)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/5 "2003-05-12T11:43:15Z")
Oh dear…now he’s gone…and who’ll bring me the chocolate-orange cookies that IKEA is renowned for around here (don’t know if they sell foodstuff in other countries)? Me want cookies!! _pout_ (BTW, a room is not a room if you can’t address all your pieces of furniture by name.) ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/6 "2003-05-12T11:49:23Z")
Now, see, my problem with the floor-to-ceiling concept is that, based on the pictures in the catalog, IKEA assumes everyone lives in buildings with 5m high ceilings or something. So their calculations on how much extra space Going Cubic will get you, don’t work for those of us in 1970s-era housing with our measley 2.35m. Other than that, well, we’ve got two kids and an IKEA store ten minutes’ drive away. It should come as no surprise that IKEA is taking over our house :eek: ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/7 "2003-05-12T12:04:35Z")
**Honeydew** the idea failed due to our planning restrictions. The size of retail outlets is capped at ~65,000sq ft. IKEA was looking for a shop of ~300,000 sq ft IIRC While it is annoying that IKEA may not set up it also would mean that huge outlets could set up all over the place and we don’t have the transport infrastructure to support such things, or so a politician said on Morning Ireland last week 😉 I just moved into a fully furnished new Apt. so IKEA can stay in the UK for all I care 🙂 could do with a nice CD/DVD rack though. ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/8 "2003-05-12T12:07:19Z")
Did somone mention IKEA? Let me go get the bible (their websites suck bum). Actually, don’t need the bible, get me 3 Billys, 2 Bonde media cases, 5 Billy top-sets and a dark grey Göteborg sofa please. Throw in a pair of Anton desks and we are away 🙂 My closest Ikea is the original store, but it is still too far away for people without cars ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/9 "2003-05-12T12:30:24Z")
In Alabama? Where, pray tell? Their website doesn’t mention one. I’d be very curious to go. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/10 "2003-05-12T12:33:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GMRyujin \* > \*\*In Alabama? Where, pray tell? Their website doesn’t mention one. I’d be very curious to go. \*\* Re-read the OP: the friend lives in Alabama, but her nearest IKEA is Pittsburgh. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/11 "2003-05-12T12:38:40Z")
Actually, depending on where she lives in Alabama, the Houston, TX store may well be closer. It’s still 562 miles from the state capital, though, so “closer” is a bit of a relative term. If you really want to make your friend sick, **London\_Calling** , tell her that I regularly drive past _two_ IKEAs on my trips to Toronto: one in Hamilton, the other in the Toronto suburbs. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/12 "2003-05-12T12:42:34Z")
I generally spend my Ikea time (the Potomac Mills store in Northern Virginia) counting the pregnant women with foreign accents. Last time (three weeks ago) I counted 7 in one hour. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/13 "2003-05-12T12:49:19Z")
I just did some remodeling of my kitchen, most of the stuff came from Ikea. ---
**Author:** ![guava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/71e660/32.png) [@guava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guava)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/14 "2003-05-12T13:24:17Z")
Sure, can you pick me up a [Gutvik](http://www.b0g.org/wsnm/print.php?4248)? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/15 "2003-05-12T13:29:42Z")
> [@](#): > > _ **Duke** said:_ > If you really want to make your friend sick, **London\_Calling** , tell her that I regularly drive past two IKEAs on my trips to Toronto: one in Hamilton, the other in the Toronto suburbs. And I might add that I live near the one in Etobicoke (I’m on the same Sunday bus route that goes by it, and when I get on the bus on Sunday afternoons, I always see people with Ikea packages) and I can take the subway to the _third_ one in the Toronto area… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/16 "2003-05-12T13:33:10Z")
Ah, I just came from Ikea yesterday. I bought two under-the-bed storage bins and two four-packs of brushed nickel hooks. I love Ikea. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/17 "2003-05-12T13:39:37Z")
There’s an IKEA about a 5 minute drive away from where I work. Open 6 (sometimes 7) days a week, 9-21 hours (which is unheard of over here!). From home, it’s a 10 minute drive rather than 5. Ample parking, good hot dogs. And reasonably priced furniture that _can_ be of great quality (not all their stuff is). I love my PAX wardrobe setup, although it was a bitch and a half to construct, what with the 300 kilos (yes, three hundred kilograms!) of 2.35 meter boards having to be set up in a room with a width of 2.40 meters. :eek: Yes, IKEA is definitely a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/18 "2003-05-12T13:45:00Z")
Oh… and checking the website, it looks like there’s going to be a _fourth_ Ikea in the Toronto area this year! 🙂 Me, I’m in the market for a small kitchen table… ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/19 "2003-05-12T13:46:50Z")
Hey, Coldfire, the Pax wardrobe is the one we have our eye on, too. Do you have the one with the frosted glass doors? ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662/20 "2003-05-12T13:48:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by London\_Calling \* > \*\*See, I have issues with the floor-to-ceiling concept. It’s fine in principle; minimalist, echo’s of space-saving, student lodgings days (and nights), etc. but the bastard thing is useless after 8 pints and a Camberwell Carrot - the CD you want is always near the bottom, or you assume it’s near the bottom because you can’t focus and missed it higher up. > > Nah ! learned my lesson. Parallel shelving for the CD’s (is there any other !). > > Time to re-think, **jjimm**. > Btw, I’m jolly well orf … you’re all too late … \*\* Jjimm, perhaps its best remembering that one very good reason that neither I nor yourself should get floor to ceiling CD racks is that we can’t reach the top. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-you-ladies-anything-im-just-popping-down-to-ikea/174662.md?page=2)