Hyde Park, Glendale, Wyoming – all have nice village shops. I wasn’t on a quest to browse for rugs, dishes, kitchen cabinetry, lamps, baskets, bookcases or knickknacks when I went to buy the futon. That is the entire point of this thread.
Now that I know what it is, I’ll either be prepared to browse or skip it altogether.
[quote=“AnalogSignal, post:120, topic:567343”]
[li]I don’t want to spend hours assembling a cheap looking bookcase.[/li][li]I don’t like when the cheap bookcase starts bending and warping if you put any kind of weight on it.[/li][/QUOTE]
Those two might be connected. 
Maybe I went to a different IKEA in Orlando than you (;)), but I could compare any experience I had in that particular IKEA with the Disney Brazilian tour groups I experienced while in Disney or its popular side destination, The Florida Mall. Mind you, IKEA has the far superior Scandinavian food, and it’s reasonably priced!
IKEA has been a store I loved for nearly two decades-- back when my age was in the single digits, we were on a family trip to Iceland and we (for one reason or another) made a stop in the local IKEA. I fell in love almost instantly. Bright colors, smooth lines, interesting concept lamps! On another trip when I was a teenager, we ended up purchasing a lamp and rewiring it for 110 when we got back, as it was cheaper than trying to find its design equivalent in South Florida. For years I gazed longingly at the pages of the catalogs, knowing that I could not yet have a local IKEA, but it was nice to dream about.
Then one day after I moved to the Orlando area, an IKEA opened. Was it as magical as I remember it being in Iceland? No, but I still really enjoy going there, sitting on the couches, playing with the airplane hanger-style kitchen cabinet doors, and daydreaming about funky but simple design everywhere in our house. After several trips to the IKEA, we have four LACK side tables arranged as a coffee table, a black KLIPPAN sofa that we’re experimenting with painting on, the best $7 cast iron pan I have ever owned, two BEKVAM carts arranged into a mini island in our kitchen, and pot racks we could afford but still do their job beautifully. The best part about the IKEA in Orlando for me was that I could have my open-faced sandwiches without having to do the work of finding salad shrimp that were small enough, then prepping all of the other bits and bobs that go into making one that’s just right. Oh, and there’s no leftovers to worry about potentially wasting-- but I don’t think I’ve ever managed to waste smorgasbord makings.
It’s not a store that’s meant to be everything to everyone, but, like Target, it fills a niche for a segment of the market: we can’t all afford super expensive stuff, we may not want super pricey stuff, but when we do shop at a cheaper rate, we may want a sense of whimsy or some imagination about the idea of what items could be when they are designed for consumers. After all, somebody has got to want a brightly colored tea kettle.
I don’t imagine it’s available any more, but a year ago or so, the Financial Times had a short video about the first IKEA in China. People were going to IKEA to spend the day; seeing someone asleep on a couch or bed was not unusual (the staff said they considered those as a recomendation, “see, our beds are really comfy!”). They knew that some of the people measuring and taking photos of everything were planning on making knock-offs but weren’t worried about it - and often, people would go in to spend the afternoon and leave with another package of scented candles.
ETA: it’s not from IKEA, but the gift I brought for my sister in law when I was in Switzerland was a set of teapot, teacup and plate, in orange and fuchsia. She used it last Christmas to make the tea Mom asked for, and it was a huge hit… with Littlebro, Mr. Modern Man, whose house is done in ash (kitchen) and wengue (the rest), with accents in bright colors.
I must say, I’m pretty shocked at how many people keep track of the names of products they bought. For all I know, my bookshelves and dining chairs are named OSCAR, GROUCHO AND SNUFFALUFAGUS. Actually, I’m pretty sure that last one is right.
Append this to my first post in the thread, and I think we’ve basically got this describing IKEA thing licked.