Thursday 5th October 2023
I have 2 months left of my 2023 UK 'summer'. It feels like a really long time ago that I was wearing a t-shirt while walking up part of the hill in Arran with my brother and KJ in the June heat. Today, the grey soggy weather continued to wrap Glasgow while Europe had warm temperatures. This time, last year my friend and I, travelled on a train from Rome to Venice and the memories popped up today to remind me.
Around lunchtime today, my sister in law was convinced to head to IKEA because she said it's a real journey once inside. I haven't been inside the store since 2017 so I got very excited at the possibility. She is doing a photo frame project so she agreed to going, after asking what was I looking for.
'I currently don't even have a home, but I love IKEA...' I replied.
Now that I've had a tiny taste of Norway, I really appreciated the Swedish store. I love the minimalist, neat and clean style of furnishings and their displays had me want to move in immediately. I'm a bit of a hoarder though, although I've kept it under control, so walking around the displays, room to room had me wishing and jumping and imagining. Another issue for me, would be the self assessment the furniture, but it didn't stop me sitting on the couches and I even lay on the one bed.
Pauline found her photo frames and we both kept ourselves under control and I was very proud of her restraint. But my senses were entertained. Apart from testing furniture, stroking all the furry fabrics and opening up the kitchen cabinets, I appreciated the different fragrances at specific zones. Almost incense-like in the lounges, food-like in the kitchen areas, they had talc smell in the baby cot and accessories area. The design of the shop is a long walk through the warehouse in one particular direction and it feels like walking through the private homes of the Swedes. I love it!
I had to look up a bit of the history...."Ingvar Kamprad founded IKEA in 1943 at the age of 17, selling goods like pens and wallets. Småland, his home county in Sweden, was heavily forested with stony soil...."
There's a restaurant area that we resisted but the idea behind it is explained....
"The idea comes from something Ingvar observed: people left the store at lunchtime to eat in one of the restaurants or street kitchens in Älmhult. This interrupted the whole buying process. He realised that hungry customers buy less...."
I also resisted Pauline's suggestion to hide inside overnight, but only just, haha. I had to pack and get ready for my trip to Edinburgh tomorrow, but maybe next time....
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