Strongly Worded

I Like Ikea

If you've talked to me at all over the last--oh, year or so--you know that I've been waiting with bated breath for the grand opening of Ikea in Stoughton, MA. An estimated 20,000 people attended the debut. Traffic was backed up for a mile outside the parking lot. And throngs of people camped out overnight to be among the first customers.

When I was growing up, the nearest Ikea was in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and my family and I frequently contemplated making the 6-hour drive, but we never actually did it. Then Ikea opened in New Haven (only 2 hours away). I discussed the possibility of a pilgrimmage to the Mecca of Affordable Scandinavian Furniture on many occasions, but it never happened because a) I never had a car and b) I had no means of transporting or assembling large pieces of furniture.

The much-heralded arrival of the Stoughton store prompted me to do some surveillance on the Ikea website, such that I've identified my first purchase, the Liatorp buffet with top cabinet which will, in one fell swoop, solve the abysmal storage situation in my kitchen. I have this gem bookmarked on my computer, and I look at it periodically with the kind of fondness normal people reserve for babies or pets.

I still haven't established how I will get baby Liatorp home (it is seven feet tall). My friend's truck, upon which I had pinned my hopes and dreams, has died. I may have to rent a van. And then I will have to pay someone to conduct the intense assembly process.

But does that dampen my joy? Was Rome built in a day? I think not.

Posted by Dori at 9:08 AM