IKEA has always been something we look forward to exploring, we do love IKEA if I may say. When the kids were younger, they enjoy playing pretend at the furniture displays, relating the layout to country colors, and familiar designs.We would eat lunch there often, be it Köttbular, salmon, schnitzel, we’ll enjoy the drink-all-you-can station and we would be happy with their new menus. We would always try a new cake, muffin, or other sweets on the offer, too.
When lockdown was lifted, it was the first place we went to – not just to eat or to shop things together, it was a breather as well. The kids don’t really approve of me taking their photos anymore, so the ones you’ll see on here are candid and stolen! 😀 IKEA is one of the places the kids still enjoy, after all these years, and it’s really more than just a furniture store. Here are reasons why we love IKEA.
Table of Contents
Touchable Displays
IKEA’s display of living room, dining, bedroom sets are all free to sit on, lie on, and touch. Yes, you can try how soft IKEA mattresses are by lying down on them.
Listing Your Wares
When you get to IKEA you’d see stands with small pencils, papers, and paper measuring tapes so you can measure the items properly (although most furniture has the info on width, height, thickness listed) and list down the items you would want to buy. Seeing them on display is one thing, but looking for them from the warehouse is another story. The mini pencils are free to take home, by the way, who doesn’t love free items?

Play Pretend All Day
As mentioned, the kids love playing pretend while in IKEA. When they were younger, they would even ask me to take their photo while checking on the items, while pretending to be cooking, or while pretending to be speaking with a customer (at the office section).
So Much Stuff to Buy
IKEA has a lot of stuff in its hectares of warehouse. You’ll find table napkins to plates, towels and bedsheets, chairs and tables, TV cabinets, bathroom storage, balcony umbrellas, sinks, almost anything you need in the house from when you sleep, to having breakfast, from tooth brushing to bathing. And they just continue to add a thing or two every single visit.
Challenging Like Lego
We love IKEA for giving us a good challenge every time a package arrives, be it big or small. The pieces come with instructions, of course, and some times they’re drawn a bit funny and odd. But it’s a test of one’s capability to follow instructions. ^_^ One single mistake could send your project crumbling, like building with legos, IKEA cabinets are fun to build, just now, they are bigger and would actually be used in real life – like lego scaled to real life.
Plants
IKEA has a lot of plants – both plastic imitations and real ones. You can even find Alocasia, a specie endangered in the Philippines and other regions, for 9,99€. On our last visit, the kids bought a carnivore plant, and they have been tending to it since day one.
Pet Needs
Yes, IKEA has also incorporated pet needs among its products, with old products redesigned to fit our furbabies’ necessities. For example the Kallax shelves can incorporate the Kallax Cathouse…It even has a a cute cat-shaped hole for a door. Well, it’s a way to tell people that a cat lives there.
Other items as food bowls, pet beds, leash, cat carrier, and even under rugs to keep the home clean from litter sand and such are available.
Affordable
IKEA’s furniture and items are not just affordable, you can opt to pay on instalment. Compared to other furniture stores, the prices of IKEA’s products are better, quality-wise they’re more superior too. And yes, Scandinavian style could be simple, but it’s elegant too (except there’s weirdness blended in some)!
Fun Names to Pronounce
Being Swedish, IKEA’s names, and letters for its items are much different even from German. The kids and I would have fun reading them and also trying to use them in sentences, after figuring out words that would best sounds like – either in English, German, Filipino (Japanese is far from the words).
Funny, Curious, Weird Designs
Once, the ceiling lamp in the kids room was a really big cloud. It was fun to look at from a kid’s perspective (I am a kid at heart too).Through the years, IKEA designers have produced many other cloud-looking lamps. In photo is one of the latest. It’s fun and cute,but also weird in a way.
IKEA has an app that allows customers to design their own kitchen, bedroom, or office with their app planner. It’s fun, and sometimes people do make weird designs that would surely send you laughing.
More Than Just Meatballs
We love IKEA’s food. They have so many menus added through the years or changed, and we would try each and every one of them when we visit.
The breakfast offerings weren’t there when the kids were younger, so it was a surprise to them the first time we dined for breakfast.
Sometimes, there would be new cakes in their shelves which you won’t be able to find from outside stores. At one point, IKEA started offering fish by the gram, and I was happy because I’ve been on a lowcarb diet, and potatoes aren’t exactly what I need – which is their side dish for many of their meals.
Here’s a recipe for the meatballs we had often, but IKEA did give the recipe to Köttbular during lockdown, so that’s worth checking out. Although nowadays, the Köttbular is called by a different name, it’s still as yummy as what we know.
The best part about IKEA food is you can buy most of them from their food section to take home. From salmon to meatballs, Almondy cakes to Swedish chocolates, even ciders, and chips. Oh, it’s also a drink-all-you-can for 1€ (coffee and tea included) too.

Catalogue
IKEA’s catalogues are free. We never fail to get one every year, it’s so nice to look at the design ideas that many designers put effort into.You can even have your own photo printed on the cover at some of their branches!
Furniture For Years
We’ve had most of our furniture for 17 years now. ^_^ Yes, cabinets, shelves, shoe-banks, lamps, plates and utensils, and most of our stuff found in the kitchen are from IKEA. We simply love IKEA products. We (hubby and I assembled them) by ourselves.
Guarantee
Twenty-five years, that’s how long the guarantee for IKEA products are. Well, this would be for a lot of products, others have a 2-year statutory guarantee. You have 365 days to return unused product if you decide it’s not what you need. :O
Big Bags
Remember Balenciaga’s blue bag that went viral? Well, the IKEA sack bag really doesn’t look much different, it even has the exact same shade. There’s a lot you can put in that bag, that’s why you’ll find a number of them at our home (they’re foldable – very easy to store). If we need to go out and carry a lot of stuff, the IKEA blue bag can hold them all.
Like mentioned above, finding items at IKEA’s warehouse is another story, it’s like you’ve gone through a massive maze looking for a product, putting things you “might” need at home, and then search for those that you really need in another big maze. Which is another activity that the kids love IKEA for. We can’t wait to visit the eco-IKEA that is soon to open in Vienna. We’ll update you next time when we visit.
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Ikea has more than just furnishings. They have so many great housewares!! I need to make a run to IKEA which is long overdue!
Everyone is IKEA happy! 😀
What a great list of why you love IKEA! I haven’t been inside one and I’m not even sure if we have one within even an hour drive away. Small town gal here. I’ll have to see where the closest one is around here and find out what IKEA is all about soon.
IKEA is fun. It’s been a while since I went, but I need to go back. I always like looking at what they have.
I looove IKEA and I have used many of their products and use their design for inspiration.
Wow so much options to choose from. You’ll never be bored in IKEA. Haven’t been there but now I’m curious and excited to be there. They have it all and seems to be so much fun there.
Every time I got to Ikea I get lost in the kitchen displays. I love their style!
Ikea is one of my favorite stores to shop at. I can’t wait until my next shopping trip.
I wish there was an IKEA near us. I think the closest one is about 8 hours away. I’ve never been to one, but it always looks like an interesting store!
Me and my wife also love IKEA! It’s really a wonderful place to shop, eat and roam around. Hope you had so much fun!
I love IKea too. I buy online these days. Their weird designs are unique and awesome!
I’ve actually never been to an IKEA! But I’ve heard it’s really cool. I would love to go just for the food alone.
Looks like a really good place! Given that there are many options to pic and Im loving the atmosphere!
I love IKEA! I can stay there the whole and just enjoy the whole vibe and the food too, haha! Thank you for sharing this.
I adore IKEA. We find so many wonderful things at a super reasonable price. I love all the plants I get there. Unusual finds, like my ponytail plant.
I love IKEA too. Haven’t been there in a while, though because the closest to us is like 2-1/2 hours away.
Yes shopping at IKEA is fun, But nowdays I am not shopping there as it is far from our home. Not taking kids to any stores. Thanks for reminding me about IKEA trip
We love Ikea too! I could walk around for hours. And their meatballs are definitely my favorite!
My kids love Ikea too. It’s a fun store to look around and my kids really love the cafeteria but unfortunately, it’s closed due to COVID.