I love Ikea

Nine months after it's June 2008 grand opening, I finally made the trek out to the Ikea store in  Red Hook Brooklyn. And I  mean it was a trek. Unless you have a car, you have to take at the minimum of 2 modes of transportation. 

I took the train to the 9th Street/4th Avenue stop and then transferred to the B77 bus. The free water taxi and shuttle bus only runs in the afternoon. 

The bus took another 20 minutes to get to the store and meandered throughout the Red Hook section of Brooklyn which is near the waterfront. The route includes a Lowe's, various factories and Red Hook projects. 

Let's give Ikea credit, they did a phenomenal job of not only putting up the store in a desolate area but the surrounding park is beautiful. I can only say that I hope that the area gets some much needed accessories(big box store) to go with that park and store. 

I arrived before the store opened and had a free cup of coffee. I had already eaten breakfast so I could not partake in the 99cent breakfast.  

I proceeded to spend the next 2 hours wandering the store, looking at various pieces that might fit into the apartment. I am not sure if am going end up buying furniture there. In my opinion, I don't think the furniture is well made even for the low price. And frankly if you add on delivery and furniture assembly (and yes, I would have to have some one put it together) charges, I would rather upgrade to another store. 

Excluding the furniture, there is plenty of other stuff to look at and buy. 

I did actually have a goal in mind. I really want to redecorate with bright colors and florals,  I am all about color this year. It's a new year and I  want to be more bold in choosing colors for my apartment instead of muted peach/pinks. Why not?

Also,  because my sofa is dark burgundy and the rug is brown/peach color, so it needs to be brightened up. I love Ikea because they sell Marimekko fabrics. Try as I may none of the fabric worked with my sofa color. So I ended up with 2 light green/light rust floral sofa pillows and replacement cushions for my dining table chairs.  

The downside of not having a car is that it limits your purchases. This means that I have to make a trip out to buy some picture frames.