baratron: (grinning)
baratron ([personal profile] baratron) wrote2007-12-02 12:11 am
Entry tags:

Ikea 3, h-l & Richard 4

We just got back from Ikea. SIX AND A HALF HOURS!! Plus an hour or so's travelling in either direction, making it eight and a half hours in all.

Still, we have slain the mighty Ikea beast. Achieved all of the furniture on our list except for the doors for the new BESTA and the two bedside tables to go alongside our new beds, which isn't any great loss as the only bedside tables they do in birch are vile. Though we picked a couple of tables in white (one of the HEMNES designs with a drawer on top of a cupboard), we're not amazingly sold on them; so the extra time will be useful to look in other shops.

Did not achieve new bedding. The one I really wanted is discontinued, and it has taken me well over an hour to find out even what its name was. Ikea have discontinued it, Richard doesn't remember it, and there is no evidence of it ever having existed in the past 4 years of Ikea catalogues, so I was feeling like a crazy person who hallucinated its existence. It was brown, and had a white tree design, with what I remembered as blue blossom flowers. I eventually found out it was called AMORF. But it's almost non-existent on eBay, and the only site I can find selling it is in Germany, where they have weird bed sizes. Not sure what the standards there are, but German Ikea bedding comes in 140 x 200, 155 x 220 and 240 x 220 cm; compared to most of the rest of Europe where it's 150 x 200, 200 x 200 and 240 x 220 cm. Hmm. We also wanted to match Richard's existing BRUNSKÄRA in green, but BRUNSKÄRA is in the process of being discontinued and only exists in red in Croydon, and red and blue worldwide. Dunno why they got rid of the green, it's the nicest colourway.

I would also like to say that this duvet cover disturbed me immensely until I saw the double version. I thought it was supposed to be one of those chalk line around a murder scene things, and in fact it's two people dancing :P

We were extremely successful in the kitchenware department, buying only 6 pasta bowls, which we've been saying we needed more of for ages. In general we did fairly well with the accidental purchases, though I did accidentally buy a gigantic silverfish. KLAPPAR SKALBAGGE is an enormous cuddly arthropod which, like all of Ikea's toys, cost virtually nothing. I've been needing a new creature to hug in bed, as poor Yowie the octopus really isn't up to the amount of washing that's necessary to stop me dying of dust mite allergy, and this kritter is fully machine washable. Richard points out that he is also the Alpha Dust Mite, and will scare away all lesser dust mites. Hrm! I was also strangely drawn to these LED lights, and ended up buying two sets of them, one in multicolour and the other in white. We'll use them on the new shelf that's going above the new beds.

Most of the stuff is being delivered courtesy of Ikea's home delivery service, but we may need to abuse one of our friends with a car at some point when we go to get the missing doors.

[identity profile] jinian.livejournal.com 2007-12-02 06:07 am (UTC)(link)
KLAPPAR SKALBAGGE is amazing! I want his mouth to be a zipper.

[identity profile] baratron.livejournal.com 2007-12-02 02:02 pm (UTC)(link)
It is!

This blogger (http://www.namenerds.com/fuckoff/) says "his mouth zips open so I can hide treasures or drugs or anything else I want to in there." (See November 26th entries). I have been quoting that at Richard ever since, and I think he's getting sick of it ;)

Do you want me to get you one next time we go to Ikea?

By the way, what kind of creature do you - in your role as a biology graduate - think he is? There is some debate about whether he's a woodlouse (not silverfish - they have a set of mandibles on the back), or some other kind of louse, or an isopod. I'm pretty sure he's not the sort of isopod that eats tongues, though.
Edited 2007-12-02 14:27 (UTC)

[identity profile] fluffymormegil.livejournal.com 2007-12-02 12:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Klappar Skalbagge == glee!

[identity profile] baratron.livejournal.com 2007-12-02 02:25 pm (UTC)(link)
I really do love strange cuddly toys! Once, I bought my ex-boyfriend a cuddly IKEA allen key (wrench) because it reminded me of him. (He had a big nose.)

[identity profile] memevector.livejournal.com 2007-12-02 12:06 pm (UTC)(link)
he is also the Alpha Dust Mite, and will scare away all lesser dust mites.

::amused::
nitoda: sparkly running deer, one of which has exploded into stars (Default)

[personal profile] nitoda 2007-12-03 12:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmmmm - haven't been to IKEA in too long. I always come home with Swedish food goodies .... and I need some more .... :-)
lovingboth: (Default)

[personal profile] lovingboth 2007-12-03 02:21 pm (UTC)(link)
While I remember, the last chance to say 'I want that Archimedes' is rapidly approaching, because ebay is beckoning...

[identity profile] baratron.livejournal.com 2007-12-03 08:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I certainly want it - I can even give you money for it! The problem is the transportation, and I'm not sure how to solve that one.
lovingboth: (Default)

[personal profile] lovingboth 2007-12-04 10:10 am (UTC)(link)
Are you around tomorrow afternoon? It'd be possible to drop it + the first IKEA bag of stuff (manuals, mostly) off then...

[identity profile] baratron.livejournal.com 2007-12-04 08:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Tomorrow being Wednesday? I shall be in or near home until about 4.15pm, then I am away from home until quite late. My address and phone number are in posts tagged with contact details (http://baratron.livejournal.com/tag/contact+details). Email is a notoriously bad way to get any time-critical information to me, phone or SMS/text message is much better.
lovingboth: (Default)

[personal profile] lovingboth 2007-12-04 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Yep, tomorrow.

I'll call/text to let you know an estimated time tomorrow early afternoon, but it'll be before 4.15...