AIBU to think IKEA should be shut down

[Catmum26]

every single time we walk into that shop we argue so bad i think a divorce is on the cards. Then when we get home and have to build the crappy furniture with their sub standard instructions we have yet another row. currently sulking whilst my husband is swearing and crashing about. please tell me it’s not just us!

I walk past the Coventry IKEA several times a week but can't pop in for sandwich bags or a new chopping board (for example) because you have to walk a million miles around the shop, and the checkouts are always busy, no matter what time of day you go. It's all or nothing.

Love the cafe for a cheap lunch (and free city centre car parking) with the dc though.

Does anyone else always have a headache by the time they get to the lighting section? Happens to me whichever branch of IKEA I go to!

I love Ikea. A friend and I go for the entertainment. We spend the day in there, slowly walking around the place. Go to the cafe for mid-morning drinks and maybe a snack. Back to wandering around. Cafe for lunch. Back wandering. You get the idea. The arguments are amazing lol. Even better when kids are also thrown into the mix. Each parent blaming the other for not watching the kids. Trying to tell the kids to stop being little shits, but trying not to raise their voices and be nice.

Occasionally we will go out and have a wander around the carpark. Now those arguments can be epic, lots of blaming the other because the stuff won't fit. Trying to work out who to leave behind.

But then I get a pang of guilt and think fuck if these people cannot shop together without wanting a divorce then maybe their relationships were already fucked before going into Ikea. Was the argument really about the door handles on the kitchen cupboards or something else?

I love an IKEA trip - so does DH! I don’t really get why it causes others to argue so much but I don’t think you are alone - you hear others say the same! Maybe it’s easier because we don’t have kids.

DH and I are actually fine with IKEA, although we only go together if we're looking for something in particular, if I just want to browse I go on my own or with a friend. My parents once bought so much in IKEA when I still lived with them, they had to leave me there because all of us and the stuff wouldn't fit in the car. They did call a taxi to fetch me though to be fair

We love Ikea but not the Birmingham one - hate the car park in that one so we go to Bristol or Cardiff, which are both fab in our eyes.

It’s not for everyone though - a friend calls Ikea the seventh circle of hell and I know a few people who would rather stick hot pins in their eyes!!

DH and I always tell each other that we love each other before we go in, as bad things can happen in IKEA

so the wardrobe is assembled. it’s wobbly. very wobbly but i shant say anything as husband is looking very cross. also we picked up the wrong hanging rail so wardrobe is officially useless until we get a new one. thankfully we are buying that online.

Ah, The Place Where Couples Go To Argue ™ as it's known in our house! Many a 'fun' time had there! Don't get rid of it altogether though, about 97% of all the things in our house come from Ikea, what will we do if it ceases to exist??

Popped into Bristol Ikea once for lunch, rather than going to a motorway service station. As we came out, i heard my name being called. It was someone I knew from uni, and hadn’t seen for five years!

Loving all thes e Ikea stories. Haven’t been for years, and now desperately want to go!

We quite like a trip to IKEA but always end up buying stuff we didn’t need 😉

As for building the flat packs..... I actually find them very easy to build and very sturdy once done.

I live near Ikea (and my DS's school is 2 minutes away so often pop in before pick up time) and I love it. It's near enough that I can visit when quiet. I often go just to pass the time!

The only part I hate is the checkouts because it doesn't matter if it dead in the rest of the shop the queues will be huge! There's no 'yellow bag only' checkout anymore either. So I just want straws but there's 4 people buying a students house with of stuff. Grr. I'm too shy to ask to go first but thankfully my DH has no problems and people always say yes (despite being at near divorce point by then!).

I don't know how to live my life without Kallax anymore.

The best time to go to Ikea is during an England football match.

Failing that go before they open and settle with a cup of coffee. Pick items from the catalogue either in the cafe or at home.

Go to the warehouse, ask staff where things are.

Load and go to checkout.

Then load car, if you want a look round or to buy a lamp then you go back in.

Finish with meatballs.

Avoid Ikea at this time of year, it is full of parents with sulky 18 year olds. This is because 18 year old is going to uni and thinks they can pick what the want, but mum and/or dad has other ideas and want to dictate to said teen.

I think IKEA is the test of true love. Anyone can go to see a film and have a pizza but you really get a sense of a person under stress in IKEA. I have lost partners in my youth who insisted on not following the arrows and wanted to leave NOW. The current mr Julie jools has just built a kitchen and fitted our bedroom using Ikea furniture. He’s not the same and is possibly drinking a little more than normal but has said he refuses to leave me the house in case anyone makes him do it again. Stuff of Disney 💕

I still remember the amazing, calm, joyful occasion that I visited IKEA alone. It was about ten years ago and it was ace! No arguing with my ex, no yelling at my kids for climbing on furniture or running off... Bliss. I recommend it, along with solo cinema visits.

I love it. I especially like going backwards and through the shortcuts.

I buy their stuff and then pay a local man to build it!

Used to go when had 2 children, would end up running around, arguing and saying never again. Then would need something new and off we'd go again saying 'family day out!' Haven't been with four but now I'm reading this I feel guilty the little guys are missing out ... What is WRONG with me?!?!?

The only reason Dh and I nearly divorce at Ikea is because he insists on only buying things we ‘need’, doesn’t look in any of the room layouts except the ones we are actually shopping for, and won’t visit the cafe because it’s too busy and prefers a drive thru Costa on the way back. What a tool.

The only reason Dh and I nearly divorce at Ikea is because he insists on only buying things we ‘need’, doesn’t look in any of the room layouts except the ones we are actually shopping for, and won’t visit the cafe because it’s too busy and prefers a drive thru Costa on the way back. What a tool.

The only reason Dh and I nearly divorce at Ikea is because he insists on only buying things we ‘need’, doesn’t look in any of the room layouts except the ones we are actually shopping for, and won’t visit the cafe because it’s too busy and prefers a drive thru Costa on the way back. What a tool.

I like to insist on going when DH is hungover as punishment.

I'm sorry to say but I would think Ikea isn't to blame. You need to think more deeply . I'm sorry your having issues, however it's looking it's the issues, addressing them, talking about them. I wish you the best . I know how things can be x

I have to go with my dh because otherwise I get hopelessly lost
I bribe him with the quorn hot dog meals, icecream, the dime bars, and the frozen pizzas.

We have the world's tiniest car, so have to shop accordingly.

I love Ikea, I'm going tomorrow. DP is less than enthusiastic but I don't drive so he has to come, he is refusing to have a meatball lunch though which is obviously essential. I do all the construction as DP is hopeless at DIY, that saves arguments. He also doesn't give a toss what our home looks like, I run things by him or source what he asks for - we are going to IKEA for a storage coffee table for his office space, his only requests were plain and cheap so I saw the opportunity for a trip to my favourite shop