Please help an Ikea virgin... Billy, Expedit or Besta?

[notasize10yetbutoneday]

I am so confused by both the Ikea website and the catalogue that I may weep. I am scared of Ikea because it is not like a normal shop- I have only been once during which time I spent three hours there and came out with some clip frames which I have never used.

Anyway, we HAVE to go to Ikea now because it is the only place doing remotely what I want. Which is, storage for our office bedroom.

I would like a tall (height of room is 2.3m) unit, with shelves, with doors on some or parts of the unit, to hide all the crap. In black/grey.

Billy, Expedit and Besta ranges all seem to fit this description so how on earth am i to decide between them?

Also hw will it work in the shop? Will there be a separate section for Billy, one for Expedit, etc? or is all the storage together and you just have to guess which one it is? How do you know which bits go with which unit/bookcase thing? Will there be someone there who will just do it all for me if I smile winsomely?

My head hurts. Is there anyone who has braved Ikea and emerged unscathed with the storage unit of their dreams?

TIA

Hi

The shop is split into two - upstairs bit - where you see everything and can pick up little things - such as bags of candles, and downstairs bit where all the big items are kept.

You go to upstairs and see which one you want, say billy bookcase. Then next to it is a number or aisle detail. (sorry it's been a while) and you write it down and keep walking. Kept followning the path - it leads to downstairs bit.

Then, in the downstairs, you find the aisle bit - towards end - a bit like a warehouse - and it's pretty straight forward finding the thing you're looking for. But the shelf label will also say BILLY or EXPEDIT.

Top tip for putting it together - read instructions and check screws, etc - some look quite similar nad if put in wrong are a bugger to get out.

Alternatively, I thought you could order online these days???

Measure up what you need - find out which style fits your requirements. If all of them do go to the shop and choose but already know from the catalogue/internet the pieces you do need and have it written down. Read where they are in the warehouse when you are at the shop. There will be a bookcase/hone office section. Go downstairs and get them into the trolley. The bookcases are often very tall and heavy, so I found them too heavy to lift myself - so take help. Also check that they will fit into your car. Then load up, go home and breathe. I've just sold my 10 year old Billy bookcases on ebay so they do last.

Definitely do as much of the brain work as you can before you go! The displays are good for getting a sense of the look/feel but all the possible configurations are quite mind-boggling so try and have everything written down. A tall Billy is immensely heavy -- there is no way I could wrangle one on my own. If you are sure what you want I would recommend online ordering.

Sorry, I remember now that you aren't sure what you want. In that case prob a good idea to have a look, but as Fiddledee says you should take some burly assistance with you if you're planning to buy it that day, and measure up your car as well.

Take all your measurements with you or you'll have a wasted journey wondering if it will fit in your room. Take a notepad and pen.

If it is too big for your car you wheel it to the home delivery bit (after the till) and the kind Ikea people deliver to your home for a charge.

My Ikea (Leeds) is all on one floor and is only 3 mile away for me

Follow the arrows so you don't miss anything, all the storage items are together so billy, expedit and besta are all together. When in the store there will be booklets on each one (usually on top of one of the items) which will list all the components that you can buy in the range.

Check which boxes/baskets fit into the cubby holes of your chosen item and remember that the baskets usually come in a few sizes so write down the size you need (you will pick those up in the bits and bobs bit near the end (candles/plants bit after the photos/pictures and frames bit)

Trolley wise, the supermarket style ones are normally available after the children's section just before you go into the crockery bit, the flat loader trolleys are after plants just before you get into the warehouse bit where all the bulky items are flat-packed waiting for you. At the beginning it is just the yellow bags.

Good luck, I love Ikea.

I thin that the Billy range is the most basic. I have a bookcase and it's not all that sturdy. I have an Expedit one as well and that seems to be more robust, if not chunky.

Definitely get brave and go and have a look and size up.

If you can find exactly what you want on the website you can then click to add it to your shopping list. When you've added everything you need then click to print and it will ask you which store you want to visit. Anything that you collect from the warehouse (and things like bookcases will be in the warehouse) will be listed with the exact location in which to find it. This will also highlight if anything is out of stock/not stocked at that store. Saves trawling round every department trying to find what you need.

Thank you all! Daisy that is an excellent tip about the shopping list, thank you. Going to do that now as we are going tonight. I am apprehensive and excited in equal measure. I think its the sheer amount of choice and possible permutations that is so overwhelming.

Heartsease- not sure thin as a rake DH counts as burly but we will have to manage between us somehow! our car isn't massive though so that might be an issue- does anyone know how much home delivery costs please? I couldn't see any details in the catalogue.

off topic- Heartsease- did you get your bathroom light sorted?

Good luck for tonight.

Come back and tell us exactly what you bought.

I always buy straws, napkins and some sort of kitchen gadget that I didn't know I needed.

Dont forget the Swedish food shop for some Dime bars. You can get a hotdog on the way out the door if your shopping trip has made you hungry.

Thanks Jacquaqueen- I have heard the Dime bars are yummmmy! I have managed to lure DH there with the promise of meatballs, hotdogs and other Swedish foodstuffs.

Just on the website now looking at Besta, which I think we will most likely go for as it has the deepest shelves. If we get the besta bookcase, and then some doors to go on the front, do you have to buy all the screws and door fixings and what not as well? Or do they come with the doors? I have visions of us doing an 80 mile round trip then finding out when we get home we haven't got a vital screw we needed.

Also stepping off topic -- how nice of you to remember my bathroom light saga, notasize10yet! The dullest thread I have ever inflicted on my fellow MNers. The plumber managed to jam a bulb in. I asked him how, and he said "with difficulty". So until it goes again I'm ignoring it [head in sand emoticon].

Yes if you buy the doors, they should come with all the appropriate fixings.

ARRRGGGHH The things I think i have finally decided I want are not available at our local store!

the billy ones are good when you have even floors or they look cheap.

I'm alive, I'm alive! I survived the whole experience unscathed! And, er, ended up getting so carried away we bought so much stuff that we had to take some things out of the boxes to get them in the car and I had to sit behind DH on the way home as the passenger seat was full of stuff. .

So after all my insistence that we NEEDED doors on the storage unit, we actually got
this

and these but in plain black and plain white to go on the bottom shelves

and this desk which attaches on to it.

We just need to assemble it all now...I am dreading it!

Sitting in the back seat of the car surrounded by ikea goods is the norm and there are always people in the ikea car park trying to wedge stuff in or opening boxes to get the items into the car.

Just look at the instructions carefully, they are really well thought out. make sure the pieces are laid out exactly like the pictures and move yourself around the piece if the next picture shows it from a different angle.

I have put lots of ikea furniture together, if I can do it, anyone can.

Congrats on the successful mission! I love the building part . Just make yourself lots of space and work out which bit is which before your start.

A word of warning: we have the same unit and it is VERY heavy to lift once it is assembled. We had to call on a neighbour to help!

EEEK! My mum has offered to help so hopefully with three of us it might be ok?!