A Visit to Ikea

We visited Ikea in Costa Mesa while spending time with family in southern California this week. Brenda and I experienced our first store last year in Atlanta. Once you go, you are hooked. Suffice it to say, it is Disneyland for homeowners. I even overheard a guy say to his friend that Ikea was his third home, next to Home Depot. I understand.

The Scandinavian functionality is refreshing. Sometimes American style is %75 fluff and and %25 function. The attention to simple lines and solid colors have a calming affect. The use of wood is also attractive when the warm, earthy paint choices, accented by white, fill almost every design. As we visited the showroom, we followed the meandering walkway, taking in each display, pilfering through movie set models, all the while feeling like we were invading someone's personal space. The doll house designs are so well constructed that if you wanted to fool your family and friends into thinking you live in a Swiss chalet, you can dress the kids in sweaters and choose your favorite living room design, set up the camera and, voila (wallah), there's your Christmas card.

Most of the designs are compact. There is so little wasted space that it seems you are walking in a travel trailer. Americans love their huge living spaces as opposed to the Europeans who are happy to make a go at raising their families in apartment-sized offerings. I guess the plus side of Europe is that you have preset limits. In the US, we experience urban sprawl--where our communities are spread out with no discipline. Many US households experience, what I call, domestic sprawl. We collect so much junk, our huge homes have become crowded. Ikea has come to America's rescue.

I am enamored with Ikea. I would love to live in one of their little dream homes. It would be a feat to unload all of our extra stuff to be able to fit into one of those boxes. Still, I kind of like stretching out with elbow room. Isn't that what America is about? Everything is BIG here. Until I am forced to live in stacked housing like those poor folks in Tokyo, I'm gonna enjoy my big, fat American dream home.