But What Rhymes With Ektorp?

Today's post is dedicated to my new friend, IKEA. Thanks to IKEA in Redhook, Brooklyn, we are no longer resigned to sitting on the floor. Having sold our big sofa prior to moving here, Rich and I found ourselves seat-less in our new apartment. Which was fun for the first 3 days, but quickly became a major pain in the butt. Literally.

Hearing all kinds of stories about how long it takes to have furniture delivered in New York, I was prepared to continue sitting on the *hard*wood floor for at least 6 more weeks. I spent hours upon hours (hey, I'm unemployed...why not?) conducting tireless internet research on sofas, dimensions, and delivery options. At long last, I narrowed our sofa search down to these handsome specimens: Pottery Barn's Charleston, Crate & Barrel's Lounge, and IKEA's Ektorp (which looks similar to the Charleston and costs about half as much).

It took a while to make the decision, what with the debates about quality vs. cost. In the end, the deciding factor was size. It turns out that the doorways in our old brownstone apartment are too narrow for Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel's modern furniture dimensions. By process of elimination, the Ektorp won.

After taking the FREE shuttle to IKEA (departing every half hour from 9th St and 4th Ave!) I blew through the showroom and copied down the requisite Aisle and Bin numbers for my purchases. In the Self Serve Warehouse, I found a strapping young lad to help me load the Ektorp sofa, Ektorp ottoman, and a tall Billy bookcase onto my cart. After paying for my purchases, which in total came out to be less than the price of either of the other sofas, I steered my laden cart to IKEA's Home Delivery service area. And there I learned that for a marginal flat fee, all of my new purchases could be delivered bright and early in the morning the next day.

Sure enough, the next morning at 9:30 two delivery men showed up and carried all of the furniture up the 3 flights of stairs to our apartment! AWESOME!

I love you IKEA, for your efficiency, fair pricing, sleek design, clean cafeteria, and strong employees. Our sofa and ottoman are super comfortable and attractive additions to our apartment. I'm so happy I could write an Ode to IKEA, but what rhymes with Ektorp?