IKEA, ROUND TWO

My mom has wanted to redo her kitchen for a while now. She wants all new counter tops and a new set of cabinets on one of the walls. She also wants to move the fridge and maybe put in new flooring. She has big plans, but she also wants to redo the downstairs bathroom (dad’s bathroom). Dad’s bathroom needs a bit more attention like new flooring, new sink and counter, and a new toilet. The space is small, but it needs a lot more work. My mom thinks that she can do both rooms for $3,000. This is possible if you are budget savvy person like me or Chris, but mom could never pull this off with the resources available to her in her area. That’s why we took her to the Ikea store on Saturday. My sister and niece tagged along too. Mom won’t admit it (its part of the habit), but she’s a shopaholic and while we were in Ikea, my mom shopped with a capitol S. Yet she still only managed to spend about $35. She didn’t buy anything for the kitchen or bathroom. She did collect product sheets on prices and sizes of things. She was very excited about the bathroom stuff (sinks, countertops, etc) and is preparing to Ikea-ify dad’s bathroom.

Chris and I spent the most money, but only because we bought a table. It’s hard to go in there and come out with nothing. My niece’s dad was transferred to Sweden for two years, so Amanda new what an Ikea store was. She said the Ikea that they went to all the time was five stories. Good Lord! If we spent three hours in a two story Ikea, it would take us three days to get through the five story one.

The day was very good. We all found things we wanted and Amanda got some of her favorite Swedish candies. The only problem is that I feel a tad bit guilty for introducing Ikea to my mom. I think I’ve created an Ikea monster.