Bakker Bugle Blog

As many of you know, Will and I have a fondness for IKEA. [Editor’s Note: Dave’s objections notwithstanding, we cannot resist the Scandinavian huldra of affordable design.] Once or twice a year, we would organize a trip to the Schaumburg (Illinois) store to get nifty storage containers, unique household items and functional furniture. Imagine our shock and dismay when we discovered that Ireland did not have an IKEA. Not one store on the whole island – a tragedy! We discovered this deficiency before we moved, so we made a final run to the Schaumburg store. We managed to get almost every IKEA thing we could need, but we did have a few holes that needed filling with cheap, function Swedish designs.

Not long after we moved here, the news of a new IKEA opening in Belfast reached our eager ears. The store opened in December. While the island is small, Belfast is still about two hours away. So, it wasn’t reasonable or practical to go to Belfast just to shop at IKEA, as we really didn’t need that much. But, due to circumstances outside our control, we had to go to Belfast Saturday morning. Never ones to miss an opportunity, we decided to go to IKEA after we completed our commitment.

We arrived not long after the store opened, before the crowds began. Our friend Kathryn went with us and all three of us had an excellent shopping experience. We found rugs, storage units, a small table – everything we think we need to make our apartment just a little more perfect. Since Northern Ireland is part of Great Britain, the currency is Pounds, not Euros. Right now, it takes about two US dollars to get to one Pound. So, to get a feel for what things cost, you just doubled each posted price. Even I can handle that!

IKEA has plans to build a Dublin store, but they have to wait for some roadwork to be finished before they are allowed to build the store. The best estimate right now is 2010. Sometimes, things take a long time in Ireland…..