IKEA — Attraction in Round Rock

I love this Ikea. I easily spent 4 hours there today! I arrived at around 11, went as quickly as I could to the cafe to eat a delicious salmon plate so I wouldn't shop while hungry, then went through the entire marketplace. I then doubled back and walked through the show room when I realized I didn't know where to go in the warehouse for some bigger items I was looking for. Someone asked if I was just coming from rugs and sadly I had no idea because I was lost! I enjoyed being lost though. It wasn't crowded on a weekday and I could wear my mask with no problems outside the cafe. Click and collect option is really good if you don't have 4 hours to spend.

I didn't buy the ekedalen 29 inch chair because they were out of stock at the time. Funny enough there were two espresso colored Ekedalens in the as-is section and a tan one. I found the chair I did buy from there was almost the exact same height off the ground and was perfect. It made me so happy to bring it into my home. I included a photo of it at home. I had a very specific height I was looking for because I had a 36 inch height counter plus about 8-9 inches of drawer and counter thickness that I had to work around! I also have a new rule I learned from an artist not to bring in anything into my home that isn't perfect. I can't bring in a "project piece" unless I can and do complete the project that very same day. Therefore the color needs to be what I want and vision for the space, dimensions, and sturdiness.

Most chairs at Ikea seem to only have a weight limit of 250 lbs so I bought the chair knowing only I will use it and it won't be brought out into the rest of the house.

I also decided not to get a mirror I was hoping to buy today from IKEA because I just couldn't justify the price for the white ones while I could see where the two pieces of wood met on each corner, and the round one I liked was not oval, rather it was circular, and I want it to fit for lots of heights in a guest bathroom. The black one I found with rounded corners and a shelf (perfect for guests to put their toothbrush) was only about 15 inches wide! I actually took it out of my cart and put it back I just thought that's going to look very awkward. It's also pictured with beautiful sconces on both sides in the pictures online and it wouldn't be worth it to get an electrician to put sconces in my space where the mirror would go. It's too small. The black and dark mirrors I was afraid would darken up how the person looks in the mirror and I don't want that look. So, back to the drawing board but I did really like the price of the IKEA one.

Something else I was surprised I didn't find was the perfect rug. I think it doesn't exist however.. I need low pile for a high traffic hallway, but it also needs to be at least 5 feet across and soft because sometimes barefeet will walk on it. I also want it to have a nice modern or contemporary design. I think this is one place where the Scandinavian design of IKEA really lends itself to a busy design rug or natural fiber rug, not a contemporary hotel lobby style design I wanted to find here.

I read what to buy and what to avoid blogs before coming here and most say beware you need to bolt cabinets to the walls otherwise don't buy them. They also say avoid "lack" everything if you want your look to look expensive. It's easy to avoid if you take one walk through the as-is section and see all the damaged pieces! There was a dining chair I got second thoughts about after seeing how damaged it could get in the as-is section, and another lounge chair poang that I actually considered coming back some time and buying two of them because they were really comfortable and looked neat in that section.

For something not pictured I did buy, I got some ivory/white towels that have a waffle pattern on one side and terry cloth on the other. I needed some new towels anyways and I like having the option of a waffle side for my...

I want to love Ikea. Their furniture is good and shopping there is usually a fun experience. However, I have to leave a negative review because they refuse to allow me to use a gift voucher purchased for me on a registry from last year.

First, I discovered last year during the beginning of the pandemic that these vouchers can only be used online if the purchase is less than the voucher amount. If the purchase is more than the voucher amount it can only be used in store. Due to the amount of the gift voucher I could not use it (especially with how expensive delivery is).

Then, when I was preparing to go to Ikea this month, I discovered that my registry had been deleted- along with the voucher. I had to contact customer service to get the information for my voucher. They sent me a picture of the voucher, so I thought I was set.

Then, when I went to the store to use the voucher, they said they'd never seen anything like this before and couldn't figure out how to use it. I was told that since I didn't have an expiration date they couldn't use it. I said I thought the expiration date was a certain date, and they said it didn't work.

I called Ikea customer service. The first representative gave me a different phone number- this was an automated system (which, by the way, told me Ikea gift cards don't expire. So why do they need an expiration date for my voucher?), and when I said I wanted to speak to a representative it sent me right back to the main line. The second representative I got was sympathetic and said she'd escalate my call to a manager. When she did so, the system told me that there were too many calls so it was terminating my call.

I've since received an email with the expiration date of my gift voucher, but at this point I'm so tired. I've tried for hours now to use this gift card- something that's supposed to make my life easier, not harder- to no avail. Ikea, I want to like you, but when you don't let me use your gift cards I can't help but feel cheated.

I would try to order ahead of time and pick up curbside, but Ikea isn't allowing me to purchase items I had in my cart today (and I found out that the sale prices in-store aren't reflected online. Not good business, Ikea). So if I want to see if my gift card can actually be used I'd have to drive back out to the store, navigate the labyrinth that is Ikea to get all the items I had, and hope it works out this time. And the expiration date I thought it was- it turns out I was right. So did the cashier actually try the valid expiration and it doesn't work? If that's the case, then me going back with this information will be an exercise in futility.

Ultimately, if you're going in with a credit card in hand you should be fine. But their registry system is not so great and registries get deleted without notice. Most importantly, don't expect to ever be able to use a gift card/gift voucher. Just give that special someone in your life cash- they'll...

It's IKEA,what more do I have to say?Lol Ok for the new ones: It's not just a furniture store,to me and my family it's a piece of Europe (home). And they sell more then just furniture,you get to eat European food there in the cafeteria,they haves warm meals,buffets and desserts and you can also buy snacks and candy there.We go to Ikea every other month,not to buy furniture every time (unfortunately 😆),no mostly we come for the food lol. I was so happy to know we moved somewhere with an Ikea close by! When you live so far from home,this means a lot!

Now let's talk money: Let me tell you,I payed under 4000$ for furniture for my entire house (1600 sqf ish,3 bedrooms,2 bath),and 80% of that is Ikea,i got two kids bedrooms with mattresses (remind you,I have 3 kids),a master bedroom,livingroom (couch,ottoman which both have washable covers and we got an entire entertainment center),a diningroom (with very huge farmhouse table and 8 chairs) and even a entry way wardrobe. And also....I don't know about you but my kids,(especially my girls) like to change they're taste in decor and colors almost every year 🙄 and they had to share a room.Well with Ikea,we are able to afford to do that...but if you find yourself not being able to afford this,than you been shopping at the wrong place lol. We are also military,we move every 3 years and all our Ikea furnitures holded up 2-3 different duty stations so far and probably will a couple more (oh and some Ikea furniture are over 10 years old and brought from Germany). Yes it might not be hard heavy solid oak wood like Ashley's furniture haves,but if you only have to spend 200$ for two new beds,60$ for a new desk and 20$ for new decor,then you can't really complain at all. What do you get from Ashley's and the other places for under 300$? Probably just one piece of furniture...definitely not a entire room. I mean hell,you can even buy a coffee table there for under 20$! I'm gonna post some pictures of our last house when we just got some new Ikea furniture and I will post some from our new place,where we just settled in. You will also see two different styles in the girl's bedroom,first they had a bunk bed,then after a year I bought them regular beds for the same room,as they became older in Grey and Pink decor theme. I don't know if it will show up in the right timeline in google,i tried 🤷‍♀️ but it's two different places. update Well we have 2024 and even Ikea doesn't get spared with the inflation, you definitely can tell the price change. And unfortunately it's not just a tiny bit. We just can hope the markets crashing soon and the prices will drop, but I don't see it ever being back to the old prices again. Me being a huge ikea fan even had to switch to Amazon and Wayfair to be able to use financing. Go Brandon... Hang in there people, nothing...