I dutifully marked the IKEA Grand Opening on my calendar. Wednesday rolled around I planned to head over there by 3 pm, before the after-work crowd swarmed. Unfortunately it took quite a bit longer than I had expected to get out of the house, considering we have a newborn who seems to eat CONSTANTLY. We thought about nixing our plans when it was 5 pm and we still hadn’t left home. Now even though we didn’t camp out overnight to get in line, I was devoted. I still wanted to show up on Day 1. Elliott somewhat hesitantly conceded.

According to the website, there would be “overflow” parking at the Bank Atlantic Center. I thought that was optimistic. Or at least good fodder for the media. But how crowded could it really be? The cars lined up one mile before the freeway exit was telling. But for some reason we thought there still might be some spots available. When we arrived at the lovely blue box, the drive was blocked with orange cones. Police were already directing traffic to the overflow lot.

That’s when surreality set in. This was going to be a historic event!

The theme park vibe increased once we boarded the free shuttle trolley/bus. There was a pre-recorded marketing message playing over the P.A. system. During the 15 minute ride, we worried that we may regret our persistence. It may be too crowded to enjoy. But it was no time to turn back. Once we arrived, unloaded the stroller, and approached the store, the sheer scale of the building was overwhelming! I got that excited feeling that I always get before boarding a roller coaster. The news crews were all on site.

I knew I had found my happy place!

Also like a theme park, we had to ride an escalator (or hidden elevator since we had the stroller) to the second floor. And we found a labyrinth of model rooms in the showroom. There are paper maps, as well as signs throughout the store, to help one stay oriented. (Yes. The store is so big you NEED a map!)

IKEA-land is bilingual! Even though it’s a Swedish company with Swedish product names, all of the price tags are in both English and Spanish. I suspect you would only find this in South Florida. I invite anyone who has been to one of the other stores and seen this elsewhere, to please leave a comment about your experience at IKEA.

Finally, with tired feet and hungry tummies, we made our way to the restaurant. It was the final reminder of theme park fare. The line was horrific! They even had the divider posts which transform open space into a tightly packed maze. Just like the lines for the biggest, newest rides! The food prices, however, were NOT like a theme park. They were actually quite reasonable. And the food was tasty.

Overall, I am very impressed with the new IKEA store. The pricing is clearly marked. It not only shows the price of each item displayed, there is a sign indicating the price of the entire room as shown. Many of the items can be mixed and matched, reminiscent of the children’s line of clothing from the 80′s, “Garanimals”. And despite the “shortcuts” to other sections of the showroom, which can be confusing, the traffic flow is good. There are even arrows on the floor to point you in the right direction.

I was first bitten by the IKEA bug back in 1998 when I visited my friend in California. I thought it was cool and he raved about his bargains from the “As Is” section. But I didn’t really start appreciating it until I moved to Florida in 2001. Having lived in Tennessee before, I never gave interior design or decor the time of day. I thought it was all about dull blue country ducks and apples stenciled on the kitchen walls. When I started visiting (and later living in) South Beach often, my friend and I would drool over the sexy furniture in the display windows instead of the hot bodies on the beach.

The very first day I was in Florida to stay, I made my way down to the Miami Design District. The showrooms had some amazing stuff. There were some European design showrooms that floored me! (No pun intended.) But what was even more shocking were the prices. I knew I would probably not be able to shop there on a graphic design salary. (Little did I know how poor the salaries are in South Florida, particularly for creative professionals. But more on that later.) There had to be a way to create the “look for less”.

That’s when I consumed my friend’s IKEA catalog. I found so many nice accessories that fit my budget!!! (Though that’s about ALL that fit my post 9/11 relocation budget.) Much to my chagrin, the shipping was a hefty flat fee. We would have to assemble a group of people to compile a big order to make the shipping fees worthwhile. No cool rugs, vases or lamps for me.

I have been longingly looking at the catalog since. Until last year… Elliott and I decided it was time to ditch the out-of-scale, hand-me-down living room furniture as well as outfit our home office. Finally this would be a large enough IKEA order to justify the shipping. We are very happy with our purchases and had an adventure assembling some of the items (especially my son’s loft bed). But we were disappointed that many of the glass items we were interested in (lighting, accessories, etc) were not available except in the store. The closest store was in Atlanta. No way we would trek all the way across Florida and most of Georgia to buy some rugs and a light fixture.

Why isn’t there an IKEA in South Florida??? I asked myself that question a million times. Last year I finally got the answer. There WILL be… in Summer 2007. I’ve been anxiously waiting. When they started construction of the “box” it became more real. But summer came and went with no grand opening. I wanted to buy Ariana’s baby crib there. But she came before the store.

After a long anticipation, the new Sunrise (Fort Lauderdale) IKEA store opens this Wednesday, October 17. (Another store is opening in Orlando next month. And Tampa will get a store in 2009.) Find out the details and the location here. I’m sure the grand opening will be a madhouse. But it’s worth it! Now I can follow through with my plans for world domination through good design… one room at a time!