They lose a star because there is NEVER anyone around to answer questions or locate something specific. IKEA has come a LONG way in the past ten years when it comes to the quality of the product and sturdiness. Just recently I bought a cheap little $25 coffee table and wow that thing is sturdy. Can I stand on top of it and twerk? Probably not. But when I try to shake it. It's pretty sturdy! Got an ironing board for $12. I don't even think Walmart has anything that cheap. And the one on Craigslist had blood stains on it so I went with IKEA. As always, they have really cool lamps but since I'm an unfortunate owner of two horrible cats, I can't have nice things since I'm too broke from buying phone chargers every God forsaken week. This place is also awesome for home organization if you're too lazy to drive to the container store. I especially like how they make it easy to kill yourself or the small child next to you at the self serve shelves, tryna pick up and load up the 32 piece dining table you just bought. Again, no help in sight. Otherwise it's a great store! And it's European and they make good cars so furniture should be amazing by default! read more

Very nice furniture store and taken care of, the only bad thing I can say is that everything was out of stock and things were misplaced.

Worst experience waiting for items we bought in the store. We waited for almost two hrs for pickup....never again

I've been a fan of IKEA since they opened - it's like a Houston landmark, a place I take guests, a destination. When I shed my old life and moved back to Houston a while back, with nothing but a small warehouse of boxes and one bedframe, I refurnished with 98% IKEA. I've always had great luck building their furniture alone or with one person to help - and the one time I had a problem, they fixed it. Pronto. Now I have color and light in my life again. Thanks IKEA! read more

I bought the Kivik 5 piece section last Wednesday 9/14/22 when it said it was available online we it wasn't available to have shipped so we went to pick it up from the store. We received 3/4 things we needed after it said it was all available so we had the last part shipped from the warehouse which was supposed to be the 3 pieces since we received the covers the first day. The first hiccup was having them deliver the rest of the couch which we couldn't take it was delivered next day but missing half of the hardware so we had to drive up for the 2nd time only to find out they didn't have some of the parts we needed so now we had to wait until 9/19/22 which is tomorrow and I can't call to see if the parts have arrived or not so I have to again drive back down to check this will be the 3rd trip! Now our last package for our covers for the couch only to find out you sent us the 2 piece so now tomorrow we're going to talk with them only to have them ship the correct one which is the 3 piece kivik set! We've spent $1,599 plus more on shipping when y'all didn't ship us what we paid for! I've had nothing but great experiences with ikea but the bigger the future the more they mess up. This has been a giant headache on top of having a half made sectional scattered around my living room. At this rate it will be 2-3 weeks before we get this finished and the customer support has been horrible. My entire house is all IKEA furniture but after this if no one makes this straight with us I won't be giving them another cent. We have all our order numbers if anyone would like to contact me. I will be going back to ikea tomorrow to try and get the last of the screws and make sure they re order us the correct things we need! I would have rather spent an extra $300-$500 if that meant I got my couch the same day I paid for it not 5 weeks later. This 1 star review won't be changing until this is settled read more

Not enough salespeople to help on a busy day. Waited for more than 15 minutes to ask a quick question about a sale and the salesman couldn't even answer that. Hire more help or maintain better sale signage. read more

The store itself is fine. My review is for the kid's play area and for Clarissa, who works there and apparently hates her job. I took my kids there so that I could shop. I filled out the waiver while Clarissa stared at her phone. Not looking up, she told me to put their shoes in the bin. I told my kids to say hi to Ms. Clarissa and behave for her and she didn't even respond or smile at them. Um, no thanks. I'm not leaving my toddlers with someone who can't even be bothered to speak to them or respond to basic polite human interactions. I ended up taking my kids shopping with me and they were pretty disappointed that they didn't get to play. I spent half of what I normally would have because, hello-shopping with toddlers! I hope IKEA will do a better job hiring staff that is actually engaged in their job, especially with regards to the children's play area. read more

we arrived today and were completely disgusted by this location, each display section was so dusty. no one was willing to help find anything, each display looks like a 5 year old put them together at this store, coming to IKEA's should not look like this photo either read more

IKEA - Furniture Stores Near Me - Houston, Texas

It's just like any other ikea store. That's all I have to say. If you need stuff from ikea, this is the place to be. Obviously. You may want to double check availability of items online before you arrive if you already know what you want. That way you could pre-order and pick them up when ready instead of coming here and leaving with disappointment. read more

I dropped $2k in here yesterday for nothing... Yayyyyyy.. Not to mention the $160 uhaul I rented.. I checked online to make sure all the furniture was available, said in stock and had multiple available (it says online their inventory is updated every 30 minutes). Said, "see ya!" To my old living room set and donated it and was on my way! Spent 3.5 hours in the store making sure I had all I needed to redo my living room. Go down to the market hall where you pick up your items, checked computer and it tells me to ask an associate. Go to teenager guy at desks who is essentially sweating talking to other customers and appears to have no idea what's going on, he looks up my items on computer -- in stock, yay! -- prints out my receipt after me telling him 7 times what I needed because he didn't seem to understand and was confused as he nervously laughs, and tells me that I have to take my print out and pay then go pick up the items at furniture pick-up. Ok cool! I pay and take my small items to the car while my significant other waits at furniture pickup. So by this time it's about 5pm and I have to begin my hour long voyage home to pick up our son from daycare, so I'm off on my merry way and SO stays with uhaul and waits for furniture. An HOUR later after waiting, he asks if they've almost got his stuff together to which the rep says, "oh you're still waiting cause we're out of all these items". WHAT?!?!?! Apparently their inventory system is "messed up" and had NONE of the items I just purchased that cost me $2k nor could they refund me cause I left with the card I paid with. He asked if they can ship it to our house and the rep says no, so I tell him when he calls to talk to a manager. The manager eventually gets put on the phone with me because SO is passive and I'm a b**ch when it comes to getting things done, he sounds like he's younger than me and supposedly is the "only manager in the entire store right then". I'm calling Bs but he says he thinks it's more than sufficient to just ship the items to me house with no shipping costs. Honey, I know the shipping is roughly equivalent to what I spent on the uhaul alone, and I just dropped more money than you likely make in a month with nothing to show for it, not to mention the MINIMUM time my items will arrive is 10 days, and they won't all come at once apparently. So here I am, no furniture, no $2k, wasted 5+ hours on ikea. They have zero customer service. Their items usually arrive missing parts. I guess you get what you pay for since they're cheap-o but I spent a lot of money this time. 10/10 will not go back Moral of the story: don't rely on what their inventory says online OR in store, you have to ask someone since they have no real inventory system currently. EDIT-UPDATE: I received my furniture not 10 days after, but 4 WEEKS AFTER, and that is AFTER I called their corporate office 5 times!!!! UGH!!!!! read more

You already know that Ikea is that it is the place to go for inexpensive, but stylish & utilitarian Scandinavian Design furniture & housewares, some of which are even good-quality. But it's also the single best store to go for playthings & small furniture for babies & children; and children generally like shopping at Ikea. All of the (then) 3 to12 month old babies at my son's former daycare loved the brightly-colored wooden & soft toys the creche purchased at Ikea. In fact, my son's favorite playthings there came from Ikea. His favorite baby toys include the Leka mobile ($5), the Mula bead roller coaster ($8), & Leka baby gym ($30). The latter is an especially good find--it can be used alone as a baby gym, or in place of a toy bar with a baby rocker or bouncer, & so is really useful for all those times your baby gets bored of her usual toy bar & starts squalling just after you've started working the shampoo into your hair. This baby gym is popular with babies generally--it's been an especial favorite of all 3 of our children, & all 9 babies at my son's creche, & costs a fraction of the price of our Lamaze baby gym ($75), which none of my children like as much. Ikea's children's toys are equally good, with a nice mix of toys to encourage large motion activities (a tunnel, slide, rocking moose, etc.), small motion activities (art supplies, blocks, etc.), brightly-colored soft toys (dolls, stuffed animals, & puppets) to nurture your child's instinct to nurture, & plenty of play sets to encourage imaginative play (such as a Brio-style train for $4 & train tracks starting at $7 for a 10 piece set). And let's face it, where else can you get a wooden easel with a 30 m long roll of drawing paper for $20? Ikea's housewares are another excellent source of playthings for children. As a baby, our son loved Ikea's 3 piece set of wooden cooking utensils (Senior--now $4), which are good for teething on, waving around, passing from hand to hand, & banging on the table while Dad or Mom is prepping food, & during mealtimes. Our daughters became interested in these too at ~6 months of age. And all of our children love Ikea's artificial flowers (Smycka--starting at $1). Ikea is also a great place to find inexpensive small furniture just durable enough to last through childhood--including storage units, step stools (Försiktig--from $5), Baby Björn-style potties (Lilla--$7), & Tripp Trapp-style high chairs (Antilop--$20). This last is another excellent find--whereas Ikea's version isn't stylishly designed or particularly well-made, it is easier to clean, more portable (the legs snap off for traveling) safer (Tripp Trapp chairs are comparatively easy for kids to knock over), more comfortable (all 3 of our kids prefer the Antilop), & of course is fantastically cheap. Like a Tripp Trapp, it can be used directly at the table, so your baby can enjoy socializing & learning good eating habits & table manners during family dinners, or if you tire of cleaning up the fantastic messes your baby makes of the dining table, you can buy a tray for another $5, & use it as a conventional highchair. And because this is Ikea, your kids can try it before you buy it. In fact, they'll probably have fun doing so. Houston's Ikea can be a very family-friendly place to shop. It features parking spaces reserved for expectant mothers & families, & a free indoor supervised play area with a ball pit for toilet-trained children--though kids like playing most anywhere in the store, especially in the Children's department, if you can make the time for it. Children's meals are good value for money--$3 for a half-sized meal including an entree; side dish; & a drink, if you don't mind having a relaxed attitude about the quality of the food--& these are free on Tuesdays for kids under 12 years of age. Do consider ordering the Swedish meatballs--these are popular with adults & kids alike. As horse meat is a traditional food in the Nordic countries, you & your little ones may even be having an authentic cultural experience. Don't feel obligated to tour the whole store--to get to the Children's department, take the elevator to the second floor, then turn left, & right just after the restaurant. Housewares are downstairs. Don't shop on Saturdays; don't say you weren't forewarned. Happy shopping. read more

Holy moly. Terrible customer service. Employee are so unhappy and boy it's written all over their attitude and service. It's nice to have a place where people can purchase cheap and somewhat quality furniture but the employees are awful. You have been warned. read more

There is literally no way to call and speak to a person on customer service or anyone in the Houston store.

Awful. I waited at furniture pickup for an hour to have a single set of 6" legs brought out to me. I could have walked back and found them myself in 10. No help whatsoever from the staff. read more

I have been to ikea in mannheim germany, washington state, florida and colorado. But this ikea was the worst experience ever! There is more remodeling and setting up than i have ever seen. Not to mention the cafeteria....the black girl was the rudest person ever! Told me i couldnt substitute the veggies for fries, when did that become a rule? I have always done that! Im allergic to carrots for gods sake! The girl at the register was just as bad! Rude and sassy. The lines to pay were ridiculous! Walking around the store it felt like a sauna. NEVER again will i go to this ikea. Parking is horrendous, why did they not build a multilayer garage? Stupid read more

Words to anyone buying online with home delivery. Don't do it!!! The phone customer service is the worlds worst. 4 phone calls today. On hold 45 -60 min's each time. Talk to someone on the west coast transfer to the east coast, had to call back and go thought the whole cycle again. they really don't care if you get you items or not. It was extremely frustrating and I will never buy Ikea again. read more

Incredible place! We spent 4 hours here and don't think we saw everything! We really liked the selection and good pricing on things I can't even put together! Food court is a very cool thing to have and the food was awesome! read more

I bout a sofa and spend like $500 and now wan help me load it in the truck. probably will not buy anithig big here for that reason

Houston was the worst Ikea location I have shopped at. Inside was so hot. So messy and no one working. Waited in kitchen forever. Round Rock has sign. This place guesses who is next. I would never go back to this location. read more

Checked out at 6:56. Now one full hour waiting to pick up order. Would already have been out the door if I hadn't paid!

Warning: this particular location is a franchise and does not follow IKEA's return policy for defective goods. My review is solely on the customer service of this store. I purchased a set of dark gray sheets. After the first night of sleep, I awoke to find splotches of missing dye. They refused to accept the return of the defective product. I called IKEA corporate and was informed the Houston store is a franchise so there is nothing they can do. Pathetic. read more

I have been an IKEA customer for years and even though the quality reflected the low price paid it was acceptable to me. Unfortunately, the last two purchases I have made here have been terrible, and the customer service is deteriorating to the point of taking all the fun out of the experience. At the beginning of the year I purchased a large bookcase, supposedly made of solid wood, but this is pine which is a really soft wood, so when I was joining two pieces together the little wooden stick used for the connection just went through one of the boards ruining the finish and making a hole. I was just using my hands to do this! Off I went to IKEA to get a replacement which took me a long time because the customer rep did not know how to find my broken piece so he ended up opening a new box so I could find the piece I needed. Went back home and continued my building of the bookcase just to break two of the twisting locks used to tight pieces at 90 degrees using a screwdriver and my hands, (not a power drill or anything), I also twisted two more but managed to still use them. These connections used to be metal before, but now they seem to be made of some type of tin. The screws quality has also decreased to the point that now one has to be real careful not to damage the heads with an screwdriver. A couple of months later I gave things another chance and bought a 6 drawer chest and even though I tried to be careful, the wood parted again on the exact same situation!! Either I have become a brute with exceptional strength or IKEA now makes crappier stuff. I'll go with the later. Today I went to buy a lamp, but there were only two lanes open to pay with very long lines. It reminded me of Walmart. I just left the lamp somewhere and left without buying anything. Sorry IKEA, it is not you, it is me. I just don't want to deal with you anymore. read more

First of all let me say I'm a huge fan of Ikea on premise. The furniture is beautiful and I might order online stuff eventually. That said: I don't know what I expected from this store. It definately was not what I got. I've thought about it and all the problems I experienced yesterday stem from IKEA's apparent reluctance to hire local people. It's a nightmare simply paying for your items and getting your items to your car. You will spend an hour doing these things alone. Let me explain. I thought I would make a quick trip, be efficient, and buy what I needed while my daughter was in school...then be on my way. If you have been here before this is entirely feasible. IKEA is very well organized. If you are looking for kids stuff it will be with the kids stuff. If you are looking for kitchen bric a brac it will be downstairs. Made confident by this knowledge I flew through the store, getting what I needed and heading for the door. Getting what I needed was not the problem! The problem was getting OUT OF THE STORE. First I stood in an aweful line. It was a weekday after five PM. This store was flooded with families. But only four self serve lines were open and one loud and rude woman was directing people to these self serve lines. Now picture hoards of first time customers fumbling with handscan devices. Picture elderly customers and customers with very little english being ignored by the one available loud rude employee. Children everywhere were getting impatient. And all adults miraculously obedient but still fumbling with these awkward self serve devices, which sometimes refused to ring up large peices of furniture to say nothing of the items that had no tag. Where were the employees?! The one rude employee went out of her way to glare and leer over anyone who tried to buy furniture and thus hold up her long line. By this time of course I was past anger and was completely amused by the hilarious situation. I couldnt believe how bad the service was here. No question I will never be back. I was enjoying the show. This woman yelled at people to go here and go there and pickup this and pickup that. Wow Ikea! But I got through it. Was it over though? No! I had never noticed before (because I had never bought furniture here before) but you cannot take shopping baskets out to your car. By this I mean there is metal fencing, of the same size and shape built to contain cattle, preventing you the customer from "stealing their carts". If you thought checking out sounded the worst you are wrong. Since I was alone and made the mistake of buying big things I had to wait upon the pleasure of IKEA to find someone to somehow help me get my purchased items to my car. This process is so ridiculous. They had one sixteen year old kid helping people load things into their car in the "loading zone". After about 15 minutes of waiting even this guy seemed to disappear. There was easily ten families waiting to leave, some with babies, the elderly couple I mentioned before, a large hispanic family that didn't speak english well and many others. We were all frusterated having bought items that were too big to carry to the car. We all helped the elderly couple load their furniture. But babies were crying etc. I was crying too on the inside for making the giant IKEA mistake: buying large items and coming alone *scary movie music here*. After 30 minutes of waiting it was still not clear who would watch my basket while I went to get my car. I finally went all the way back into the store and begged an employee to help me. She agreed to watch my basket for five dollars but I guess she walked away because when I got my car to the front my basket was a alone and a customer was looking inside of it. Needless to say I wont be back. For any reason. IKEA has wasted enough of my time. Based on the service involved I'm sure some of the things I purchased will break but I would rather throw them in the trash than risk being trapped inside this store again for any amount of time. read more

Was here shopping for sofa. I always like Ikea and shopping here is like an adventure and I can always discover some interesting things. Usually it's simply grab-and-go. But this time when we really need some assistance from the staff, the experience is disappointing. The lady was impatient and was not helpful at all... We felt like she's doing a huge favor for us even talking to us... We know Ikea is always a DIY-oriented place but it doesn't mean people should not get good service... read more

One third of the registers were closed on a busy Saturday. 35 min wait at the registers. Horrible shopping experience.

I just love the way the return line is organized. The staff is so knowledgeable and courteous. I never have to wait long and I never made to feel like I'm trying to steal something from them I return an item. I Especially want to give a heads up to Nola. She is "Super Duper" nice read more

So I'm not going to review the quality of IKEA's furniture, or the layout of the store, or the fact that they're crowded, etc. etc. Those things are pretty self evident at this point. Instead, what I have noticed during my past few visits is that the quality of service and caliber of the employees has gone way down. The problem is obviously a management issue because the demand for IKEA has outgrown what one store can provide for the large city of Houston.The company needs to build another location in the Clear Lake area or somewhere on the South side. But back to the issue of quality of staff and service. First, I have noticed that the very necessary parts lists with much needed bin numbers are often missing from many of the display set-ups. And none of the staff members seem at all concerned with replacing them. Case in point: My boyfriend was purchasing a bookcase unit from the Effectiv system. They only had Spanish versions of the item lists and nobody around to provide more. But I thought, ok, the signs downstairs where the items are located will also have Spanish so we can just match it up--nope, only English on the signs. Now, this would also be a problem for Spanish-only-speaking customers as they would not be able to match things up either. So next I thought, ok, let's go ask one of these guys at the computer station if they can print out an English list or at least help us with the bin numbers. The staff member told us we needed the list from upstairs and to write down the bin numbers. When I mentioned the above situation, he mumbled something and just walked away from boyfriend, who said that his response was that we "just needed to figure it out." I'm sorry, but excuse me??? So this is exactly my point: I know that IKEA is mostly a self-serve store, but when that is not facilitated, then what is the point exactly? Finally, yes, we did get the pieces needed for the bookcase, but it would've been a much easier process had things been set-up properly. I had no such problems when I bought a wall unit about 2 years ago. In fact, the experience was completely the opposite. So until IKEA opens another location, I think I have to say that I am officially over this store. I will be getting any furniture needed for my upcoming move from Target, thrift stores or family and friends. Anywhere but IKEA for now, no matter how cheap they are (and even that point is debatable). read more

There are enough reviews commenting on the quality of Ikea's furniture, etc. It is what it is. This particular store, however, is a travesty. It is a poorly managed disaster that any self-respecting multi-national corporation would close immediately, lest its reputation be tarnished by the unmitigated awfulness. The lack of signage, understaffing, mislabeling, mispricing, poor staff training, warehousing/inventory mistakes, miscommunications between staff, incredibly poorly thought out logistics and inane loading situation make the I-10 Ikea in Houston a legitimate contender for any competition ranking the worst retail operations on the planet. If Ikea Corporate cares at all about maintaining its mostly positive reputation, it should inquire who all was working in Warehouse, Shipping/Receiving and Logistics at this store on August 18, 2012 and investigate the log of customer complaints. What works: - They are, in fact, an Ikea, and do not appear to be a Candid Camera revival seeking to elicit hilarious responses from a public in disbelief at the atrocious service. - The food court is run reasonably well, as long as you don't care about having ice in your soda or being served within 30-40 minutes. What doesn't work: - Obscure item delivery practices: when picking up bulky items, the store provides no information on picking it up other than "go over to the loading bay over there." If you're lucky, some poor soul will tell you that your delivery number is the third, fourth, eighth and ninth numbers in an obscurely placed series of numbers on your receipt. - Untrained, clueless warehouse staff and turn-of-the-18th-century logistics. We ordered a small loveseat with slip cover that had to be delivered from the warehouse. After waiting for an hour, we began pressing staff to tell us what was going on. After another 20 minute wait, we threatened to simply get a refund, at which point the only trained staff member identified that our item was delivered to the front 40 minutes ago, but because they were out of stock of the slip cover and because they lost the order ticket, never called out the name or looked for the customer. They then looked up the slip cover on the system that told them there were 24 in the warehouse. Thus began a fruitless 40 minute wait while they searched for them (in the age of RFID, this really still happens?). After wrangling over whether they could release the item after having lost the ticket on their end, we finally got the manager to retrieve us another color and go home. Two hours of waiting, stupidity and stress, and not even an apology. - Racism. The "all you people look alike" treatment - from a manager, no less - was a bit of a shocker. A small redhead that looked vaguely similar to my wife and who had also been waiting for a slipcover for an hour got her item, and apparently this was supposed to be the same as us getting ours. - Baffling customer service. When you say that you should get help from an Ikea employee to purchase an item, you should probably say where and how. We searched all over the showroom and bottom floor for just such a person for nearly half an hour before finding a single information booth with a long line, without even knowing if standing in it would allow us to make a warehouse order. - Parking situation. Ikea won't let carts out to the parking lot, and doesn't seem to care that their loading dock has insufficient room for parking on a normal Saturday. - Rude employees: Employees bringing in carts and moving items brusquely tell customers to "move out of the way", shout at them or just bump into them with indifference. - Mislabeling/mispricing. In the showroom, Ikea marked two chairs we purchased as being on sale for $59.99, and one rug as being on sale for $59.99. When we rang up, they showed up as $79.99 and $69.99, respectively. To be charged the correct amount, you must be rung up (most of the registers obscure the pricing as items are rung up) and then proceed to customer service, take a number and wait for 40 other people to be served. read more

This is by far the worst Ikea I've ever been too. Continuous problem keeping advertised items in stock. For one item I've made 3 different stops and it's never available. Today I was looking for something new in their Besta series. Even though they had displays on the showroom floor, none of the core units were in stock. So, if you'd like to avoid aggravation, or not waste your time, find a different vendor. In the end I did what lots of frustrated customers do. I walked out with my money. Now I just need to find a store that wants it. read more

The worst Ikea on the planet. Long lines at the checkout, almost no employes. Disaster

I love the products at IKEA but this store has gone downhill. The store is not very clean anymore and two different men's rooms were dirty and poorly stocked with toilet paper. The bathroom sign off list hadn't been signed in hours so I can tell that not even the managers were checking on the bathrooms. This store used to be so nice and clean. There were also huge checkout lines which I am sadly getting used to but there were only two cash stands open. It doesn't even feel like they are trying to make it a pleasant shopping experience. Hopefully the management will improve and make it a nice place to shop again. read more

this is the worst store I've ever been in. if it wasn't for the obscene shipping charges online ($300 to ship a $80 desk), I'd buy things online. it took me half an hour to navigate from the front of the store/maze to the end. if you just want to buy furniture, walk through the checkout lines and into the self-service area. read more

Don't believe what you see on their website. Says they open at 9:30 on Sunday mornings. True. You can get in the door. But. All the departments are roped off and closed until 10:00am. Why cant they just tell the truth. Very irritating. read more

This is one of the worst ikeas I've been to. The "coworkers" are rude and cannot be bothered with any questions or help. For the new shoppers they don't seem to help them at all so you shud come prepared with how it works and all. The furniture pick up area is always slow no matter if there's only one customer or 20. Cheap prices though. read more

I went to return an item today. It's pick a number and wait, just like the DMV. I waited for 30 mins, and when I got up to the counter, the girl was rude , arrogant and disrespectful. She gave me my refund in cash , and just threw it on the counter in front of me. She put my receipt on the counter and barked "sign here" . The ironic thing was that a work colleague of hers came over to her and they were friendly to each other and laughing . As soon as the colleague left, she returned to her arrogant , and rude ways. I talked to the manager , and his only answer was that she had probably just spoke to a "bad customer" ( his words , not mine) , before she talked to me. What has that to do with me? He was useless. I won't be going back. read more

I've gotten some decent cheap furnishings here, which I think everybody has at one point. But the Ikea in Houston is more expensive than the prices online (they say that since its a franchise, they make up their own prices). That sort of sucks. And some things are definitely too expensive like filing cabinets to go with their desks. But in genera I've found some really good deals there (a desk, a dresser, a lamp, some kitchen utensils, pillows, etc).ss read more

We went to Ikea during the early afternoon on the Monday after Christmas. As you probably already know, you have to walk through the entire store even if you know what you want to get. When we got to the first floor with our two items, the line for check out was at least 200 yards long. Even though there were probably 200 people in line, they only had 5 check out lanes open, and some of the lanes were very slow. We were fortunate in that our checker was pretty fast, but still had almost a 1/2 hour wait. Would have been twice that in the other lines, as our line split into two lanes half way through. To ship my two items would have been about $100 (two small cabinets), which is way more than amazon charges. I won't go back again - will be using either Gallery Furniture or amazon from now on. read more

Slowest. Return. Line. Ever. Remember THAT if you are making your purchase decision based on returning items. Grueling punishment. read more

Yeah, yeah, yeah. "IKEA is only for broke college kids and apartments and new couples just starting out" and all that jazz. Well, as a recently-graduated, newly-engaged, just-now-starting-out-in-our-new-apartment gal, let me just say that IKEA has been HEAVEN for me during these past few exciting weeks. Plus, it smells like fresh wood floors and new furniture. Mmm, I adore that "new house" smell, don't you? You won't come across an IKEA in every state, simply because they're so massive. Our beloved Houston location is composed of two spacious floors: the 2nd floor includes all the bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom, & kiddo showrooms and the IKEA Restaurant, while the 1st floor houses the Self-Serve Warehouse (where you pick up big furniture), "As Is" discount section, IKEA food grocery section, and of course, knick-knacks and tidbits galore. You'll find everything you want and will ever need to dress your place up all pretty - more often, you find things you didn't even realize you needed in the first place. I, for one, have suddenly become obsessed with storage baskets, mason jars, and artificial lemongrass potted plants. I'm certain my fiance is starting to think he's living with a hoarder. Sadly, it's true - the prices are cheap, and the material is even cheaper. A rule of thumb with IKEA furniture: the less you disassemble and reassemble them, the stronger off they are. Fortunately, if you're not interested in buying their furniture, walking through IKEA's spacious and maze-like showroom is a reward in itself. For one, it'll spark your imagination - color schemes, furniture placement, decor ideas - inspiration is plentiful and free here. Got kids? Drop them off at Smaland on the 1st floor. They usually have clowns and balloons to keep the kiddos entertained while you window-shop. Hungry? Pay a visit to IKEA Restaurant upstairs. Aside from their infamous $3.99 Swedish Meatballs (which are pretty good, and the lingonberry jam is so freaken addictive), they also offer everything from BBQ chicken, brisket, and meatball pasta to chicken wraps, cured salmon salads, and an impressive array of desserts. If that doesn't tickle your pickle, .50 cent hot dogs and $1 fro-yo downstairs will. * For the most part, IKEA employees will happily answer any questions you may have, but sometimes, it's a pain to find them. Especially in the Warehouse, where you need them most. Go figure. * On the weekends, IKEA is a madhouse. And trying to squeeze your car into the loading zone is like an accident waiting to happen. It's almost as infuriating as being stuck behind people stopping and gawking at every single showroom. *Almost.* * Complimentary twine is offered to secure big purchases to your car. * They're really friendly about missing screws and bolts. Just bring your receipt and assembly manual as proof of your purchase and they'll help you out. * Items frequently go out of stock. Out of the 7 or so big purchases we've made in the past month, 3 of them were sold out. It's annoying, and if you can't afford driving back and forth, I'd recommend calling ahead to make sure your item is in stock. * On the plus side, they restock pretty quickly. I'd say 2-3 days. Bittersweet will the day be when I no longer require IKEA's services. Our apartment is almost 100% furnished now, and I swear, I'm starting to have IKEA withdrawals. read more

Ikea shopping is more of an experience than a task, and stopping by the cafeteria for the Swedish meatballs during the trip is a must! This store is large and clean, but I'm deducting a star because there never seems to be any employees in the showroom when you need someone or if you have a question about inventory, for example. Also, this location always seems to be busy, and gets chaotic on weekends so be mindful of when you decide to go. read more