Saturday morning we left early for Huntersville (a small suburb of Charlotte). We had a two purpose mini-vacation: for Bobby, visit the church his niece/nephew are starting, for me...shop! Ever since IKEA had its grand opening in Charlotte I've wanted to go. I think the Charlotte area is just a cool place to shop anyway, but other than a trip to Concord Mills with some friends a few years ago I've never had that privilege.
On the way, we started seeing signs for THE Depot...largest antique collection in the south! We joked about how most antique places advertise in a somewhat similar manner, and I made the comment, "Wouldn't it be cool if we could stop?" Then it hit me: we COULD stop. Normally when we travel, the drive is long and time is short and we only stop for absolute necessities. This day, our drive was short and time was ours. So stop we did. And I am SO glad we did! We probably spent about 3 hours in this cotton mill converted into an antique consignment shop. At one point Bobby hesitantly said, "If you really want to go to IKEA, we probably ought to head on." I told him it was okay if we didn't fit IKEA in on that trip. When all was said and done, we did manage to go to IKEA, spent about an hour there, and that was more than enough.
IKEA...is not my kind of store. I liked the concept on the showroom floor...displaying how their products can be used in a tiny apartment or space for maximum usage of space (although such spaces are not conducive to wheelchairs, strollers, nor crowds). I think a store like that would do great in a place like China where the apartments are less than 700 sq ft. If you like avant garde or modern-style furnishings, then this is definitely the place to shop. If you like sturdy, traditional furniture that might one day survive to be in an antique shop, avoid this place like the plague. I will say their kitchenware stuff (utensils, cutting boards) were very decent prices, though there's not multiple choices in types or brands (except in the dishes) and for things like toddler beds and such they seemed sturdy. The place was crowded; the parking lot reminded me of Christmas. On top of that, they have a MAP with arrows pointed on the floor showing which way the crowd is to walk. That bugged me. Bobby liked it, as with the huge crowd it made it a little easier to all be going the same direction. Except this is America, where people almost never follow directions. All the international customers were following the map; the Americans were going wherever, causing some chaos in the narrow aisles with their strollers and Bobby's wheelchair. So between the crowd, the inability to just browse, and the design of the ceiling and things being stacked up way over your head, I started feeling a little claustrophobic, which has only happened once before in my life. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. I finally told Bobby we needed to leave the showroom and go downstairs to the market place. That was much better, much less constricting, but still crazy. The craziest part was trying to find a way out. The ONLY way to escape that store is by getting in a LONG line to go through a check-out lane. I guess they expect everyone to buy something. I don't think either one of us have any desire to head back to this store, which is funny, considering that is the one store I really wanted to visit.
But come April, when things hopefully slow down a little bit, if anyone wants to make a day trip to an antique store, I'll gladly go. :)
On the way, we started seeing signs for THE Depot...largest antique collection in the south! We joked about how most antique places advertise in a somewhat similar manner, and I made the comment, "Wouldn't it be cool if we could stop?" Then it hit me: we COULD stop. Normally when we travel, the drive is long and time is short and we only stop for absolute necessities. This day, our drive was short and time was ours. So stop we did. And I am SO glad we did! We probably spent about 3 hours in this cotton mill converted into an antique consignment shop. At one point Bobby hesitantly said, "If you really want to go to IKEA, we probably ought to head on." I told him it was okay if we didn't fit IKEA in on that trip. When all was said and done, we did manage to go to IKEA, spent about an hour there, and that was more than enough.
IKEA...is not my kind of store. I liked the concept on the showroom floor...displaying how their products can be used in a tiny apartment or space for maximum usage of space (although such spaces are not conducive to wheelchairs, strollers, nor crowds). I think a store like that would do great in a place like China where the apartments are less than 700 sq ft. If you like avant garde or modern-style furnishings, then this is definitely the place to shop. If you like sturdy, traditional furniture that might one day survive to be in an antique shop, avoid this place like the plague. I will say their kitchenware stuff (utensils, cutting boards) were very decent prices, though there's not multiple choices in types or brands (except in the dishes) and for things like toddler beds and such they seemed sturdy. The place was crowded; the parking lot reminded me of Christmas. On top of that, they have a MAP with arrows pointed on the floor showing which way the crowd is to walk. That bugged me. Bobby liked it, as with the huge crowd it made it a little easier to all be going the same direction. Except this is America, where people almost never follow directions. All the international customers were following the map; the Americans were going wherever, causing some chaos in the narrow aisles with their strollers and Bobby's wheelchair. So between the crowd, the inability to just browse, and the design of the ceiling and things being stacked up way over your head, I started feeling a little claustrophobic, which has only happened once before in my life. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. I finally told Bobby we needed to leave the showroom and go downstairs to the market place. That was much better, much less constricting, but still crazy. The craziest part was trying to find a way out. The ONLY way to escape that store is by getting in a LONG line to go through a check-out lane. I guess they expect everyone to buy something. I don't think either one of us have any desire to head back to this store, which is funny, considering that is the one store I really wanted to visit.
But come April, when things hopefully slow down a little bit, if anyone wants to make a day trip to an antique store, I'll gladly go. :)
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