[Leo]

Many of us are familiar with Ikea - Sweden's homeware/furnishings giant. I have always enjoyed visiting Ikea mega-marts, for its rich Swedish cultural experience, beyond its inexpensive homeware/furnishings offerings, but also its catering and food market.

I was saddened to learn that Ikea had originally planned to open a mega-store in New Zealand but the idea was nixed in 2008. :no

Here then arises the question... What's the NZ equivalent to Ikea?

[Arwen]

NOTHING!!! (thank God)!!! :laugh:laugh

Oh Leo DiCappucino (nod, nod, wink, wink, say no more)!! I thought we had something there, but if we can't agree on internal furnishings, then I will have to let you go. :wah

[IanW99]

...
Here then arises the question... What's the NZ equivalent to Ikea?

The closest at the moment seems to be Freedom Furniture.

Ian

[victoria24]

i like well rounded swedish beauties :D

[Leo]

How can this be? :confused:

We have rich pine forests, lots of woolly sheep, kiwifruit and fantastic seafood... Surely, we must have some response :yes

*Aside* Fret not Arwen :) A heart-warming Cappucino and some lovely Princess Cake will restore thee!

[Leo]

i like well rounded swedish beauties :D

Do you also like saunas & hot-tubs? ;)

[Arwen]

*Aside* Fret not Arwen :) A heart-warming Cappucino and some lovely Princess Cake will restore thee!

Oh Romeo thou art had restored thee until I read the post to Mr V above!!!!! :mad:

Getting a little 'naughty' aren't we!!!

[Chiba]

What's the NZ equivalent to Ikea?

I honestly can't see how anyone in NZ will say that we need Ikea, when we have Bigsave (http://www.bigsave.co.nz) instead. I mean, I arrrrsk you. Why have this for $750?

http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/68116_PE182200_S3.jpg

When you can have this for only $2600?

http://www.bigsave.co.nz/images/thumbs/thumb-fairmont.jpg

:roll

[Arwen]

Four words:

YUCK and DOUBLE YUCK!!!:exit

[Kanga]

TBH, the Big Save one looks heaps comfier :D

[Kea]

i'd say warehouse is the equivalent. but an even less pleasant shopping experience.

[Wooly_Cow]

i'd say warehouse is the equivalent. but an even less pleasant shopping experience.

Oh PLEASE - The Warehouse is more like MFI but crapper!

There is no IKEA - Big Save = YUK, Freedom is better quality but expensive.

....and the reason they canned the IKEA in Auckland was they were worried about the traffic!!!!!

...Yup that'd be all the expats !!!!

[GrumpyGoat]

http://www.bigsave.co.nz/images/thumbs/thumb-fairmont.jpg


yep, this is the most popular couch in NZ. I see it in EVERY Trade Me real estate ad. :laugh:laugh

[Chiba]

yep, this is the most popular couch in NZ. I see it in EVERY Trade Me real estate ad. :laugh:laugh

Indeed, and available in several simply stunning colours this year, like Beige, Pale Brown and Light Tan. And Beige, of course. Did I mention Beige? :D

[KelvinAng]

Furniture - The Warehouse (nothing but the best)
Kitchenware and Bedding - Briscoes (nothing but the finest)

Ok, I admit! I'm highly cost-conscious :D

[Chiba]

Four words:

YUCK and DOUBLE YUCK!!!:exit

This thread is useless without a photo of Arwen's sofa, and one of the price tag. :D

[ricky1981]

Big Save had the odd decent thing, we got a nice sofa from Target that was less than half price. Best advice I can give is don't pay more than half the RRP but even then you won't get new furniture for Ikea prices as there just isn't the same volume of sales in NZ to bring prices down.

[Moorf]

Indeed, and available in several simply stunning colours this year, like Beige, Pale Brown and Light Tan. And Beige, of course. Did I mention Beige? :D

Don't forget the "distressed" version for placing on your deck for your pitbull to sit on... :D

[Moorf]

Big Save had the odd decent thing, we got a nice sofa from Target that was less than half price. Best advice I can give is don't pay more than half the RRP but even then you won't get new furniture for Ikea prices as there just isn't the same volume of sales in NZ to bring prices down.

We got our l-shaped sofa at Big Save and people all think it's an expensive designer one!! Shop around - don't be too snobby re brands (like I used to be!) and you'll find gems....

[sweetpea]

Here then arises the question... What's the NZ equivalent to Ikea?

Hopping on a cheap Emirates flight to Melbourne (where there is an IKEA pretty close to the city center) and coming back with flatpacked small furniture pieces and accessories taking up most of your 30-kg luggage allowance.

Don't laugh. I spent 2 hours yesterday assembling Dudero and Knappa Tulpan lamps.

(BTW-They are opening a Costco at Melbourne's Docklands in the next month or so. Employees were signing people up for memberships when I was there. Sigh.)

A fun, non-tacky and inexpensive store here is Dog's Breakfast Trading Company. They don't have big furniture pieces, but they do have other home furnishings. Like Freedom Furniture, Dog's Breakfast is an Aussie company with retail stores in NZ.

Kmart used to have the tasteful Deborah Hutton line, which I took to be Martha Stewart knockoff. All the Deborah Hutton stuff has disappeared from our local store, so don't know if its discontinued or what.

If you buy very selectively from the main retailers like Farmers, Harvey Norman, Briscoes, and Spotlight, you can do all right. Shopping in NZ is more of a chore than a delight though, for better (you save lots of money!) or worse (you often feel like you are settling for something you otherwise wouldn't want to pay a cent for).

[Arwen]

This thread is useless without a photo of Arwen's sofa, and one of the price tag. :D

This is pretty identical to my sofa set which we shipped over from the UK.

Unfortunately it no longer looks as 'perky' now. :(

Ok, ok, I know it's 'brown', but I have three snack spilling kids!!!

Now that's what I call comfort!!! :nice1 You can recline back and fall asleep during boring telly programs without feeling like your neck and back have been put through a mangle!!!!

http://www.leathersofaworld.com/proddetail.asp?prod=brown-recliners-harrison-321

I must add that ours was much more expensive than that one though!! :wah

[Belmont Babes]

Shopping in NZ is more of a chore than a delight though, for better (you save lots of money!) or worse (you often feel like you are settling for something you otherwise wouldn't want to pay a cent for).[/QUOTE]

How true! Couldn't of said this better myself. Personally shopping for clothes is proving to be a real headache too.

[tim&em]

There's a decent chain of shops called Nood http://www.nood.co.nz/ which have some cool stuff. No way as big a range as Ikea and quite expensive, but if you get a membership card there's a good discount and they regularly have big sales (e.g. 50% off everything). Not bought much there, but is a good place for a browse...mainly Auckland and South Island I think.

[Chiba]

I think Nood and Dog's Breakfast are the same thing. They seem to share space be in the Welly CBD store anyway.

[Arwen]

Personally shopping for clothes is proving to be a real headache too.

Oh that makes two of us hun. Went shopping for clothes yesterday and found absolutely nothing!!!! I have never been a 'designer label' freak, but I do like well fitting, fairly trendy clothes that last longer than one wash. :(

[dusk]

Don't forget the "distressed" version for placing on your deck for your pitbull to sit on... :D

and grey, to match the walls

[Moorf]

There's a decent chain of shops called Nood http://www.nood.co.nz/ which have some cool stuff. No way as big a range as Ikea and quite expensive, but if you get a membership card there's a good discount and they regularly have big sales (e.g. 50% off everything). Not bought much there, but is a good place for a browse...mainly Auckland and South Island I think.

You beat me to it - Nood is great... as is Global Living on Manchester.

http://www.nood.co.nz/
http://www.global-living.co.nz/

Sorry, can't agree that Warehouse is equivalent to Ikea - their stuff is dire.

[Ngeru]

Ha ha ha, this thread made me laugh out loud, really really laugh!

The nearest Ikea is in Sydney, so no need to go all the way to Dubai, unless of course you want to.

It's bloomin hard at times finding furniture in particular, because you have to go to about twenty shops, ten times each over a course of a year before you find something 'that will do'. Tell me about it, I have gone without stuff for ages and ages, thrown hissy fits and had stages of absolute despair, because we simply could not find what we wanted or something we liked.

Farmers has quite a good range of leather sofas.

Freedom is lovely, but quite limited unless you like dark wood furniture and it is expensive.

Target furniture has grown on me; the first time I went there I thought it was truly hideous, a la House of Holland from the 70s. I guess after four years maybe my ideas and expectations must have dumbed down a bit - we have recently purchased a few bits from there - like metal frame slat bed for $200 and mattress for $299. Places like BedsRUs want anything upwards of $1000 for a mattress.

We also bought a rather modern, modular 'urban' style lounge suite from Target for about $700. They're worth a look because you don't have to have the cheapest fabric like the ones have on display, you can choose something a bit more expensive and you can have it 'tailor made' to suit for very little extra. It's amazing how different a suite can look with a different colour or better quality fabric on the same frame.

http://www.targetfurniture.co.nz/north-island

Harvey Norman's furniture I find terribly gauche, with price tags to match.

You do so have to shop around and you can forget furnishing your house all from one store.

[Scorpio]

Oh that makes two of us hun. Went shopping for clothes yesterday and found absolutely nothing!!!! I have never been a 'designer label' freak, but I do like well fitting, fairly trendy clothes that last longer than one wash. :(

Good on ya babe! :nice1 A local artist called Georgette Chen once said, "I never follow any trends. I always follow my own style; therefore I am never out of style." Your words remind me of her! I like 'timeless' and simple clothes and furniture that reflect personal preferences other than fads.

[Arwen]

I REALLY like you!!!!! :nice1:D;)

Georgette Chen ROCKS!!! Her statement "I never follow any trends. I always follow my own style; therefore I am never out of style." conveys my philosophies eloquently.

Thanks for that. :nice1

[Leo]

Georgette Chen ROCKS!!!...


Yes, Georgette Chen was indeed a stunning beauty in her prime :), do have a peek at her lovely self-potrait:
http://www.postcolonialweb.org/singapore/arts/painters/georgettechen/1.html

[Arwen]

Oh that's a lovely self portrait of Georgette.

I have always thought East Asian women are very beautiful.

Thanks for that Leo. :nice1

[Leo]

Many of us are familiar with Ikea - Sweden's homeware/furnishings giant. I have always enjoyed visiting Ikea mega-marts, for its rich Swedish cultural experience, beyond its inexpensive homeware/furnishings offerings, but also its catering and food market.



We've omitted Ikea's catering and food market section in our discussions thus far... Is there any equivalent to this in NZ?

Through its food segment, Ikea has successfully augmented its unique brand and brought a refreshing perspective to what would otherwise be plain-vanilla home furnishing retail. It has also successfully introduced a dash of Swedish culture through its food offerings.

Where may one find rich, authentic Scandinavian Lingonberry jam in NZ? :nice1

[M-Squared]

Well I'd not heard of nood, had no idea that Target had a furniture division here (I used to spend a couple of hours every Saturday in Target in the US - got my trolley, got my earl grey with trolley-side holder from Starbucks :D , went wandering around all the departments, and finally did the grocery shopping. Got all our cutlery from there before we moved. Nice stuff, a bit pricey and have to wash it by hand, but dead good).

I see nood has an outlet in Petone... and I'm not working tomorrow and have to pop to Petone for something else. I think I might just pay them a visit! :D :nice1 Even on the same street as NZique woot!

[Duncan74]

Quick question. We're in need of some new sofas, the ones we have here in the UK are well past their prime, and don't really fit in with the decor. Had ditched the plan to replace before we move, but am now rethinking. New sofas would help with the house sale, and then would be fine to take with us. But then is that really going to be easier than buying over in NZ? Probably looking to buy a couple of M&S Abbey leather sofas, so 'mid priced'. You expat experts think it's worth getting here and then bringing with in the container?

[Belmont Babes]

Absolutely Duncan 74. We bought new settees and beds before we left and boy am I glad we did. Go shop man!