The Ikea Orgasm

The first time DH and I visited Ikea, we were in northern VA visiting DS2 and his little family. For me, t was love at first sight. For LO, it was love at first sight. Amazingly, for DH, it was love at first sight.

The first time we saw an Ikea orgasm, a lady was standing in the middle of kitchenwares. "I LOVE IKEA!" She yelled it over and over. Her gf stood by and laughed.

Needless to say, we were quite excited 18 months ago when a blue-and-yellow billboard appeared beside the interstate 32 miles away from our home: IKEA Coming Soon.

We waited anxiously for the opening date. Occasionally I googled, "Charlotte Ikea open date."

At first the open date was announced for Spring, 2009. Then it became, March, 2009. It must have been about September when we saw a news item that the open date had been moved up to Feb. 18, 2009.

I began studying Ikeaware online. I was especially interested in a new desk: I have been using DH's gramma's kitchen table, a charming little wooden table with porcelain top. DH has fond memories of making sugar cookies with his paternal grandmother, now deceased, at this little table.

While charming, it is not practical for a desk. For one thing, it has one teensy drawer. Just big enough for pens and scissors.

The tabletop is about 24x40". With my laptop and a light on it, there is absolutely NO ROOM to spread out papers. I had to research on the guest bed, or at the dining room table 2 rooms away, then return to the laptop to write. Or take the laptop to the dining room. Hence, why do I have a little desk at all?

When using the DR table, I had to complete all the work in one sitting or have papers strewn on the table for several days. Not pretty.

As Feb. 18 got closer and closer, I studied more and more. While Ikea does offer traditional desks, I was interested in the separate desktops that you can match to the base of your dreams. Sort of a mix-and-match setup.

The desktop I selected is called a shadowbox desktop. It's actually two desktops in one: a wooden desktop with a piece of glass suspended 2 inches above it. This would allow me to keep my paperclips, pens, stamps, etc. at hand while keeping my worktop (the glass) free and clear so I can spread my work out when I need to. When I don't have work spread out, voila! the desk is clean. No clutter.

The base I had selected was a metal bank of drawers. One on each side, supporting the desktop, would create the optimal desk.

The day drew nearer and nearer...