I’ve always believed what is meant to be will always find a way. A few weeks ago, my life’s path took an unexpected turn that has left me fully immersed in the world of IKEA. The blinders have been removed! I have learned so much in such a short amount of time, not just about the products, but about the company itself, that I’m seriously questioning my use of those blinders for so many years! And there’s the added safety net of having my nearest store four hours away in Atlanta!

HAHA Or so I thought! How quickly I’ve forgotten how often I visit Atlanta, even if it’s just passing through, my path taking me within blocks of the store! And so it was, this past Saturday I found myself visiting an IKEA store for the first time ever! And not to thoroughly overwhelm myself at all, I chose to do it on the first Saturday of the Summer Sale!

Of course I went with very stern instructions to myself that I was ONLY going to purchase the SUNNAN lamp that I had blogged about before. I succeeded………..sort of. I also came home with a $7 set of sheets for my daughter, a large stuffed hippo for the hubby, and the big green leaf for my son’s jungle themed bedroom. Not too shabby!

You can see the rest of photos from the Sea of Yellow Summer Sale Signs over in our Forums! Yes, I’m already planning a return trip! Next time with another six hours to spare to do some real shopping! – K

Offer Valid on in-stock merchandise only, while supplies last. Selections vary by store.

The Offer isn’t valid at the following locations, but you can click on them to find out what events and promotions they do have going on.

IKEA Charlotte

IKEA Houston All of the new moms and dads out there should definitely check out the “What Did You Do in the Dark?” sale!

IKEA Seattle

IKEA Tampa

IKEA Direct

What other sales or special discounts does your store offer? Let us know over in our IKEAFANS forum!

IKEA KITCHEN SALES

There are many ways to save on an IKEA kitchen, not the least of which is their sales.

Typically held twice a year – once in the winter and once in the summer, it’s my guess that IKEA will be stepping up their kitchen sales to take advantage of the new markets opening up to them due to the current economic situation. And IKEA doesn’t disappoint! The IKEA Spring Kitchen Sale is on! Check out the full IKEA Kitchen Sales Flyer Online.

SEIZE THE DAYS SALES

Watch for monthly sales at IKEA with especially hot deals.  You have to get there before the store opens (Great time to take advantage of the FREE BREAKFAST they usually offer!), and you often have to get some sort of voucher, code or coupon in the store in order to take advantage of the sales, but it’s totally worth it.  See the April 2009 IKEA Seize the Days Sale Flyer Online.

DEBIT CARD SAVINGS

When you use your debit card to make a purchase, most stores print out a coupon at the bottom of your sales receipt for up to 3% off your next debit card purchase.  You can easily turn that into cash for lots of great goodies to fill up your new drawers and cabinets by holding off on all the small buys until you’ve made your major purchases.  Bear in mind – IKEA no longer accepts checks of any kind!

AS-IS ROOM

Of course, no trip to IKEA Is complete without a trip to the AS-IS room!  The AS-IS room is part of IKEA’s Recovery Department – in order to keep prices low, IKEA tries to salvage returns, damaged items, and display pieces by selling them at an often steep discount.  Very frequently, you’ll find scratched or dented appliances, sinks or entire rooms of furniture in there.  All sales are final and items are sold…you guessed it!  AS-IS.  Love it!

DO YOUR RESEARCH

Doing your research ahead of time can save you bundles!  IKEA is not a full-service store, and it pays (literally!) to do your research.  I’ve gotten a lot of requests lately for a link to the IKEA Kitchen Secrets e-Book, so here it is: IKEA Kitchen Remodeling Secrets.  This book will walk you through one man’s journey and provides tips, tricks and lots of pictures of an IKEA Kitchen Installation.  I also have to highly recommend the IKEA Kitchen Planning forums at www.IKEAFANS.com – totally free and thousands of kitchens have been designed, planned, assembled, installed and enjoyed there.  You can check out the over 12,000 IKEA images in the galleries while you’re there!

So, there you go – 5 ways of saving money at IKEA while remodeling your kitchen.  And that’s just off the top of my head!  Do you have other suggestions or ways you’ve saved?

Including San Diego!  Yes, that’s right – even San Diego gets to participate in this one.  IKEA Stores in Southern California, including IKEA San Diego, IKEA Burbank, IKEA Carson, IKEA Costa Mesa and IKEA Covina will be having a Tax Free Weekend from April 3rd through April 5th, 2009.

HOW TO SAVE UP TO 12.75% AT IKEA THIS WEEKEND

With sales tax topping at 9.75% in Los Angeles County, this sale alone can save you LA shoppers almost 10% on your purchase, but you can save up to 12.75% just by using your debit card when you checkout!  Buy this weekend, April 3rd, 4th or 5th at any of the Southern California IKEA Stores to save the sales tax, plus save an additional 3% when using your debit card.  Talk about a sweet deal!  The 3% is presented in the form of a coupon on the bottom of the sales receipt to be used on your next purchase.

[Via IKEAFANS.com]

There’s a tax-free sale going on at IKEA College Park March 7-8!  That’s the same as saving 6%!  Use your debit card when purchasing to receive a coupon back for 3% and you’ve saved nearly 10% off your purchase! (Hint on same day savings below!)

Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, the link to see more info was broken (can’t link to local files, guys) , and uh….looks like someone forgot to close a (deprecated) <font color= #######> tag.  Oops!  That’s ok, though – we still love you IKEA College Park!

Here’s a tip: Use your debit card to pay for your largest items, and get your 3% coupon on the bottom of your receipt.  Check out again and use the coupon for same day savings!

W00t! Gotta love a good sale!  Thanks goes out to Chris for submitting this link through our submissions link above. Great find, Chris!

Get your IKEA on! For 2 days only, and only until 10:30am, get a free breakfast at IKEA!  Tomorrow, January 31st, 2009 and Sunday, February 1st, 2009.

Not valid for our IKEA friends in Hicksville, Houston, or Pittsburgh. Boo! One free small breakfast, and one free cup of coffee each, please!

Oh, and there’s some furniture on sale too.  See here: Seize the Days

Enjoy!!

Don’t miss the IKEA Houston Blue Moon Sale – it only happens twice a year!  Now through December 31st!

6 Days, 6 Specials*!

1. 4 piece MALM bedroom set $250, regularly $398.97
2. TROMSO Loft Bed $199, regularly $279
3. GRANAS Dining table $149, regularly $249
4. MALA and SVALA kids sets $59.99, egularly $86.93
5. EKTORP 2 piece sofa set $749, regularly $978
6. BESTA wall units $69.99, regularly $90

Plus IKEA Restaurant Deals: 99 cent breakfast (with coupon) and 2 for 1 entrees (with coupon). See whole flyer for coupons. IKEA Houston Blue Moon Sale

*Limits apply, while supplies last.

IKEA Canada is offering a similar deal, only the voucher is good on purchases over $75.  Either way, if you’re going to be shopping at IKEA anyway (and who isn’t, really?) it’s an excellent deal and you’ll be helping reduce landfill waste.  Win-win-win!

[Found at Inventorspot]

IKEA Canada is having a Midnight Madness sale!  7pm until Midnight – Tonight, December 12, 2008, only!

Save up to 50% on items storewide with some limitations on quantities.  Sorry Québécois – IKEA Québéc is not open til midnight, but to make it up, they’re starting the sale at 5pm.

Have fun! No crushing people.