Shopping: IKEA opens Sept. 30; last chance for patriotic decorating

So, the headline on the press release about IKEA opening Sept. 30 in St. Louis made me laugh. It read, in part, “Measure your rooms and practice your Swedish.”

Luckily, the Swedish retailer doesn’t require its customers to learn the language, but it’s always a good idea to carry a tape measure when you’re at IKEA. And to measure ahead of time, too.

Some people have wondered how the store — there will be 41 of them in the United States with the St. Louis opening — got its name. IKEA stands for the initials of its founder: Ingvar Kamprad, followed by the name of the farm where he was born and the town closest to it, Elmtaryd Agunnaryd.

The 380,000 square-foot IKEA St. Louis is being built on 21 acres along Interstate 64 at Vandeventer Avenue, with 1,300 parking spaces. You can’t miss the vivid blue and yellow boxy building as you head west on I-64.

The store will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area and a 450-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a Children’s IKEA area, baby care rooms and play areas throughout the store.

And, in case you just can’t wait, you can start lining up for the door-opening on Sept. 28, two days in advance. Not sure if there are any perks to getting there that early, but I’ll keep you posted.

If you have never been in an IKEA or have never seen a catalog/merchandise, go to IKEA-USA.com and check out what the sleek/stylish/low-cost/good-quality fuss is all about.

If you need any last-minute decorations for the Fourth of July, head to At Home in O’Fallon. Formerly Garden Ridge, the store has a big display of red, white and blue outdoor and home accessories near the entrance. I liked the $3.99 magnetic flag you can put on your car, outdoor bar or anywhere there’s metal.

I was at HomeGoods in Fairview Heights this week and couldn’t help but notice four lamp shades beautifully embellished with embroidery and felt work in floral and leaf patterns, each $24.99. They’re at the front of the store.

I popped into TJ Maxx in Fairview Heights and spied a lone trunk that would be a cool table, conversation piece and storage unit. It’s embellished with faux leather and wood trim over a stippled metal overlay. The interior is lined, plus there are two bottom drawers. Cost: $129.99.

Only 20 hats are selected annually to be on display for a year at the Kentucky Derby Hat Museum. Our etiquette columnist Dianne Isbell also creates hats and fascinators under the label Hats by Di-Anne. One of her designs, a large-brimmed hat with black beads and white feathers was selected as a winner of the annual Derby Hat Contest and is now on display in the museum until June 2016. The hat was worn by Dr. Caroline Connolly, an O’Fallon dentist. If you are going to Louisville, stop in and see it and all the other winners. To see Dianne’s amazing hats, go to www.hatsbydianne.com.

I was at a fireworks display in Shiloh last Saturday and noticed a lot of kids carrying glow-in-the-dark sticks their parents bought at a stand there. Not sure how much they cost, but you can buy them for a buck each at Deals in Fairview Heights.

Closer to home, Effinger Garden Center in Belleville has a deal for you: Buy any one annual flower or vegetable plant and get the second free.

Camping part of the summer plan? Check out the sale on select Coleman, Alpine Design and Kelty tents at Sports Authority in Fairview Heights and save 25 percent through Saturday. Some are as low as $75.

Spend $9.97 at Walmart and make a kid very happy. That’s how much a “Minions” 28-by-58-inch beach towel costs.

This story was originally published July 2, 2015 at 5:47 AM with the headline "Shopping: IKEA opens Sept. 30; last chance for patriotic decorating."