Our Orange Oasis

the avsikt conundrum

August 17th, 2007

When we designed the kitchen, we incorporated an ikea cabinet called the “avsikt”. What we liked about it is the fact that it has a nifty, roll-top door. It seemed to be a useful sort of place to house small appliances. So we got it, it was installed, and I loathed it, because it was too big–hovering just above the faucet in a claustrophobic manner. So although the next size down doesn’t align perfectly with the other cabinetry, I determined that we should purchase that one. We did, and I discovered that I picked the right length, but the wrong width. Another trip to ikea to exchange for the proper size. So then we had the proper size and began to assemble it. (K-construction had assembled the first one).

It turned out to be one of ikea’s more “advanced” put-togethers, but we sweated through about 80% of assembling it in our highly humid apartment, bolstered by many icy-cold hard ciders, and “assistance” from our cats…and discovered that a component was missing. At that point I just wanted to give it up–keep the unwieldy one, return the one we were working on. Especially after Luke called ikea and was hung up on by one csr, and given unsatisfactory options by csr #2 after 15 minute hold times on each call. Since we don’t have a car (we rent or zip), it isn’t easy nor cost-effective for us to get to the store, and they wanted us to un-assemble what we had done for a return. This particular model required that we drill our own holes into the material… and they want us to take it apart? Plus, we had already thrown away all the packaging. And Ikea could not find it within it’s stony corporate bosom to simply mail us the 90 cent component. Still to be resolved….

And finally, Luke’s hilarious interpretation of the Ikea instruction manual:

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