There’s two kinds of people who shop at Ikea. The first are team showroom: they’re the folks who meander through the whole upstairs, taking in each Scandi-cool space in wonder and in envy. The second are team market hall, who skip directly to the store’s lower level to peruse the smaller items and get out as quickly as possible.

I suppose there are more€”like the drag-alongs who shuffle through grumpily until you buy them soft serve€”but for the sake of (Swedish-inspired) simplicity, I’m leaving it at two.

But now, the furniture and home decor maven is adding a new kind of shopper to the list: the box buyer. Ikea has introduced both monthly and quarterly subscription boxes full of new items to freshen up our homes. The monthly choice ($45 each) contains 6-8 items, plus recipes and DIY ideas. The quarterly box ($85 each) contains 10-12 decorative items, also has recipes and decor ideas.

That’s cause for celebration… but only if you live in Vancouver. The trial run is Vancity-only (sorry, everywhere else) and with limited availability.

It’s certainly not the same as a good, old-fashioned Ikea trip, but since staying home is still the the song of the season, it’s probably best to order in, anyway. I wonder if they have the technology to deliver soft-serve. There’s no underestimating the Swedes.

Alyssa Hirose

Alyssa Hirose

Alyssa Hirose is a Vancouver-based writer, editor, illustrator and comic artist. Her work has been featured in Vancouver magazine, Western Living, BCBusiness, Avenue, Serviette, Geist, BCLiving, Nuvo, Montecristo, The Georgia Straight and more. Her beats are food, travel, arts and culture, style, interior design and anything dog-related. She publishes a daily autobiographical comic on Instagram at @hialyssacomics.