Ikea NJ vs. Ikea Brooklyn

The age-old ques­tion: which Ikea should you go to? If you’ve ever moved to a new city you’ll res­onate with this famil­iar debate. Because, let’s face it, you’re def­i­nite­ly mak­ing at least one trip to the fur­ni­ture behe­moth dur­ing your first few months in a new place.

Sur­pris­ing­ly, the store you choose mat­ters. For New York City, where rent is half your salary, and trans­port­ing fur­ni­ture is the stuff of night­mares, even a tiny leg up is worth the research. So we’re get­ting to the bot­tom of things—is Eliz­a­beth, NJ Ikea bet­ter than the Brook­lyn Ikea?

Getting There

We’ve done an entire post on Ikea Brook­lyn and the won­der that is the water taxi, so admit­ted­ly, we’re a lit­tle biased. The free water taxi not only trans­ports you, but gives you some sol­id cityscape and Stat­ue of Lib­er­ty views. If you’re not up for an aquat­ic adven­ture, there are shut­tles and sub­way stops close by as well.

In New Jer­sey, there’s also a shut­tle and it leaves from Port Author­i­ty. Not near­ly as excit­ing as the water taxi, but it’s also free.

Win­ner: Brook­lyn. The Brook­lyn loca­tion gets the vic­to­ry on this one because its clos­er, the water taxi rocks, and you can make it by sub­way if needed.

The Selection

Regard­less of which loca­tion you end up at, take a look at the Ikea web­site before­hand. They update their stock in real time so you can see if the pieces you’re look­ing for are available.

In our expe­ri­ence, the Eliz­a­beth, NJ Ikea has the most con­sis­tent, in stock selec­tion. Giv­en that Brook­lyn is more con­ve­nient loca­tion-wise, it also tends to sell prod­ucts faster.

Win­ner: New Jersey

The Experience

Blue and yel­low all day. Ikea knows how to brand, so the stores are pret­ty iden­ti­cal in terms of aesthetic.

In terms of size, the Ikea in NJ is much larg­er and more spa­cious than the one in Brook­lyn. You’ll also find it’s less crowd­ed, mak­ing it eas­i­er to move around the space. If you hate slow walk­ers or weav­ing around peo­ple then head straight to New Jersey.

If you’re look­ing to make a day of it, head to the Brook­lyn loca­tion. It’s on the water and boasts amaz­ing views of the city. You can also roam around Red Hook and check out pop­u­lar spots like Brook­lyn Crab, Home­town BBQ and Red Hook Winery.

Win­ner: New Jer­sey, because avoid­ing crowds as much as pos­si­ble is the name of the game in NYC.

Getting Home

In Brook­lyn, after tak­ing the ele­va­tor down to the garage, there are taxis that wait out­side to take you home. This option will cost you $60 or so, but if you can swing it the con­ve­nience is worth it. You can also take the water taxi back, but you can only bring items that can fit in the blue Ikea shop­pers, mean­ing if you pur­chased a lot of large pieces you’re out of luck.

Although taxis don’t line up for pick­ups in New Jer­sey like they do in Brook­lyn, you can still grab a taxi or Uber pret­ty eas­i­ly. If you live in Mid­town or high­er, this is prob­a­bly going to be the more afford­able option for you. Anoth­er option is same day deliv­ery for $39, because lug­ging your fur­ni­ture home is no fun.

Win­ner: Brook­lyn. It’s clos­er for NYC res­i­dents, which means quick­er and cheap­er to make your way home.

The Bottom Line

Giv­en all the fac­tors that come with each loca­tion, it’s easy to see why the Ikea you choose makes a dif­fer­ence. If you’re look­ing to save time or make a quick trip then Ikea Brook­lyn is your go-to. If you’re look­ing to save mon­ey and get exact­ly what you need, then Ikea NJ can’t be beat.

If you want to avoid all of this and just get your items quick­ly with­out has­sle, and at a dis­count, shop Ikea prod­ucts through Apt­De­co!