Hallo, my name is Ikea und I kom from Sweden

Debbie wants a sofa to fit her compact flat. Actually she wants the latest craze, a chaise lounger or maybe a sofa bed to accommodate guests now that she has a flatmate rather than a spare room. After scanning through catalogues and sizing up actual sofas in the shop however, it becomes apparent that this is not going to happen.

So she takes me with her to the Swedish furniture store Ikea in the Victoria Gardens shopping centre where I am told we can get absolutely everything. You name it, it's all there written in amusing names like knoppa, grintorp, strib, hopen, gorm, knubbig that conjure up the Muppet Swedish chef's voice to pronounce. This store is so big that it contains a restaurant so that shoppers who have lost all perspective of time and space, can nourish and fortify without leaving the shop. It is possible to stay all day in Ikea, and why wouldn't you it's so big and has so much in it to entertain a first time Helga like me. There are play areas for the kids, full-sized apartments set up and maps to assist navigation around the arrowed floor plan.

The first Swedish shopping innovation that Debbie, the seasoned Ikea shopper, introduces me to is the space demonstrations. The store has set their furniture up in spaces designed to represent not only rooms but entire flats and small houses. There is the 55m2 apartment and the 120m2 townhouse. Melbourne like most urban environments, is suffering a housing shortage, especially in the rental market. Houses for sale are plentiful but they are existing ones, new properties are simply not keeping up with demand. So furniture and home accessories designed to maximise small spaces are essential. I have already been impressed with the hooks over doors and pull out drying racks Debbie has made use of to add quality living to her flat. Ingenuity of design can make a small space feel spacious and that is exactly what I see here at Ikea.

Spice racks that attach to the fridge, overhead wine glass rails, hideaway drawers and cupboards with adjustable separating inserts to ensure that every corner is usable space. And all with such stylish and affordable European elegance of design. Much to Debbie's amusement, my eyes are like saucers, my hands madly waving in every direction and the words, “oh wow look at this,” are never far from my lips. I think she brought me along for the entertainment value more than anything else.

“The even have a deli here,” she says and I'm sure it is just so she can chuckle at my reaction.

“A Swedish deli!” I clap my hands like an excited three year old. “where? Do they have Haagendass?”

“No but they do hotdogs,” Debbie says as apparently it is her little Ikea ritual to have a lipsmacking hotdog on the way out. Debbie likes hotdogs I have learned over the past couple of weeks of watching her prepare a quick dinner after work. It's usually the hotdog wrapped in giant pita bread with cheese and a quirt of tomato sauce that suits her convenience.

We try out a number of lounge suites and yes, this does involved opening out every sofa bed and climbing on. How else are we supposed to see if they are comfortable? Both of us stretched out on the same sofa bed has a few of the shoppers looking sideways at us but we are enjoying ourselves and eventually we find the sofa Debbie needs to match the chairs she already has so she is happy.

Now I get to see the ingenious Swedish buying process. Take shopping list printed for your convenience, take a pencil also provided, take a tear off tape measure, they are all here for you the shopper's use. Note the aisle numbers of the components that make up the kitset you are about to purchase and go downstairs to the warehouse. Here grab a giant trolley and trundle the massive aisles that make The Warehouse look like The Garden Shed to collect your purchases. It is all self serve. Next you pay and then you take it all to the delivery bay to register your next day delivery. Debbie discovered how this works on her first visit when she asked for the delivery to be made on Saturday and was told to come in and order on Friday if she wanted delivery on Saturday. So she will have to stay home tomorrow to wait for today's purchases. When they arrive, assembly is up to her and this goes for everything, beds, tables, lounge suites, cupboards, they are all kitset. Top marks to the Swedish for their ingenuity and their economy, Ikea rules, right on!