Ikea: Perfect for a first date, a wedding and apparently... marriage counselling

Assembling 'a large piece of furniture' could help couples communicate

From flat-pack furnishings to a crucial tool for the 19% of married couples needing counselling, Ikea seemingly has it all (Getty Images)

No matter what stage of a relationship you’re in, experts and advice-peddlers say, Ikea has something to offer.

If you’re looking for a romantic partner, Men’s Health suggests that you take advantage of Ikea’s one-way traffic, which creates “a natural movement and pacing that makes it easy to stroll and engage.”

Once you’ve bonded over display cabinetry, plan on returning for an official first date. According to the Date Report, Ikea buildings are “perfectly designed for first dates,” starting with their showrooms, which encourage (potentially disastrous) icebreakers such as “what did your bedroom look like when you were a kid?” or “how firm of a mattress do you like?”

If all goes according to plan, you can even propose and eventually tie the knot inside the world’s largest furniture retailer, like one New Jersey couple did in 2013, after a chance encounter in the framing department.

“I saw him right when he came in, and I checked his finger to make sure he wasn’t married,” said Shirley Smith, who is apparently an avid Men’s Health reader. “I followed him for about an hour.”

Eventually, if you’re like 19 percent of married couples and struggling with modern domesticity, you may need counselling. Ikea can help with that, too.

The idea comes from Ramani Durvasula, a Southern California therapist who has devised a new communications exercise for couples in therapy that utilizes notoriously enraging and meme-spawning Ikea furniture, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“The store literally becomes a map of a relationship nightmare,” Durvasula told the Journal. “Walking through the kitchens brings up touchy subjects, like who does most of the cooking. Then you get to the children’s section, which opens up another set of issues. And that’s before you’ve even tried assembling anything.”

Her technique skips past the store visit and focuses on the at-home assembly process, where things can really get heated. To help couples practice better communication, Durvasula asks them to assemble “a large piece of furniture.” Afterward, they are instructed to return to her Santa Monica office with progress reports, the Journal reported.

© Washington Post