IKEA is getting ready to officially open its first Atlantic Canadian store this week as thousands from across the region are expected to descend upon the popular Swedish furniture chain’s new Halifax-area location.
READ MORE: IKEA Canada announces full-sized store for Halifax
The store in the Dartmouth Crossing retail district – the size of four football fields – features a bright, streamlined showroom with rooms that were furnished based on the needs of local residents.
IKEA Canada president Marsha Smith says the company visited 70 local residences to determine what people in the Halifax area needed in their homes, such as waste storage solutions.
A “living wall” – a floor-to-ceiling surface filled with green plants meant to help purify the air – overlooks the store’s restaurant.
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Social media has been abuzz since Ikea announced two years ago it was opening its first store in the region.
Smith says the Halifax store is IKEA’s most sustainable in the country and also the first store to be LEED-certified.
The grand opening is on Wednesday.