Hello Ikea!

So I usually receive catalogs from Ikea, flip through them, and make mental notes for later about pieces I like or decorating ideas I may want to use.  However, I've never been to an Ikea store because the closest one to us is a little over 4 hours away.  My husband and I both had a four day weekend this weekend, so we decided to make the drive on Saturday to check things out.

Our main reason for going was to look at their sectionals because I've been pricing and comparing various ones and since their sectionals are relatively cheaper than others I've looked at, I wanted to see them up close before I made a decision (we wanted to see what we were really getting without having to order it, and possibly return it).  Wow, all I can say is that store is huge!  I don't know if any of you have been to one, but I could've walked through it a couple of times adding to my wishlist each time.  We did find one sectional that has made our list, but we still aren't quite sure about it yet.   See, we like leather sectionals (think two seats plus a chaise) but we don't really care for a lot of tufting.  Ikea's leather sectional that has a chaise attachment only comes in tufted leather.  While we are going for a more modern look in the den, the sectional almost looks retro with all the tufting.  However, it's the closest we've found to what we want, and you can't beat the price for a leather sectional, so it's made the list, but a decision hasn't been made just yet. 
                            

Here's a link to the picture of it: Ikea Karlstad Sofa Sectional .  It also has leg/feet upgrades that you can purchase (the silver/metal ones were really pretty with the white leather).

Why leather?  Because we have a dog that likes to sit with us on the couch and we plan on having kids one day.  A leather sectional would make clean-up easy.  We were worried about the dog messing up the leather, but we've recently purchased two leather club chairs for our living room and he doesn't scratch them (or have accidents on them) and I don't have to vacuum them constantly to remove dog hair (I can just wipe them down if needed - so much nicer!).  We also want to get a white sectional.  Yes, white.  No, we aren't crazy. :)  Hence, the choice of leather.  We are crossing our fingers that it will work out since we can wipe up any spills rather than having to try to remove them from fabric, while still having the look of a white piece of furniture to lighten things up in the dark gray room. 

So anyone have any experience with Ikea or white sectionals?  Any suggestions on other furniture places to shop at?  Feel free to share any info/experience/expertise you may have by leaving a comment below.