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The historic Helms Design District seems like it’s constantly evolving. Just last year, it said goodbye to the new Helms Bakery and luxury furniture store HD Buttercup. But this weekend, it’s saying hello—or hej—to a special urban location of Swedish retailer IKEA (and all of the BILLY bookcases and meatballs that entails).
And though it will literally be called “IKEA Culver City,” the store is being touted as the first IKEA in the City of Los Angeles. (We checked this—it’s actually true.) You can get a first look at the new store this Saturday, May 2, during an “Unboxed Block Party” on Helm Avenue in honor of the grand opening.
IKEA is the latest tenant in the historic district, which has seen a lot of turnover since 1931, when it opened with a bustling, mega-successful bakery. More recently, Sang Yoon, the chef behind the complex’s burger restaurant Father’s Office, opened a bona fide bakery in the Helms Bakery building—marking the first time the complex had housed a working bakery since 1969. Though the effort garnered a lot of buzz and praise for its pastries, it sadly closed just over a year after opening.
Now referred to as the Helms Design District, the complex is home to several home furnishings stores including Room & Board and Scandinavian Designs, as well as the now-closed H.D. Buttercup, whose former location IKEA is taking up residence in. (Don’t worry—unlike IKEAs’ typical bright-blue, boxy facades, this location will keep its historic Art Deco character intact.)
The store will cover 38,000 square feet—large by most stores’ standards, but nothing compared to the 456,000 square feet of IKEA Burbank, the largest IKEA in North America. The store’s “city-center format”—the first of its kind in SoCal will still center around kitchen, bedroom, living room and bathroom displays, but they’ll be more curated and will feature “local living solutions” specially tailored to L.A. lifestyles. Some 4,000 products will be on display, with 3,000 ready to take home on the spot. Over 600 small furniture styles will be stocked in-store; for larger pieces, you can order then pick up or have them delivered.
And, for all you IKEA foodies out there, this format means that, instead of a full restaurant, the store will include a marketplace called the Swedish Bite, where you can get some IKEA staples—including those iconic meatballs, naturally—to go.
But, real talk: How is it that this will be the first IKEA in Los Angeles? In one of many quirks in the mapping of Los Angeles, the line that separates the cities of Culver City and Los Angeles literally runs through the Helms Design District—the Venice Boulevard–facing side is part of L.A., the Washington Boulevard–facing side part of Culver City. The new IKEA is closer to Venice, making it part of L.A. proper. (And of course, the seemingly ubiquitous retailer has stores in Burbank, Santa Monica and Arcadia—but those are all their own cities.)
Following a soft opening and ribbon cutting on the morning of Wednesday, April 29, the store will host its grand opening on Saturday from 11am to 4pm. Expect lots of free goodies—meatballs, lingonberry jam, coffee and plants—as well as inspiring “Design in the City” talks, free design consultations, a live mural and DJ sets. The first 500 guests will score a limited-edition blue FRAKTA bag, and those looking to furnish their space can enjoy deals of up to 50 percent off iconic IKEA pieces including the POÄNG chair and STORKLINTA dresser.
You’ll find IKEA Culver City at 3225-A Helms Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90034.