Getting to IKEA Jurong From Home
When you move to Singapore without a car, everyday errands look different. Buying home essentials means figuring out how you’re actually going to carry everything back. For us, that destination has been IKEA at JEM in Jurong East — three separate trips so far, twice with just my child and once with my husband along too.
IKEA Jurong isn’t a standalone building — it sits inside JEM mall in Jurong East, so you walk through mall corridors to reach it, which is exactly what we’re doing in this photo. From where we live, it’s about a 20-minute Grab ride, and the fare has ranged anywhere from S$19 to S$30 depending on the time of day. Without a car, and with boxes to carry home, Grab was really the only realistic option for us.
What We Looked at in the Furniture Showrooms
One showroom section was a little home library setup — color-coordinated books on a white IKEA bookshelf. It’s the kind of styling that makes you want to buy way more than you need. But since we don’t know exactly when we’ll move next, and moving with a lot of furniture is a headache, we kept walking instead of adding a bookshelf to the cart.
Near one of the storage displays, there was a student discount sign next to a row of red storage bins. We’re not students, but it was a reminder of how much IKEA leans into affordability — which lines up with how we actually shop there: picking the cheapest reasonable option, especially for anything we might have to move again later.
Clear storage bins were stacked nearby too, the kind that are useful for sorting small items without hiding what’s inside. We didn’t buy these on this trip, but they’re on the list for next time.
The Kitchenware and Home Corner We Spent the Most Time In
Since furniture wasn’t really an option for us — you can’t buy it on the spot and carry it home — we spent most of our time in the sections where you actually can walk out with what you pick up. One corner had handles and small kitchen fittings organized bin by bin, easy to browse even with a kid in tow.
My daughter got interested in the UPPFYLLD display, a shelf of small kitchen tools and accessories. Kitchenware sections turned out to be one of the easier places to let her look around on her own while I checked other shelves nearby.
There was a shelf with wooden plates next to floral-patterned bowls and other kitchen items — a mix of styles in one spot, which made it easy to compare what would actually match what we already had at home.
Cups, small kitchen accessories, and sink-related items filled another corner. Nothing dramatic here, just practical stuff, but that’s exactly the category we came for.
Plates and kids’ tableware were displayed together with price signs nearby, which made comparing sizes and prices simple without having to track down a staff member.
I ended up holding a few different colorways of the ÅRFENHA set to compare them side by side. Between similarly priced options, color and how well it would blend into our current place ended up being the deciding factor more than anything else.
Bedding We Considered
By this point our cart had both dishes and a bedding set in it, which made getting through the showroom aisles a little slower — but it was also a good visual reminder of how much we’d actually picked up.
At one point I picked up a product tag with a small red bird print to check the label properly. Checking tags like this became a habit fast — prices and product codes weren’t always obvious just from the display.
We pushed the cart with the bedding through the aisles for a while before deciding. It’s not dramatically different from the checked bedding set we already have at home, but the price and the fabric felt worth adding to the cart.
Checking Out and Carrying Everything Home
Walking back through the mall corridor with a full IKEA basket became a familiar routine by the third trip. My kid usually ended up carrying part of it too.
We set everything down on a bench at one point — a flat furniture box, the shopping basket, and a few other bags — just to reorganize before heading to the Grab pickup point. Carrying it all by hand is the part that makes you think twice about buying anything too bulky.
By checkout, we’d filled a large IKEA basket and a couple of shopping bags. It’s a manageable amount for a Grab ride, but anything much bigger than this and you’d really want the delivery option instead.
Bringing It Home: Using What We Bought
Once we got everything home, the bowls and plates went straight into use by the window. They fit into the space better than I expected.
One small find worth mentioning: a silver metal shelf unit. The price was genuinely low for what it is, and it’s turned out to be useful for both storage and just filling an empty corner — good value for the interior.
We also picked up VÄLVÅRDAD kitchen towels in a blue check pattern, simple but useful for everyday kitchen cleanup.
Back at the same window desk where this whole essentials-shopping trip started, my daughter ended up eating a meal there too — a small sign that this corner of the room gets used for more than just homework.
Eggs, vegetables, and fruit plated on the same blue check placemat, with the new IKEA dishes doing exactly what they were bought for. Nothing fancy, just an actual weekday meal using what we brought back from Jurong.
Tips for Shopping at IKEA Jurong
A few practical things I wish I’d known before the first visit. Don’t expect to walk out with furniture the same day — larger items go through an online order, with pickup happening about three days later, not immediately like at some other stores. If you don’t have a car, do the math on Grab first: between the ride there, the ride back, and the S$35 delivery fee for larger orders, ordering online for delivery often works out simpler than hauling boxes yourself. If you’re ordering multiple items, it’s worth bundling them into a single order rather than several trips. Signing up for an IKEA Singapore account requires a Singapore phone number — if you’ve just moved here and haven’t sorted out a local SIM yet, that’s worth doing first. I wrote more about how I set mine up in this post about getting a Singapore SIM card. If you’re short on time, focus on the floors with dishware and kitchenware — those are the sections you can actually buy and carry out immediately. We worked through the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors in that order, and the 4th floor kitchenware section was where we spent the most time, simply because everything there could go straight into the basket. The in-store restaurant is worth trying once, but don’t expect kids to stay excited about it — my daughter enjoyed the food on our first visit and barely touched it on the following two.
FAQ
Is IKEA Jurong a standalone store or inside a mall? It’s inside JEM mall in Jurong East, connected through indoor walkways — look for signage like “J-Walk” pointing toward the entrance. Can I buy furniture and take it home the same day? Not from what we experienced — furniture goes through an online order with pickup about three days later, so if you need something immediately, this isn’t the store for it. Do I need a Singapore phone number to shop here? For creating an online account, needed for the order/pickup process, yes — a Singapore number is required during registration. What’s in the restaurant, and is it good for kids? We tried fries, meatballs, roasted chicken wings, and ice cream. My daughter liked it on the first visit but wasn’t interested by the second and third — the ice cream in particular has a slightly tofu-like flavor compared to what she’s used to.
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