Manager provides sneak peek at Ikea store in Oak Creek

Looking across the 290,000-square-foot interior of the building that will be Wisconsin’s first Ikea store, most people today just see an awesome amount of space.

Samantha Gravina sees more.

As she led a tour of the mammoth under-construction structure Tuesday, it was clear Gravina, the newly announced manager of the Ikea in Oak Creek, already envisions how everything will look and where some 10,000 products will be when the store opens this summer.

The room displays. The children’s play area. The home décor sections. The bookcases. The sofas. The self-service furniture zone. The 350-seat restaurant. Every Ikea feature will have its place, Gravina said.

Like the assemble-it-yourself furniture for which Ikea is known, its newest store is coming together exactly according to plan.

“It’s starting to actually come to fruition,” she said. “It’s extremely exciting for us.”

The Oak Creek Ikea won’t be open until sometime this summer — the company doesn’t have an exact date. But the Swedish retailer opened the blue-and-yellow building up to the news media Tuesday to coincide with the announcement of Ikea veteran Gravina being named store manager.

Gravina, a Chicago native, starting working for Ikea 18 years ago and most recently has been acting manager of the Ikea in Bolingbrook, Ill. She also has worked in leadership at the store in Schaumburg, Ill.

“Working out of the Schaumburg store, so many people from Wisconsin shop there,” she said. “We’re just excited people won’t have to drive down there anymore. They’ve been asking for years, ‘When are you going to come to Wisconsin?’”

Ikea officially broke ground for its 48th U.S. store on 29 acres along W. Drexel Ave. near I-94 in late June. Since then, it has mounted its huge signs to whet the appetite of motorists who love the experience and products — and Swedish food — that Ikea stores provide. The floor of the restaurant was being installed Tuesday.

Like all Ikea stores, the Oak Creek location will provide tools to help visitors navigate the store and take measurements of products to make sure they’ll fit into spaces at home.

“Nowadays that includes a mobile app that will help you locate things in the building. Then there’s the traditional paper and pencil, or tape measures that will be located through our furniture area,” she said.

Some shoppers take what Gravina called “the long natural way” through the huge store, following arrows and overhead signs.

“But we have shortcuts, so if you’re looking for a specific area — you’re not just looking to wander and be inspired — you can cut through and get to it quickly,” she said.

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The Oak Creek Ikea will have about 275 employees and is hiring. So far, it has hired about 115. People can apply online. The store also is planning to hold an open job fair in February, she said.

Gravina said an opening date will be set as the construction team provides updates on progress.

“Right now they are on track. The crews we’ve had here in Wisconsin have been awesome. So we’re in a really good place,” she said.

As you would expect, Gravina said she’s pretty good at assembling Ikea furniture.

“It not hard,” she said. “You’ve got to follow instructions, though. If you try to just wing it or do your own thing, you’ll end up in a little bit of chaos.”