The cult of Ikea.

To be a member of Ikea's cult, here are some things you need to know:

-It is said that one out of every ten Europeans is conceived on an Ikea bed.

-Pigs and skeleton's are banned motifs.

-Ikea uses a technique called "Bulla, Bulla," in which a bunch of items are purposely jumbled in bins, to create the impression of volume and, therefore, inexpensiveness.

-Ikea is the third largest consumer of wood behind Home Depot and Lowe's and ahead of Walmart.

-Ikea published 197,000,000 catalogues last year in 29 different languages.

-"Breathtaking" items are termed so because they are so cheap you can't afford not to buy them.

-Ingvar Kamprad (Ikea's founder) has been rated the 5th wealthiest man in the world. Living in the Swiss village of Epalinges, Kamprad has very little taxes to pay and has been accused of doing nothing for the village (financially or philanthropically). Kamprad's nickname in town is the Miser.

Excerpt from Lauren Collins' "House Perfect" in the Oct. 3rd issue of The New Yorker