CB2 opened in Uptown Saturday to large crowds. The line for the chance to win a $1,000 shopping spree was longer than the lines to buy something, but I saw lots of knitted poufs ($90 ottomans) being rung up.

What surprised me is that many items are already on sale. With the store opening so late in the season, it's because the company put them on sale at the other stores and online where they've been available for a lot longer. Even though they're new to us, we get to take advantage of the sale right away. Score.

In my article introducing CB2 last week, I compared the affordable modern home furnishings company to Ikea, but I suspect that some Ikea shoppers balked at some of the prices. Still, for my money, CB2 gets the style crown without much of a fight. Too many of Ikea's accessories have a "craftsy" look while CB2's look more "crafted" and fine tuned.

Accent pillows, vases, sculptures and framed prints (Jackie O and James Dean) are just a few of hundreds of items

on sale. Not all items on sale online are in the store, but you can always ask if the item can be brought into the store at no extra charge to save yourself shipping fees.

If you're wonderting what the store's guarantee is, it's too soon to tell. Reps say that they will do whatever it takes to make it right but that doesn't necessarily mean a refund. One store rep told me that if the cushions on a piece of upholstery were matting down after six or 12 months, for example, the store wiould replace the cushioning.

Let me know your experiences with CB2 so far.

One more thing: the store has a small parking lot with about 10 free spaces which were always full this weekend. It's also easy to to drop off and pick up an item if all the spots are full. And one last thing: why no entrance from Calhoun Square? That's a big miss.