A friend described IKEA to me as the perfect furniture for the highly mobile urbanite crowd. It is high enough on style to look cool, but low enough on price that you do not feel bad about ditching it when you move (or…as I added and he concurred…when it falls apart).
Agreement, ambivalence, accolade, argument (for/against) and especially first hand experience with IKEA are welcome. We are a ways off, but I thought I would get the ball rolling as our current chairs are aging and our table has some design issues (i.e., too low).
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As a personal fan of Ikea I can say it’s been a great alternative for fun office furniture.
As the husband of someone who doesn’t like their furniture I can say that we’ll likely see little of it in our home.
I’ve always liked how your office was decorated. Sorry to hear about the conflict at home. Surprisingly, Pam likes the pieces pictured above and even her mom thought that some IKEA stuff would look good in our house.
I wouldn’t want to do a whole room or house with IKEA furniture, though. I think we are aiming for an eclectic mix…a little touch of modern combined with traditional furnishings. For example, I love the second chair above (JULES) and think it’d look really neat contrasted against a rustic well worn table. Pam also read in Real Simple magazine that the IKEA chairs were very sturdy and cheap. The first chair (STEFAN) is like $20. I could buy six for less than Pam could get a new outfit from Talbot’s.
There is also a halogen light fixture that is much more airy and artsy than what we have right now in our dining room.
they are made well-ish… but is some of the little things that will drive you batty.
We have six of the third chair pictured, and have replaced at least one of the feet on all of them.
I have always liked IKEA, and my stuff that I’ve gotten from there has held up well thus far and it’s all about 5 years old - just the normal wear & tear from being in college, but I guess if it could survive in Oxford, Mississippi, it could survive the Kennedy household.
stelmodad: Tubular steel legs…I can see those feet needing to be replaced frequently and timely…as you wouldn’t want to damage either the floor or the chair by waiting too long.
Virginia: I don’t know…my kids seem to be breaking a lot of things these days.
But seriously, that is good to know. Thanks!
it’s cool stuff, and it’s cheap, but sometimes you really do get what you pay for. it wont last for generations, but it’ll usually do the job for a while and look pretty nifty. our cheapo pressboard bookshelves are sagging, but hey, they were $30 each. on the other hand, the shelved bolted into the wall are plenty solid. check out their toys…usually cool, always cheap. especially their wooden train sets and such, which is a big hit around here.
I LOVE Ikea. Most of my home accessories and window treatments were purchased there. I have not purchased any furniture, but my sister bought a dining room table and her nursery furniture there. The nursury stuff will probably not last through multiple children, but it is functional and was very affordable. The dining room table is fabulous, and looks more expensive than it cost. Steven and I are looking at getting some bedroom furniture there to hold us over until we are able to get a bigger house. All in all…good for short term solutions or things pieces that will not get high volume use.
Matt and I have found that Ikea is like other stores in that you find a pretty wide variety of stuff that falls somewhere between quality and junk. If you have a pretty good junk detector, then you will be able to tell the good from the bad. Where Ikea stands out is in the functionality and style of their treasures (and junk too).
So far, all of their electrical stuff I’ve bought or seen is junk. Kinda like euro specs rigged for US…? I’d steer clear.
MM
So it sounds like as long as I’m careful then I should be happy and the money won’t be wasted. I don’t have any expectations of family heirlooms. It’s disappointing to hear about the lighting, though, as I really like that lamp.
We’re probably going to get chairs for the kitchen and a bunk bed (maybe a dresser, too) for the boys. I might get some office stuff later on, and perhaps some cheapo bookshelves.
How does it feel to say “for the boys”?
I like the chair on the left, but the one on the right is way too reminiscent of the elementary school cafeteria for me.
We really enjoy IKEA. Our dining room chairs are IKEA and the chair bed in Fuller’s room is IKEA as well. We might get a sofa from there, but we know that it won’t last for 20 years. Maybe 5. And I like the storage solutions that they provide.
willa: Where’d you go to elementary school? We never had chairs that cool in our cafeteria. I think it was benches all the way through high school.
mrscrumley: I like their storage pieces, too. Pam wants to get a sectional for our family room, as it’s affordable and has a removable slip cover. It might only last five years, but then again our current sofa in that room has a broken frame and it is maybe seven years old (and we paid top dollar for it…eight-way hand tied springs, custom fabric, etc.).
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[...] On Monday we all went to IKEA in Atlanta. It was my first visit. Frankly, I was more impressed with the Swedish meatballs than I was with the furniture. Sure, it is all great design, but the quality on many of the pieces is not as good as I expected. However, it must be noted that thousands of people go through that store each day and beat on the displays. All this said, we still plan on buying some pieces. [...]