What I think of Ikea

I have to admit that I am a very regular visitor to Ikea. I would visit it almost on a monthly basis. I am not ashamed to admit that I possess a Ikea family card that entitle me to free refills of coffee and discounted meals.

There is no similar concept furnishing store anywhere else just like Ikea. When I have the time and nowhere else to go, I would just wander off to Ikea. I could stroll around the place the whole day, looking for home decor inspirations and I do enjoy some of the overpriced food. Those fried chicken wings, meatballs and salmon!

However, I am not quite a fan of Ikea quality furniture/furnishing. Over the years, i have purchased quite a number of furniture, furnishings, accessories and mirrors from there. In fact more than from any other furniture store. Ikea  is a great place to find those affordable semi permanent in between furniture for home but honestly, I would not furnish my home entirely with just Ikea furniture.

Frankly, I wouldn’t invest much in some series of their furniture, because most of it is just particle board /pressed wood (basically wood particles/sawdust compressed together) and they simply don’t last very long.

I have bought 2 chest of drawers from Ikea over the years. The exterior and the frame of those drawers are quite sturdy. However, the interior base of each drawers is just so pathetically thin and flimsy that it could hardly hold much weight support. These collapse within 2 years and all I put in there was just bed sheets, bath towels and underwear.

Definitely Not Recommended!

I also owned 2 medium size solid wood extendable dining tables and for these the quality are still simply durably great!

Other great recommended buys are their closet organizers, dustbins or waste paper baskets, kitchen utensils, shower curtains, cushions, certain textiles, candles, candles holders, lamps, carpets etc.

Avoid their curtain rods and accessories at all costs, these rust and tarnish way too easily. Some of their lighting and lamps are of not bad quality but some are just so inferior cheesy looking.

I also owned several types of their paste on mirrors from Ikea over the years. These are definitely not recommended buys. The first two year the mirrors looked fine, however after that, the edge of those mirror start to deteriorate and tarnish. Kind of rotting within or something eating them from inside.

Paste on wall mirrors - Not recommended!

When shopping at IKEA, don't expect to find heirloom quality furniture that you can pass to the next generation. If it does last more than 5 years, you already had your money's worth.

Ikea is presumably well known for furniture made of compressed wood chips sandwiched between wood or plastic veneer. Such material is notoriously easily damage-prone, and something simple as over-tightening a screw could just split the fiberboard and leave behind some permanently wobbly piece of furniture.

Look out instead for furniture that is constructed from solid pieces of wood for quality items that will last a longer time.

Furniture made of solid wood—preferably some hardwood like oak or acacia, but even a softwood like Swedish pine—is always going to be sturdier than any type fiberboard.

While most of Ikea products are certainly affordable, durability is just not typically a common attribute. Very often affordability and quality do not go hand in hand, unless it is 2nd hand used furniture.

Mostly made from compressed particle board, IKEA furniture often does not stand up to years of use. Disassembling, reassembling and transporting the furniture during a move also could also shorten the product's lifespan.

While IKEA has been making an effort to address environmental concerns regarding eliminating toxins in their furniture materials, that could not considered entirely green conservation simply because it lacks that one very important feature of green furniture - durability. That is especially so of those more affordable furniture at IKEA.

To conclude, Ikea is a great place to shop if one is on a reasonable budget and looking for attractive semi permanent furniture/furnishing that they would like to change every few years. It let consumers explore their preferences, especially when they are not ready to invest in something of more outstanding quality just yet.

Below is my personal list of recommended  buys and don't. This is purely based on my own preferences observation and past purchases over the years.

 

Closet Organisers - Recommended!

Recommended Buys

Closet Organizers and inserts
Wardrobe dividers

Dining tables
Kitchen ware
Glassware
Knives
Kitchen utensils
Pots

Some curtains
Carpets
Cushions

Candles
Candles holders

Plants
Plants pots
Watering cans

Lamps
Lighting

Mirror with wooden frames

Some Book shelves
Office chairs

Non Recommended Buys

Paste on Mirrors
Chest of Drawers

Curtain rods
Curtains accessories

Sofa
Beds
Mattress
Bedsheets
Any furniture using particle board


Post disclaimer:
This is NOT a paid advertisement nor sponsored/collaborated post. The above featured item is just one of the many interesting stuff which caught my eye.