Price range for retail seems to be $100-250 for IKEA stuff that will fall apart in 3 years, or $1,000+ for something better. Is there nothing in between? Would prefer to buy new with risk of bed bugs or other contaminants but open to other options if I’m missing something.
Not sure why IKEA is getting knocked? It has a good reputation for quality design. They also have quality ranges with cheaper and more expensive versions of the same furniture types if you want to splurge on the best.
Flat pack is a good way to buy furniture; you just have to get it from good quality sources and IKEA is definitely one.
I’ve got IKEA furniture that’s moved with me from home to home up to 15 years old and it remains in good condition. Never known their furniture to “fall apart”?
To add to this, if you compare a dresser (or table or whatever) at ikea to a piece of the same price range from pretty much anywhere else, it’s almost absurd how much better quality the IKEA piece will be. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say it’s absurd how crappy the non-IKEA piece will be.
Seriously, go to a furniture store and look at the drawer construction and hardware on a $1000 dresser and compare that to a $400 IKEA dresser.
There is definitely some garbage at the bottom of their price ranges, but their mid range stuff is generally a solid value.
Ikea stuff, at least on the cheap end, is made of cardboard lattice coated in plastic. Maybe if you get more expensive stuff from particle board, or even plywood, you’d be better off, but that cheapest stuff is really cheap. Once the fasteners start to loosen, there’s nothing you can really do. With real wood, you could just put in a fastener in a different spot.
that’s what he’s saying. cheap stuff is going to be cheap, but Ikea offers better stuff for a little bit more
And is still cheaper than what you’ll find at most competing stores. Cheaper as in price, not quality. I need to drive about an hour and a half to the nearest IKEA, so I’ve looked at other options when I think of some new furniture that could improve my space use. I’m always disappointed in both the selection available and the price on the not quite what I have in mind but closest they’ve got.
My ikea dresser is 12 years old and is ok still.
Design is not the same as build quality. Dovetails and rabbits are going going to be stronger than camlocks.
Dovetails and rabbets are going to be way more than $1000 without some serious bargain hunting and luck.
I just had to refurnish my whole house and it’s disgusting how much is being asked for shitty pressboard furniture.
At least IKEA is charging pressboard prices for pressboard furniture (and a decent array of solid softwood furniture as well). And in my experience it holds up better than most if you’re not abusing it or moving every year.
I have a lot of IKEA stuff. My complaint is materials. It’s almost impossible to buy something there that doesn’t have some components made of particle board. Recently, I’ve been trying to find better quality stuff.
The particle board stuff is the midrange stuff. The cheapest ikea furniture is cardboard lattice
IKEA is great and extremely common in peoples homes here in IKEA land.
If they’re buying the cheapest possible IKEA furniture, sure, it’s less reliable. Buy the mid range solid wood stuff.