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What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 12:30:24 PM

MissAsylum

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instead of getting my new furniture from amazon or overstock, i've been looking at ikea. very nice prices and all- but what do any owners of their furniture have to say?

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 12:46:15 PM

Arpig

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I have two ikea beds that i got from my cousin 5 years ago after she had them for years...they are holding up just fine, and the Ex still uses the Ikea wall unit we bought around 20 years ago. If treated sensibly it lasts as long as any other stuff.

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 12:52:33 PM

AQuietSimpleMan

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Everything I purchased from Ikea I had to build it myself. I have learned a few things from this and I will share them with you... this goes for ANY Build it yourself project.

1) READ THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE.

Many do it yourself projects all require the same Screwdriver and Hammer to put together. NOT ALL SCREWDRIVERS ARE CREATED EQUAL... Buy a good SET of screwdrivers before you start cause some work better for certain parts of what you are doing.

2) ALWAYS HAVE WOOD GLUE, CLAMPS, & WAX PAPER.

Many DIY projects will not come with wood glue. ANY cabinet maker will tell you if it goes together and isn't designed to come apart, glue and clamp the fucker. High Quality Wax Paper is easily removable from something it has been glued too. All the parts that get mounted into the wood should be glued

*** EXCEPTION *** Some manufactures use a quick locking lug set, One Post gets screwed into the wood... it shold be Glued in. One piece is a round tumbler that gets turned until it locks in position DO NOT GLUE THIS. These are designed to allow you to take the furniture apart later.

3) TAKE YOUR TIME, BE PATIENT, DON'T FORCE IT IF YOU BREAK IT, IT MAY NOT BE ABLE TO BE FIXED.

Particle board... the #1 Building Product for the DIY furniture... is not forgiving. If you try to force something you make break a LARGE chip off of a point that is supposed to be used for a contact point, If this happens your project is about to take a LOT longer than it is supposed to. You can use wood Glue and the wax paper and a clamp just understand that it is going to take 24 hours before you can work with that part again. So Take your time and work Smartly.

4) ALWAYS USE HELP.

I am a "I work Alone" kinda guy. DIY Furniture is NOT the kinda thing you wanna do that. Even if you don't want help putting all the parts together. ANYTIME you move a part or Add onto a part GET HELP. I have Ruined at least 2 computer desk hutches cause I wanted to do it all by myself.

Hope this helps you in your decision...

Also... You know you will have to assemble most IKEA Furniture... this is why it is so cheap.

QSM

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 12:53:49 PM

sirsholly

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i bought the Loudones bookcases from Ikea. Trust me...if they can hold all his books plus not fall to pieces with a 50 pound kid pouncing all over them...you will not have a problem.

I will tell you that the directions were not the clearest, though.

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 1:01:48 PM

MissAsylum

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i have a HUGE phobia of particle board, and the pieces i were looking at were solid pine. i also noticed that for chest of drawers, it says they come with an anti-topple device. i'm a bit freaked by that. any expirence with that?

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 1:02:35 PM

ThatDamnedPanda

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I have an Ikea entertainment center that is solid as a rock, two revolving CD towers that are in good shape after 5 years of frequent revolving, and a couple of cabinets that are quite solid. All of them were fairly quick and easy to assemble, and work exactly as advertised.

I also have a set of Ikea barstools that I would be hesitant to recommend. I eventually got them assembled, but it was a collossal pain in the ass, and the instructions and the engineering were very substandard. This is the second set I got from Ikea; my first choice, I had to return because they were simply impossible to assemble.

I got my bed from Overstock.com. It was the first thing I ever bought from them, and it will be the last. It took over a month and a half for it to be delivered, and for most of that month and a half nobody at O.com even had any clue where it was. The freight company that they hired to ship it wouldn't return their calls or mine. They finally managed to locate it when I filed a complaint with the Attorney General, and when it was delivered a week later, it was badly damaged by poor handling (the boxes had been run into with a forklift several times, and some of them were crushed by having too many other large boxes stacked on top of them.) Overstock.com said it wasn't their problem, because the fact that the shipper took almost two months to deliver the bed clearly showed that the shipper was not following Overstock.com's policies for how freight should be handled, and therefore I needed to deal with the rogue shipper. And yes, I'm serious. That was what they told me. I repaired it myself and kept it, because I loved the bed, but I'll never do business with them again. Those low, low prices apparently come with a cost.

So all in all, I'd say I've had the best experience with Ikea. I don't always like their styles, but the quality is generally high, and the customer service is excellent.I would recommend really taking your time and moving very slowly - read the instructions twice before even starting, and take frequent breaks to make sure you're still on target with them. Everything I've ever gotten from Ikea has taken longer than I expected to assemble, but usually works out fine if I don't try to rush it.

< Message edited by ThatDamnedPanda -- 8/8/2010 1:05:25 PM >

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 1:03:21 PM

juliaoceania

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It is cheaply made often, and it does not last. Most of my college friends buy their furniture there because they can afford it and they will be dumping it on craigslist after a couple of years anyways...

I put a couple of Ikea dressers together for Sinergy a couple of years ago, they fell apart when he attempted to move them because they were crappy... and I followed the directions to the letter.

So, if you are only looking for temporary transitional furnishings, I would say IKEA is a good deal. If you are looking for something that will last awhile, keep looking

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 1:10:01 PM

sirsholly

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quote:

i also noticed that for chest of drawers, it says they come with an anti-topple device. i'm a bit freaked by that. any expirence with that?

kids.

they like to pull the drawers out (the bottom drawer the most) to make "stairs". Sure as hell...they topple the damn thing every time.

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 1:15:21 PM

MissAsylum

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*groan* i really dont want to spend an arm and a leg when i am only buying a headboard and an upright chest of drawers. but i do want them to last since i intend to keep them when my boyfriend and i get a condo next year.

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I hate when I'm wearing my apple bottom jeans, but i can't find my boots with the fur.

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 1:18:41 PM

AQuietSimpleMan

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quote:

ORIGINAL: MissAsylum

*groan* i really dont want to spend an arm and a leg when i am only buying a headboard and an upright chest of drawers. but i do want them to last since i intend to keep them when my boyfriend and i get a condo next year.

Then Take your Choice Cheap or Well Made... These two things RARELY come hand in hand.

Like I said If you Treat them well IKEA Stuff works well and last a long time.

But if you are looking for very Sturdy and Well Built Furniture ..... Cheap should not be in your Vocabulary.

QSM

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 1:30:04 PM

MissAsylum

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oh by all means- i dont mean cheap...moreso priced within reason.

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 1:38:34 PM

LadyEllen

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Ikea is a symbol of our modern consumer culture - good looking products that appear to be a bargain, but when you get down to it, its just crap that's actually well overpriced for what it is.

Ikea is fine if youre the sort of person who likes to makeover the home every few years though - the ideal solution. Also very good if youre keen on DIY but have absolutely no clue about joinery - the sense of accomplishment in assembling a piece of Ikea furniture will be a sheer pleasure for you.

But if you want something that will last, you have to pay the money for the real thing.

As it happens I just disassembled, with extreme prejudice, an Ikea TV stand - left outside my place by the next door tenant when she left (she also left me, as I've just found, two dirty old carpets in my backyard, and below them the contents of at least a dozen kitty litter trays - I just love the DHS). Its been there about a week - it has rained a bit but nothing much really.

So, I took the machete ('cause its cool to use a machete) and whacked it. Only once. It fell to bits, mostly. The one part that stayed together, secured by "quality" Ikea screws embedded in the "quality" chipboard, took a second chop - cutting the screws in two. It will make reasonable firewood - much as per when it was whole.

And yes, I have my share of Ikea (and MFI) furniture

E

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 1:48:30 PM

myotherself

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I have several bookshelves, a tv stand, a wardrobe and a dresser from Ikea that have lasted through three house moves and still look as good as new. Only thing I had to do when I got them to the new home was to tighten up some of the screws.

Some stuff is crap, for sure. But buy the sturdy-looking stuff and pay a little more, and it's worth the investment.

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 1:48:39 PM

Tantriqu

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I think of Ikea as disposable but functional: great for cheap bookshelves, fun to assemble if you only have a few, and very satisfying in a chest-thumping way: I, *I* have created this! I have raised it upright like a 1x2x3 Kubrickian monolith! Next I hunt the woolly mammoth!
Most movers will not move them or include them in their insurance, so if you're really moving soon, get ready to either dismantle or be prepared for breakage.
And you also need to attach them to the wall if you have any earthquake risk in your area.

Also very irritating if somehow they've slipped through quality control and they've left out a pre-bored hole, so have a power drill or Dremel handy, as well as a hammer.
But has been said, read the directions FIRST and OBEY them, 'cause the more likely reason there isn't a pre-bored hole is you've got the piece backwards, and count the # of screws, dowels, etc BEFORE you assemble.
Your first piece will take ¬an hour, your second 20 minutes. I also put a piece of low-tack tape on each piece as I take them out of the box on the topside/outside; you don't want to find out when you're finished that one of your drawer slides is upside down.
Functional tinker toys for grownups: woo hoo!
Good luck!

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 1:49:10 PM

juliaoceania

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quote:

ORIGINAL: MissAsylum

*groan* i really dont want to spend an arm and a leg when i am only buying a headboard and an upright chest of drawers. but i do want them to last since i intend to keep them when my boyfriend and i get a condo next year.

I would look on craigslist for someone who needs to dump their nice stuff because they have to move. I got a sweet waterfall dresser with bakelite handles for 100 bucks, and the guy delivered it to me. It has lasted 75 years.... it should last me until I want something different (I love it though)

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 1:52:24 PM

UniqueRaven

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My main beef with IKEA isn't so much the quality of their products, but their impact on the planet.

IKEA is the number 3 consumer of wood in the world - and they have been named "The Least Sustainable Retailer on the Planet."

http://consumerist.com/2009/07/why-you-shouldnt-buy-from-ikea.html

Think about it - essentially "disposable" furniture made from wood pulp and particle-board...this isn't stuff you hand down to the grand-kids as antiques.

i know not everyone is concerned about this sort of thing, but i am. Give me some quality vintage real-wood pieces from an antique or used furniture store any day.

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 2:08:36 PM

MissAsylum

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well the problem is with some(not all) sustainable retailers is they overcharge for things because they can slap a green sticker on it. and they are trying to fix their enviromental problems. anyway, they do make all wood pieces and they are the more expensive items. i dont truely care about their carbon footprint in terms of it preventing me from buying from their company if i find something that i really love.

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I hate when I'm wearing my apple bottom jeans, but i can't find my boots with the fur.

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 2:11:24 PM

Arpig

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The number 1 rule for dealing with Ikea stuff is....DON'T THROW OUT THE ALLEN KEY

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 2:13:30 PM

calamitysandra

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I love my Ektorp sofas, chaise, footstool and chairs. Very, very comfy, and the covers are removable and can be put into the washer. A big plus in a home with three boys. And you can simply buy new covers if you want a new look.

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RE: What say ye of Ikea furniture? - 8/8/2010 2:16:37 PM

hertz

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They used to do these great hospital-style metal framed beds - very solid, very secure. Obviously you'd have to provide your own cuffs...

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