Bedroom furniture - invest or IKEA?

[NannyLouise29]

Hi everyone,

So I've just moved in with my partner who has been living like a classic bachelor for the last 5 years. The flat is rented, and none of the furniture matches. This in itself is not a problem as we've decided that we need a bit more furniture and a new bed.

I am adamant that the new bed will be an investment - well made with a good mattress. If it was up to me I'd replace the wardrobes too and get an entire bedroom set that matched (they are light oak coloured and I'm not a big fan), however he has made it clear that they will be staying.

My question is, would you invest in great quality stuff and spend the extra even if it was in a colour you didn't love, or would you just match the wardrobes to IKEA furniture and hope long term he gets rid of the wardrobes?

I have nothing against IKEA by the way, but have found other stuff I vastly prefer which is handcrafted and Eco certified.

[Pinkandwhite]

I think you're right to invest in a decent bed that you really like. I'd probably just get ikea for the rest though. I had exactly the same issue when I moved in with my boyfriend (now husband) 5 years ago. He had loads of mismatching hand me down furniture. It's only now that we're finally buying a house together that we're investing in decent quality furniture that goes well in that particular house. So actually, on that basis, if you think your partners flat is a long term home invest in decent furniture but if you think you'll get somewhere new together in the future then go with ikea.

[mellicauli]

We bought a mega expensive bed..but the cheaper bed actually is still way more comfortable. Don't buy an Ikea bed though..they are not standard size, so you have to buy their sheets and they are not very robust. You'll buy your own place eventually, and who knows what will fit there, so stick with other stuff.

[Jaffacakesallround]

Fashions change. If you spend a lot now then you might hate it in 10 years. And it might not fit another bedroom.

We are oooooooooold and I still saved on bedroom furniture which we bought a couple of years back. we bought a lovely oak framed bed but I couldn't part with £700 ish for the chest of drawers and more for bedside tables, and we bought oak veneer which looks ok.

[NannyLouise29]

Thanks for the responses :)

Ultimately the colour of the furniture will have to change because I dislike the beech so much. He has a gorgeous walnut desk which I adore (shame the rest of his furniture isn't the same!) So it'll either boil down to replacing the IKEA stuff, or refinishing the good stuff (I'm not averse to this option).

Great point about tastes changing, and stuff potentially not fitting in to a new house. I hadn't really considered these, but makes the decision process easier!

[SilverSixpence]

Id definitely get a nice bed. I was adamant I wanted to replace ours and bought a gorgeous one from Loaf and i love it!