To not replace all my IKEA stuff

IMO IKEA can be a good choice, but there may well come a point where you don’t want flat-pack any more - traditionally constructed wooden furniture, often available relatively cheaply 2nd hand, is more appealing.

I was never snooty about IKEA and still love it for bits and pieces but I would steer away from bigger furniture as it hasn’t lasted for me.
Bought a Kallax and it looked terrible after about a year - the coated PDF chipped all over and we got rid. We started buying proper wood furniture - much more expensive but will last for a generation plus.
The Kallax was the nail in the coffin for IKEA furniture for me.

And when dd grew out of certain things, they've been moved in within the family and to others around us very successfully

Some of our Ikea furniture is over 20 years old and still looks and works great. We have a mix of solid furniture, antiques and Ikea and it all works well together.

You can get the cheapest Ikea items which are essentially made for student flat type living and expected to be thrown away. (Although the desk we got DD for €30 9 years ago was well used for 4, dismantled and stored, then remade and worked fine in lockdown as an actual desk for me to work on for 9 months until better desks were back in stock, so it's now dismantled and stored away again.)

You can get quite expensive (but cheaper than "design" brands) furniture that is expected to last a lifetime.

And quite a range in between.

In lots of styles, with a wide range of family types and lifestyles in mind, and plenty of practicality and flexibility in how you use items and adapt to your own space.

I've just had to love to a new city on temporary assignment for 4 years and had to furnish an apartment so have bought (and made) a lot of Ikea. The Pax wardrobe I have here is much better than the expensive wardrobes we got fitted at home!

Oh dear, our house is 90% IKEA. She'd hate me. I'd have no idea where to shop for furniture if ikea closed.

I completely disagree with the poor quality comments, we've had PAX wardrobes for 2 house moves that still look good. The solid wood furniture has been excellent, ie Hemnes, Skogsta ranges. The cheaper ranges have their place for temporary furniture, student accommodation etc.

We pulled the laminate off the front of our kitchen and painted, looks great. Worth a go, as the door under the laminate is a good quality (well, our doors are).

Instagram has some brilliant videos of women that personalise IKEA stuff. They paint, change handles, stick on dado type stuff. It's fascinating how it can be done

Big fan of IKEA, I like the minimalist look so need lots of sleek storage. I have billy bookcases from the '70s still going strong.

DH hates it but turns out to have dreadful very fussy tastes so I've stopped even considering replacing my lovely plain billy bookcases and malm drawers.

We have had some custom build storage from real wood which I do love but it was serious £££s and billy bookcases when full of books do pretty much the same job.

If it came to it, I'd upgrade DH rather than the IKEA bookcases. I was sad the day I was in IKEA and realised that I had run out of walls to put their bookcases up against.

I have lots of cube storage but it is the Argos equivalent.

IKEA was once seen as the way to start out, especially pre Freecycle and Facebook groups. When we got our first house 22 years ago we started with IKEA things and then replaced when we found the bits we wanted. I don't think we have any IKEA furniture now, just a variety that we have built up over the last 22 years.

I haven't been to an IKEA for years (16?) it is too far to go in the hope I find something I like.

I'm not sure of my 22 year old pine stuff though, but it still does what we need it to do.

Kallax is literally the greatest invention ever. YANBU

IKEA is bloody fantastic. YANBU.

It's affordable and super practical and I think actually looks really neat. The storage solutions are epic.

I have replaced most of my IKEA furniture over the years because it does tend to be a bit flimsy, but still have a lot of tableware and kitchen stuff which is of excellent quality.

In IKEA 😄! And smaller chains like https://www.mio.se/ or independent shops.

if you like Pax, check out the new Pax 2.0 - toolfree assembly.

We had a LOT of IKEA stuff when we first bought our house. We have upgraded some to more expensive IKEA, we have got rid of some, and we have recycled some. We had a 4 part Kallax that now has drawer inserts with brushed gold cone shaped handles (not from IKEA) and elegant splayed legs, 1960s style. We bought 2 Hemnes bookcase/drawers with glass doors and they have been upgraded with the brushed gold handles as well.
We still have a lot, where it still fits the style of the room we have kept it, where it doesn't we have either re-used it elsewhere or given it away.

I'm not snooty about Ikea. I had Ikea stuff for years but it started looking worn and tatty so last year I decided to get new living room furniture. I looked at the IKEA ranges first but I didn't like the selection available and preferred the style of a bit more expensive chain (I'm not in the UK) so got everything from there instead.
I don't agree with your friend that it's not "grown up". It depends what you choose and how you style the place.

My house is 85% Ikea and I have absolutely no shame!

Even my kids joke that if we have nuclear bombs dropped on us, they're getting under the ikea table!

I find it bizarre that your friend thinks it's "grown up" to replace functional and attractive furniture with new (if it's ugly/falling apart, that's different).

I have new IKEA pieces and some that are 15yrs old. I put the money that I could spend on new/more expensive furniture into my pension and use it to pay off my mortgage early. I'll feel very grown-up when I'm retired in my 50s with my mortgage-free house, even if it does have IKEA furniture in.

I’m not snooty but with the exception of a set of dining chairs and a sofa I find it just doesn’t last. Whereas either original Victorian or much pricier new does. I’ve chucked out all the old kids beds/desks/chest of drawers as they no longer worked.

We've a house full of IKEA and similar
It's cheap and cheerful, but after 3 moves lots of it is falling to bits. As it wears out we will replace with better quality stuff, but I wouldn't dream of replacing furniture for the sake of it, even if it is a bit naff.

IKEA is very good at what they do and quality wise can be better than more expensive brands but I definitely recognise the 'starter home' vibe if you have too much and there are some things that are ubiquitous. That's why there are so many IKEA hacks and companies like Bemz and Noremax to customise your IKEA.

We still have most of our IKEA that we've bought except a bookcase and the classic toy kitchen that the kids grew out of so we put to a charity shop because we didn't need it anymore. Our Klippan sofa is 21 now though and not as comfortable as it once was so I'm looking for a vintage sofa to reupholster. I've alway acquired or bought vintage furniture and now with sites like vinterior it's easier than ever to get exactly what you want. I only buy new for the house if I can't find what I want second hand. You get better quality for your money with vintage.

Our 3 Billy bookcases moved around with us and did sitting room, home office, teen’s bookcase and finally garage storage. They lost their fiberboard backing quite early on but what more do you really want?
We went through a period of buying forever furniture so now we have the “good” bookcase, wardrobe, dining table, desk and sofa. And they’re a joy to behold.

OTOH we equipped this kitchen with the cheapest of cheap IKEA (KNOXHULT) and after 7 years of careless student use the laminate cupboard and drawer fronts are all water damaged.
For what they cost and to avoid an overhaul, I’m thinking of spending €99 on a new unit, keeping the fronts, sealing them this time and throwing away the carcass. No carpenter could make me similar for that price.

IKEA is great for storage, childrens things and teenagers. Our son kallax 25 years old is now in the garage, storing paint etc.

One son had the canvas wardrobe and canvas shelving unit. He brought it home when he moved back. That was very wobbly.

Grandchildren have IKEA storage cubes again good.

The ikea desk has chipped badly, the mock leather office chair sheds the leatherette coating like dandruff.

Spot on - it is wasteful to replace it before you need to, just because someone has expressed an opinion on it. Doesn't every house in the country have a Kallax shelving unit?