Cost effective Childrens Bedroom furniture

[Ilovemycar77]

Posting here for traffic…..
So we have 4 older (12-18) children’s bedrooms to furnish.

We have purchased their beds already from Wayfair, ottoman style for extra storage.

Looking to do in the most cost effective, but without being too cheap and fall apart after a year kind of way.

We have never purchased anything from IKEA before, so not really sure which would be the best range to go for if I did.

Other than IKEA, where else would you Mumsnetters recommend? Would love to see some of your styled rooms.

I’m not after anything fancy at all, Just an idea as to what’s best to go for.

I was going to say ikea. We don’t have a lot from there but a Malm chest of drawers is several years old and still sturdy after a house move
www.ikea.com/gb/en/cat/malm-series-07468/

We’ve had one of these for nearly 20 years and it’s still sturdy
www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/hol-side-table-acacia-70161320/
We also had the foldaway tables but they have finally given up after lots of putting up/down along with a year or two in the shed.

IKEA is pretty sturdy stuff. We had wardrobes from there that lasted years and a house move with no problem. We only got rid because we upgraded and changed decor. I quite often look on eBay to see if there are any new ikea storage things listed because I fancy something different and know it will last.

We really like IKEA furniture. It's really sturdy and lasts ages. DS has the Smastad loft bed which has a wardrobe and desk attached to create more free space in his room. The Malm range is really good. We've found IKEA furniture sells really well on FB marketplace too.

Thank you for posting regarding IKEA ranges.

My children (2boys & 2 girls) have all said they like the IKEA items, I just never knew what was best to go for and didn’t want it falling apart after no time at all.

I mean being older children, they’re not going to get the slamming about a smaller child might give the furniture, but I also want sturdy items which will last.

They’ve all said they like IKEA products, probably due to the nice simplistic lines.

I need to get my head out of the Oak furniture look! For one we can’t afford to kit 4 rooms out in it all, plus they don’t much like the look for their rooms either!!

Ikea stuff is pretty solid for the price. The Kallax shelving is very robust.
Also, look on ebay / local facebook either in general or for people selling on ikea things.

Malm drawers from IKEA keep going and ģoing.
Also look at "ikea hacks" online you can liven up malm etc with personalised decor - possibly a fun project with older kids if you don't go too wild and keep the hack simple.

The wardrobes as well... you cannot beat pax wardrobes. Just put fancy knobs on after.

For soft furnishings/ dressings I get a lot of high end looking stuff by being selective / traipsing through the bad stuff at dunelm and matalan, also high shop clearance I got some great stuff from heals last summer at 70% off

Ikea stuff is excellent. My stuff from there is 25 years old.

Another MALM vote here. We have this in all our bedrooms, sturdy, and hardwearing. You must fix the units to the wall though.

Hi OP,

We've moved this to Chat for you as it seems like a better fit and also gets loads of traffic ;-)

Dunelm and IKEA are cheap and yet their stuff does seem to last - Hemnes range at IKEA looks nice, fairly unlikely to date and lasted us years when we had that range.

Don’t discount eBay; you can search by location and find some really good quality bargains if you’re willing to take the time to look and bid.

EBAY! My children are sleeping in beds from Aspace and The White Company, bought in near perfect condition for £50 each. Just need to buy a new mattress.
Also rate IKEA Hemnes furniture.

Malm does have a weak spot.... do not try to move it with the bars that go across the front between the drawers... its decorative not structural!

I’d be doing vintage solid real wood furniture. Estate sales for dressers.

We got solid wood stuff second hand very cheaply.

Dunelm is really cost effective and lasts

We've only used Ikea furniture in the kids rooms. We have a 6yo and 13yo...

STUVA

• Bought when our oldest was born. Wardrobes are ideal up to needing adult sized hangers, then they get a bit tight on the depth, so I wouldn't recommend for your age kids.
• The cupboards are quite versatile though as they come in two depths and can be stacked.
• Can also update the doors if kids want a more adult look later on. Our 13yo has her old Stuva cupboards in her new room with new doors.

PAX

• We have Pax in our bedroom. Ideal for older teens as it can look quite adult, plus has more depth than Stuva.
• Loads of internals and doors to choose from.

Look out for Ikea furniture that also has optional glass tops. The Malm and Besta ranges have had this. Ideal for hot hair straighteners and for clearing up make up easily!! You can also change the look of lots of Ikea furniture by adding legs, so your older teens might be keen to look into this so their rooms don't all look the same.

With any Ikea furniture, buy some little tacks from B&Q and add more into the backing to hold it in place at the top/bottom! Definitely invest in a rubber mallet too.

I think what I like with the Ikea furniture is that is can be customised to what you want. You can usually buy more shelves and in the case of PAX wardrobes, there are so many internal options and the online planner, you can really maximise the space to suit exactly the clothes you have to store.

Thank you so much for all your comments.
Seems IKEA is the way to go then.

I do love Oak furniture, but our house is a modern cottage with a definite modern look internally, so old style doesn’t really suit… plus the children gave me funny faces when I suggested any upscaling of used items!!

One is off to Uni soon anyhow and the next not long after, again… don’t want to spend too much money for it to just gather dust either!

I think we used to have an IKEA in Norwich, not sure we do anymore so think Thurrock would be my best bet. (I am south Norfolk based).

Alternatively, is it cost effective to have it delivered or is it pricey?

Ikea charge per pallet for delivery. Expensive if you're just buying a couple of bedside tables but cost effective if you're buying lots.

If you go to ikea then you can get the stuff of the shelves yourself and take it to the delivery area and they take if from you and deliver it. Then you can pick the stuff yourself and also you can go to bargain corner/circular hub and get some bargains and also some already built stuff. There is absolutely always pax frames for example.

Ikea hemnes for drawers

Ikea lommarp for small nice desks.

Either they could take with them in future when move out, or you can repurpose some elsewhere in house

I've recently bought a Kallax for my room - I have it horizontally with the wooden drawers & doors. Has a tv on top.

The also do a base frame now which gives it legs - it makes a world of difference and make it more like a 'grown up' piece of furniture rather than toy storage.

I also have an ikea desk and hemnes bedside tables.

Daughters have Ikea desk / dressing table / bookcases.

They are simple plain furniture that's really sturdy and also has pretty easy resellability.

Thanks for heads up regarding delivery per pallet 👍

We've just had a move around and DS9 has moved into our old room and we've decided to leave our 15 year old black IKEA Hemnes furniture in there for him as it's still more or less as good as new. I don't think you can go wrong with IKEA, pretty much everything we've had from there has lasted years.