To think that IKEA isn't that cheap any more?

[Teamumizumi]

Some of the furniture, ie chest of drawers, is £200. I'm not a cheapskate but it's always marketed itself as being stylish furniture at low prices and now it 's gone quite expensive.

It probably still compares favourably with other stores in terms of quality v price.

Taking your example, there's a chest of drawers for [http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/categories/departments/bedroom/series/?identifier=10451&sorting=price £35], but there's also ones for [http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/40190140/ £260]. And there's everything in between! YABU, I love Ikea and their meatballs

Ikea was fab pre year 2000. Less choice now and less stylish, higher prices. Disappointing tat.

They always have a wide range. Cheap to not so cheap.

Mmm meatballs.

They are still cheap, they just have more expensive ranges too. 200 stg is not exactly expensive, its solid wood!

i don't know. i looked for a table and chairs theri recenlty and the only set that woudl fit in our house,. fulfill out v basic requirements was £260. we got a far nicer oak set from the local charity shop for £175.

As others said, they have variety. Basic cheap stuff and nicer stuff. The nicer stuff is still cheaper than stuff that looks as nice elsewhere. My house is mostly Ikea sadly as I try to look elsewhere but Ikea ends up being what I can afford.

The really really cheap stuff generally looks it - those lack side tables for example.

But the more expensive stuff looks more expensive than it is - the hemnes range for instance. A comparable chest of drawers from marks or John Lewis costs 4 times as much.

Meatballs are lovely, but that gravy? Boak.

I love Ikea. Their mid-cheap stuff is great quality compared to other same-price stuff from the likes of Argos. I have the big Expedit bookcase & it's amazing considering it was only £85-ish. We also have the white Malm drawers & they are fab, especially for £35.

If you make the "gravy" from the packet mix at home and use fresh cream it's LUSH. I can't eat it in the shop though as they use UHT and it makes me literally heave. Random.

I still find Ikea to be reasonable - she says having spent nearly £800 on wardrobes from there!! But they are floor to ceiling, there are seven of them, and we have a lot of the inners.

They're still fairly cheap - but I have found cheaper places to buy my soft furnishings and furniture online now (and you don't have to struggle to cram all of your purchases into the car after a big ikea trip!)

I am off thurs to buy two chests of drawers (malm - opinions please?), another hol box for toy box (fab and stylish and cheap!) and a blind. I love it but only go in an evening when it is quiet. I think the quality for price is very good x

£200 is cheap though, if you look at a comparable product from other companies.

I love kitchen stuff from Ikea, all my cutlery, glasses, plates etc are from there and they really can't be beaten on price.

I also have a gorgeous rug from Ikea and a pair of great curtains. Their curtains for huge bay windows cannot be beaten on price. Good for picture frames too.

But I just do not like their furniture. At all. If you're on a budget you can find gems in charity shops and auctions rooms, really great quality stuff. It's a much more enjoyable shopping experience too.

BBwolefs we have loads of malm stuff, it is good quality for the price, easy to put together and looks nice - we have it in our bedroom and the DCs, chest of drawers and side tables. We got the oak veneer stuff as it will go with everything when we move and we could get wardrobes to match.

We used to live 3 miles from an Ikea, DH would insist on getting a hot dog each time we went!

Thanks glad its good enough, its for Dc2 room, we are going for white as have dark wooden floor so dont want a clash, glad its good for the price

I went a couple of weeks ago and I was really disappointed. Stuff not cheap and the design has gone way down the pan- it is mostly so dull. You can get good basics but I think it used to be much more imaginative.
Went to get a few pictures but there was little choice and you could get better in other shops. Art was one of their strong points a few years ago.

DP and I have often gone to Ikea just for a hotdog and a mooch. We probably pay more for the petrol than for the food!

Ikea have always had cheap stuff along with expensive stuff. Our bed (bought 2 years ago) cost £35. Can't say fairer than that, really.

If you use a bit of creativity, you can make the cheap stuff look nice, we covered a Lack table with comic book strips, it looks great.

This is interesting - I haven't been for ages, but friends were saying at the weekend that they've been recently and it had gone downhill.

I love the Hemnes range and yes, the Malm is terrific for the price. White will get grubby on the "handle" bit, I think.

I know someone whose whole home is "old" ikea - its bloody fabulous and cost them next to nothing

• I don't think you could achieve what they did with "now" ikea

now it ranges from student house tat that'll fall apart in 6 months to dull and pricey

Yeah, you're right. It's not as good as it was and looks quite flimsy. The xmas decorations are nice though.

They went downhill when they stopped selling Swedish fish,Marabou chocolate and Bilar.

We went yesterday to buy dd a wardrobe for £140. We asked about delivery and they wanted fifty quid. We're out of area but not on bloody Mars !

I really wanted a Hemnes bookcase and TV unit for my living room but I couldn't get a unit to fit my alcove. Ended up buying admittedly more solid furniture but for 3x the price.