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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to ask if there is anyone out there with a totally IKEA free house?

348 replies

beluga425 · 13/11/2017 23:03

The other day DD asked me if the Queen shops at IKEA.
I'm sitting at and IKEA desk drinking from IKEA glasses. everything's bloody IKEA.
Is there anyone who has NO IKEA at all?
No I don't work for them!

OP posts:
Mol1628 · 14/11/2017 05:57

We have so much Ikea. We use Ikea blue bags for everything. Ikea beds and drawers, soft toys, photo frames, plates, bath mats. The lot.

LaBelleSausage · 14/11/2017 06:12

My DP loathe ikea so their house definitely is.
Lots of antiques and oak instead.

Their house is huge, so they can go to antique emporiums and pick up huge pieces of vintage furniture for cheap because no one else wants them/can fit them in their house.

speakout · 14/11/2017 06:19

I'm in Scotland- I have Ikea in every room.

BlueBerryBiscuit · 14/11/2017 06:24

Me! My dh is a furniture maker (family business) and places like Ikea are the complete opposite to his philosophy so we wouldn't buy furniture from there or anywhere that uses mdf type stuff (so most high street shops!). I like the look of some of their fabrics though and like a pp said I look at their ideas for setting out small rooms.
I do think it's a shame that places like Ikea draw people into the idea of buying cheap disposable furniture though as my dh and dbils make furniture mostly by hand (sometimes completely by hand) to design and as it's all solid wood it lasts for years, it's not actually that expensive either but people seem happier to spend hundreds on tablets or phones etc that they replace frequently rather than on a piece of furniture they can use for decades.

insancerre · 14/11/2017 06:24

I've never even been to IKEA
My house is ikea free
I don't have anything from John Lewis either

colinthecaterpillars · 14/11/2017 06:30

I hated the place when I visited to the new one in my area,got lost in it and it's to warm

PrincessoftheSea · 14/11/2017 06:31

I don't think I have anything NOT Ikea

MarshaBrady0 · 14/11/2017 06:32

Ikea-free here

speakout · 14/11/2017 06:32

BlueBerryBiscuit I am sure your OH makes lovely furniture, but for many it's to do with affordability.

That's why IKEA is so popular.

I personally like the style too- that Scandic vibe really suits my home.

OnionKnight · 14/11/2017 06:36

Me, I can’t stand Ikea.

My brother has Ikea coffee tables etc and most of his Ikea furniture is broken.

BarchesterFlowers · 14/11/2017 06:39

Me - not one thing from Ikea. I don't like it and don't want MDF furniture.

As for affordability, I buy used furniture, sometimes from antique shops, sometimes from eBay/junk shops/small local used places.

Having said that I have bought very little furniture for 20 years because it is all old solid stuff and I have enough.

AnarchyKitty · 14/11/2017 06:41

Me! I have nothing from IKEA in our house.
I did go to one once to pick up a mattress with a friend. I met her in the carpark by the loading bay.

AnguaResurgam · 14/11/2017 06:41

I have nothing from IKEA and have never been to a store.

In the days when catalogues came through the door, I looked and thought a lot of it looked nice though.

Most of my furniture is second-hand (much from within the family) and things like plates I've had since 1980s (was IKEA here then?) and I won't replace until a few more bits are broken.

InspMorse · 14/11/2017 06:43

Me... We made the decision to refurnish once and do it right.

Hmm FFS!!

InspMorse · 14/11/2017 06:48

Durability is an issue for me at the moment... I bought VERY expensive furniture 20 years ago when I was earning more than I do now setting up home.
I'm stuck with it. Every bloody decorating decision has to take into account current furniture.
I long for IKEA rooms.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 14/11/2017 06:50

I have no IKEA that I know of. I have never been in an IKEA store.
I did get the catalogues through the door when I lived in the UK and I used to flick through them, but never really saw anything that was nice enough for me to go to the store.

Unicornsandrainbows3 · 14/11/2017 06:51

Not

Unicornsandrainbows3 · 14/11/2017 06:52

Oops, posted too soon.
Nothing from Ikea here either. I don't think I've ever owned anything from there ever.

Marmite27 · 14/11/2017 06:56

I also don’t have an IKEA free room Grin

Toyboysrus · 14/11/2017 06:57

Me! We have a large store in town, i went in once and hated it. Hated the layout and it looked a complete faff to actually buy anything. The furniture looked flimsy and the soft furnishings looked garish. Never been tempted to go in again.

EmilyChambers79 · 14/11/2017 07:02

Proud owner of 26 5 shelf Billy Bookcases.

Affordable and really good quality. Also have their saucepans which are brilliant.

Bowerbird5 · 14/11/2017 07:02

I have baskets and the little drawers( I painted them in bright colours with match pots) in my craft room. I think the shelving might be vintage IKEA, I bought it from the crèche I worked in when it was closing down. Daughter has a Billy Bear book case ( from when she was a teenager) and a garlic press in the kitchen. The nearest one is about 50 miles away. Went to the one near daughter lots of times when she was a student and spent quite a bit. Only been once since.
All my furniture is antique or old pine. Good solid pieces. Some passed down the family.

BlueBerryBiscuit · 14/11/2017 07:03

speakout he makes sturdy, practical furniture which, design wise, wouldn't look out of place in Ikea Grin and I agree it is very affordable and for many people will be the quickest and cheapest way to furnish their home. I just think it's a shame that solid, well made furniture isn't seen as worth spending any money on. If you can buy at oak furniture land or John Lewis or Next then you could afford either my dh and dbils stuff or to buy solid second hand. What many people probably don't have is the time to look, time to wait for it to be made (or find the right piece) or the knowledge of where to find stuff!

BarbaraofSevillle · 14/11/2017 07:06

I'm another one with a house that is almost entirely furnished from Ikea.

It helps that we live less than 2 miles from one and don't have DCs so can go in the evening when it is quiet. Would never go at the weekend or on a Bank Holiday.

I don't recognise these comments about it being flimsy disposable furniture at all. Nothing has fallen apart or needed to be replaced. In fact I felt guilty when we bought a new TV unit even though there was nothing wrong with the old one, which was 10 years old and cost about 40 quid, but I just wanted a different one.

We have Billy bookcases that are nearly 20 years old and still good as new and have survived a house move. Same for a bed frame, although we have just bought a new mattress from somewhere else.

Like a PP, any time we have looked elsewhere it has either looked very similar but been astonishingly expensive, or simply not been as nice. I like the Ikea look and don't like second hand dark wood furniture anyway.

ElinoristhenewEnid · 14/11/2017 07:08

What is ikea? Where is it? Have absolutely nothing from it and never been near the place!! Need to get out more?!