To think IKEA isn't cheap/good value

[hadenough]

I've just returned from a shop at Ikea. I should start by saying I've never been its biggest fan, but went to buy stuff for my new kitchen.

We went through the whole maze from start to finish, and there was virtually nothing I'd buy if I'd had the money/been furnishing my whole home. Yes you can buy the odd cheap thing, but it's either quite ugly or clearly not built to last. Indeed, when I think of IKEA I think of rogue landlords speeding around the place buying the cheapest tat they can find.

I moved house in the Spring, and have actually found buying online to be far cheaper - it takes a while to find things, but it's on the whole less stressful than trailing around IKEA and I've found expensive looking fashionable furniture for waaaay less.

In the end I spent €300 (live in Europe) and felt a bit cheated when I went to pay.

Did I miss something (it was definitely rammed with people, so perhaps?)

@WeWantJustice

Yes. It's Metod and you pick different doors. You can mix and match the cupboars, they have a design tool online too. They also offer measure services and planning services.
I had one put in month or so ago and I love it. The door are from recycled wood and plastic.
Lots of cupboars are the same, but you put different insides in. So if you have a cupboard with shelves, you can change it into drawers. You just get drawers and fronts for them. We have a part where we needed shallow cupboards. These are excellent. But I got my own appliances, except cooker hood and worktop is from elsewhere due to really, really non standard shape.

Ikea is excellent for designer collaborations. They’re currently selling pieces by Hay and Tom Dixon which would be nowhere near as cheap if you bought them directly from the designers. Last year they did a limited edition collection of overdyed vintage Turkish rugs which cost under £500 and would have been over £2k from any other retailer.

Dd has the hemnes day bed that extends to become kingsize. It's very well made and the cheap foam mattress is one of the comfiest I've ever slept on. Kallax are amazing for hiding toys and 10 years on (not kallax as previous design but I can't remember the old name) they look as good as new!

Well Ikea has a range of quality, they have very cheap value products, and then more expensive options. So it depends really?

I mean if you’re paying dirt cheap prices for furniture, you can’t really expect the item to last a lifetime like you would with a £1000+ item.

Ikea to me is where you go for university shopping, moving into your first house etc. It’s just starter furniture. Having said that I do love Ikea and practically everything I have from them, I can’t complain about.

YABU we have IKEA furniture, good quality and still looks like new. (Wasn't cheap stuff either).

It’s all in the construction.

My dad built all of ours. He’s an engineer. I reckon our stuff would withstand an earthquake.

Love Ikea - not the actual shopping experience which I hate! DP put together the chest of drawers, Billy bookcase, tv table and desk. No it’s not high end but it looks nice. We ordered a bed and a table and chairs from Danetti and Cotswold Company so mixing it up a bit!

Yabu

All of my decent sturdy furniture was purchased in IKEA. The only things that have fallen apart in the 4years since I furnished my house are the crappy bedroom drawers from Argos.

I love ikea. The people saying the quality is shit have obviously never bought anything from it. It’s snobbery

@m0therofdragons What's the Hemnes day bed like to sit on, if you don't mind my asking? I've been considering one of these for my spare room and wondering whether it would be as good to sit on as a sofa bed, as I'm attracted by the storage drawers in the Hemnes.

The quality is very good, the only thing I don’t like about so much is it is a bit industrial looking but I think that is a more modern look that a lot of people like anyway

I have had some cheap and cheerful kitchen gadgets that fell to bits after a while.

On the other hand, we purchased some lovely white gloss cabinets which were meant for a living room,but we put them in our bathroom. That was some years ago and they still look as good as new.

The food department is really good,just wish they did a bigger range. The meatballs and sauce,potato gratin, rostis and potato hash with chicken are all lovely.

We bought the IKEA children’s kitchen for my DDs 2nd birthday. Nearly 2 years later it still gets played with everyday and her little sister loves it too. Antilop high chair was probably cost per use the best value of anything we’ve ever bought.

I bought an uplighter for £9 20 years ago and it's still in daily operation.

Love Ikea.

I love Ikea. Can't even say I mix and match it, it's all Ikea. Why go anywhere else when nothing else compares for the price.

We have wooden bookcases that have moved with us. No we didn't disassemble!

I think ikea is good if you like modern things or are on a tight budget. It's quite studenty though.

I like the meatballs!

If you are on a really right budget then you can get cheaper from ebay or gumtree. But nothing really compares to pax, Billy, kallax, hemnes and poang for the price. Lots of ikea ranges have both great prices and great quality.

Some things are students but they have a huge range, so surely people need to choose according to their budget and tastes.

My next kitchen will be from either ikea or diy kitchen, my next wardrobes will be pax and I'll be buying kallax to go with the expedite I already own.

I'm also tempted by the hemnes daybed, poang chair and Billy cupboard that you can customise the glass doors.

Im totally into ikea hacking.

Ikea was great when I was a student and needed cheap furniture and kitchenware but now I’m a proper adult I think it all looks a bit cheap, even though it isn’t that cheap really. I’d rather pay a bit more and have solid wood furniture. I just go there for the meatballs now

I love ikea. There are a few bits of tat but on the whole it is solid and practical and can look stylish depending on your choices. We have the kids stuva range, pax wardrobes, besta units downstairs and lots of cutlery, chopping boards, kids plates etc. Cannot fault any of it.

Love IKEA. I also find it's very easy to sell on when you're done with it and get at least half your money back.

Its a mix, OP. YANBU. Some of their stuff is poor and unattractive, IMO.

Good: sofas, bookcases, some furniture.

Poor: some fangly storage (mine fell apart after 6 months), some of their materials etc are poor quality, I didn't like the bed I bought (too hard and sweaty), some of the designs are ugly fugly. I don't really shop there much anymore (though I like there lunches!).

I visited someone recently who had a lot of (expensive) real wood Next furniture. It looked really good .

Oh, and my £8 potato masher literally fell apart after about a dozen uses. Trash!

BigPinkBall you sound scarily like me ha!