To not replace all my IKEA stuff

[Missmarple87]

Why are people so snooty about IKEA? My friend told me she was slowly replacing all of her IKEA home stuff because she didn't feel it was 'grown up' enough. This was in the context of me discussing a purchase - the only one I liked was IKEA.

Now my house is by no means 100% IKEA but a surprising amount of the furniture is (storage, shelving, kids beds, a desk etc). I actually really love the airy, scandi look and it works well in my home with my art and paint choices. If you choose wisely, it also lasts and doesn't NEED replacing so feels wasteful to do so.

Are you snooty about IKEA? Or do you love it? (Would love to see photos of IKEA stuff looking amazing if anyone is willing!)

I think a lot of it is quite 'scandi'. It's clean and minimalist - not ornate or fussy. They rip off a lot of the scandi classic designs, particularly in terms of lighting and chairs. Sometimes very blatantly!

I think it works really well in children's rooms especially - white or light pine furniture is fresh and playful, not dark and oppressive like vintage furniture can be.

The 'staged' rooms is any IKEA store often have a scandi theme too.

We've been replacing our IKEA stuff with vintage items once the IKEA has worn out. It's okay, but I don't think it's as good value for money as it once was as prices have gone up and quality has declined somewhat. I love vintage things so I'm happy. They're often very cheap and made from solid wood, brass etc. I'm also getting old and preferred IKEA when their things were a bit more traditional and twee.

I also learned that their East European suppliers were cutting down ancient woodland to supply IKEA with wood, so was a bit alarmed and saddened to hear this.

If I like a piece of furniture and it's within my price range, I couldn't really give a shit where it's from. I'm the same with clothes. I'll buy things anywhere.

I guess people's tastes change over the years, so maybe by 'more grown-up' what your friend really means is that she used to like a clean, fun, Scandi kind of look when she was younger but now prefers a different vibe?

@Missmarple87 Just as you're saying, I think IKEA is perfect for children's room, but I can't wait to replace my media unit and other living room furniture!
You can tell it's all cheap plywood.

We wouldn't be replacing it until it's worn out but some items were damaged due to kids / during the move. We got deep scratches on some items by just gently bumping them on a door frame 😮

We will continue buying their storage probably forever though.

Our house is a mixture of Ikea, Ercol, M&S and Next, I just buy the stuff I like that fits in the space

Some people will always try and be snobs and look down their nose at you.

More fool them.

Replacing things unless they're beyond repair is so wasteful, does no-one consider the impact on the planet.

I think it's deemed as starter furniture generally. People as they become wealthier I guess want to upscale to more expensive. Our home is a mixture, I still buy IKEA now and we are 15 years on from our first property. However I do also have a lot of 'Oak Furniture Land' type of furniture because I could get it at wholesale prices when I worked for a similar importer as it's generally a lot sturdier and stands the test of time longer.

Generally though I don't walk into friends homes and notice IKEA furniture or would I look down at them for it. I'm always fascinated to what people can do with it in walk in wardrobes or make a media wall from it.

Yes there is!

Where do the swedes shop?!

There's not much in our apartment that isn't from Ikea I think. We moved abroad 18 years ago and bought loads as we moved from a small cottage to a flat with massive rooms. Malm bedroom furniture, Billy book cases, shelving and dining table, desk (wood) all going strong. And we've moved 3 times since then. We bought new Pax wardrobes after the last move as our big wardrobe that came from the UK finally gave up the ghost. We did live just round the corner from IKEA for many years though. We would go often just for meatballs and tea lights.

I'm 64. I have an Ikea Day Bed in the spare room and some Ikea shelving. I have no intentions of replacing any of it.

My whole house is Ikea and the house itself is a cookie cutter new build. And my kids go/went to a private school.

don’t give a crap what anyone thinks! It is all practical, functional and cheap. We broke a sofa after 15 years of busy family use. The sofa cost just over £200 nearly 2 decades ago so no need to be upset over it.

also my stuff doesn’t match or even go together. I don’t care what colour anything is.

I have three Billy bookcases that are now 29 years old and still going strong! We have wardrobes, the craft drawer units, a display cabinet, all brilliant quality and I would not say it is cheap, but affordable as it is produced in large numbers, so Ikea don't need to make a huge profit per item, but make money from the numbers sold. On the flip side, I have a chest of drawers that is 75 years of age, a table far older, alongside some inherited 60s furniture from the in-laws, so ercol and ladderax. Replacing something makes no sense, as price is no longer any guarantee of quality!

Well, it's not "scandi" in Sweden. It's just furniture.

Well ok...but they have lots of blogs on their website about scandi style and how to use IKEA stuff to create it. So I think they're probably aware of how the rest of the world interprets the style and would like to capitalise on it. It's just a well-understood descriptor of a certain style.

Maybe here. Maybe not there?

It's probably a bit like saying "let's go for an Indian". It's a well known descriptor for "let's have a curry". Probably not what's said in any part of India.

I lived in Sweden around a lot of very wealthy people. They all had lots of IKEA furniture. Snobbishness about it here makes no damn sense.
My house has lots of ikea.

Ikea its a mixed bag really everything we have is from ikea because it was affordable and looked ok. Sure I'd love a house full of unique vintage and thrifted items but most of these things are just to large for the space I have or things are too expensive. I make do although I do notice things looking a bit shabby after a few years, a lot of the stuff doesn't last well.

Oh they do rip off a lot of the classics, you are right. Their coffee tables for example. It’s sad for the original designers but I guess everyone does it.

We had some friends over from England years ago and I remember them commenting about the style of our house a lot. Back then I don’t think the term Scandi style was a thing and I never understood what they meant, as we have just an average house. 😅

I have / have had four Pax units, ranging between about 12 and eight years old, and I don't have a bad word to say about them. All but one have been dismantled and re-built several times and they're still going strong. Currently two are still in my home and two were recently sold to other people. What's not to like?

I buy what I like from where I like. As a result my furniture is a mixture of...

Independent shops
John Lewis
Wayfare
Oak Furniture Land
Homebase
Dreams/Bensons
A warehouse
Second hand shops
And...... IKEA

Hmm. A relative or mine works fairly high up at Ikea in Sweden, their house is stunning but I don’t think they have a single piece of Ikea furniture apart from wardrobes even though the discount is pretty good.
I honestly do not think wealthy people here have lots of Ikea stuff. It’s at least not something I’ve seen. Not even in their summer houses/cottages.

I live ten minutes away from an IKEA, store so I'd say approx. 30% of my stuff is from there. The original plan when we moved in was to get a few bits to tide us over then replace them as time went on, but we've not needed to. All of our chests of drawers are Malm, as are all of my children's beds - they were cheap and have lasted well, and fit in with the decor. All of my everyday cutlery and drinking glasses are from there because it's cheap and easily replaced when bits go missing. I love it!

Snobby about IKEA? We still use some MFI!
I get the remark about nice to think we can chose not to have to buy the cheapest. We are at that point now but what to buy that is better but without going up to astronomically priced items.