Is it time to move on from IKEA?

[susannahmoodie]

I'd like a dressing table. My ideal one would be something like

However, can't afford it. There is an IKEA one which is only £79......should I get it or save for a better, nicer one?? I just feel like I associate ikea with uni days, early days of buying a house and now I'm old (well, 33) and should have proper grown up furniture??

I love Ikea, can't beat them for clean Skandi design and of course the price. But I do find it works best, if you can afford it, to mix in a few more expensive pieces - or equally something older and not necessarily expensive but just of a slightly different style. Stops your home looking like a student/first house or a page from their catalogue!

I love that dressing table and imo the Ikea one is not as nice but you shouldn't need to spend £700+. Have you looked at Maison du Monde or La Redoute (who often have 40% off)?

I'm in my 40s and have ikea. It is cheap

I've been browsing Maison du Monde recently and fancy some of their stuff. It's not as cheap as Ikea but seems a bit more stylish. Not sure about quality though as I haven't taken the plunge and bought anything yet.

IKEA have some nice stuff but that dressing table is bland in the extreme. But there must be some middle ground between that and one that is 10x the price.

What is your budget - £200 would buy you...

www.made.com/aveiro-dressing-table-oak?utm_content=shopping-prospecting&madelp=gshopping&gclid=CPG4jrXv2tMCFYyRGwodJp8LCA&gclsrc=aw.ds

Or

www.habitat.co.uk/tatsuma-white-dressing-table-241147?_$ja=tsid:55674%7Ccid:248716929%7Cagid:38952377477%7Ctid:pla-293800807413%7Ccrid:176211371242%7Cnw:g%7Crnd:11855718135562978767%7Cdvc:m%7Cadp:1o8&gclid=CJ3V5tzw2tMCFcgYGwodUDMCuQ

I don't think there's anything wrong with IKEA, but that's nothing like the table you want and I think you'd be disappointed . Don't know what your budget is but there's some similar designs on made.com which are dearer than IKEA but much less than the one in your first post.

Me too!
Got ektorp sofas, kallax units and stornas dining table.
also two rugs
And a mattress
And a kitchen
😊
We also have handmade furniture and stuff we have been fig end over the years.
Ikea is so successful for a reason...great design at great prices

This ring a bell with me.....I think you could hack IKea stuff to look a bit like that first one....

Hold on, I'll see what I'm looking for...

Try Made.com
www.made.com/edelweiss-desk-ash-and-white
They have similar things and cheaper.
I bought 2 sideboard units there. They arrived in one piece - no assembly - and is the best furniture in my home. Will definitely outlast me. Everyone comments on them. If they were £250 each with delivery assembled to my door and I could have lugged home a heavy box of 10 pieces from IKEA for £70 each, then it was worth it.

I do like Ikea for other things though!

This is what I was thinking of - the Ekby Alex shelf.

I've seen loads of people hacking it to make it into a dressing table. You just need the legs.

Ikea have the lisabo desk which is similar to your dream desk. If you painted the top white it'd be very close.

Ta Dahhh!

That IKEA table is horrible. I feel the same as you, I said to dp the other day our house looks like student digs but I think it's because we bought the same things everyone else has, malm drawers, kallax units etc. IKEA do have some good stuff but it's picking out the bits that aren't in EVERYONE else's homes and mixing it with other pieces.

I went to someone's house who had a similar table to the first one, I asked where she got it and she had bought legs from IKEA and put them on a single layer drawer unit she'd got second hand.

Even closer...

This person put a Gruvan shelf on top. Love this.....

Elspeth that hack is beautiful. I have no need for a dressing table but you've made me want to rearrange my whole house just so I can squeeze that one in!
OP, we're also in our 30s but on a bit of a student budget; we got loads of our furniture from eBay or gumtree for a fraction of the retail price and it's all been in really good condition.

Oooh interesting re hack! But where do I get legs from??

The brown legs aren't IKea sadly, he got them turned by a local joiner.

But you can definitely get legs separately in IKEA so you never know, you could get similar.

The made desk is actually gorgeous

try Ebay too-I always check on there before I buy furniture.

www.hartleysdirect.com/hartleys-white-retro-home-office-desk.html

His one is super cheap, will it be tat??

We just bought a couch - the first thing we haven't bought at IKEA.....ever. We are both 40 yrs old lol! I was really taken back by how expensive everything was. Especially coffee tables and the like - truly jaw dropping. So I'm starting to troll internet sites and alternative discount type stores for more style options while mixing IKEA pieces in.

I have the ikea one posted. It actually looks really good in the room (white walls, grey carpet, white wardrobes).