Ikea products

[AnotherOne4]

Does anyone recommend Ikea?
I have a whole house to decorate/furnish, and am overwhelmed at where to start. I hear Ikea has a full range of most things.

I like them.

It sounds like you haven't been to an ikea before? Could you visit a store and see what you think?

I find the stuff is fine. It is what it is. I would not go overboard as you will find that some things work for you and some don't.
My tip with IKEA is go there for a look, make a note of everything you fancy and buy nothing.
Go home, decide what you need and go back, skip the store bit and just pick up the things you really need.
It's very easy to get carried away.

If I needed to furnish a house on a budget, I'd look at freegle and freecycle and charity shops for stopgaps.

I have been to Ikea before, but it was many years ago. I'm looking at all these stores with a different perspective now, as I actually have practical things I must buy (and not just nik naks and crap lol)
My nearest Ikea is 70 miles away, so it's not like I can just pop in.

What sorts of things are you getting?

Everything for a new home, from teaspoons to wardrobes.

I have the Dragon cutlery and I like it. I bought two sets (8 settings).
I have Ikea crockery - plain white, everything matches.
I have a huge saucepan from there. It's great.
I have a garlic press from there.

Generally the self assembly stuff depends on who assembles it. Some of it needs two people.

My BIL says that the cheap stuff is rubbish but the more expensive stuff is good.

If you have the budget, I would mix and match Ikea with other stuff or it could look a bit too Ikea.

Oh, my coffee mugs aren't from there, made that mistake and it was a PITA making refills as I couldn't tell who had used which mug.

Yes to mix and match. If you have a local second hand furniture outlet that's a good place to start. Then you can use Ikea etc to fill in the gaps.

If you have Amazon prime or would go for a free trial they have a day of deals coming up tomorrow which should actually be very good for things like appliances, small electricals and household items like tools.

When we did a big Ikea order we made a list online, went to the shop to check everything out in person and then ordered it all for delivery. That worked really well.

I find their cheap stuff to be fine. I don't think there's anything we've been unhappy with.

My house has loads of Ikea in it.
I would avoid the MDF stuff. Some stuff is very welll designed.
Watch the size of beds and bedding , I think some are european sizes, so might not fit a standard UK bed. Bedding varies in quality, the good 100% cotton stuff is great.
I still recommend two trips unless you can pore over catalogues and websites, and still recommend looking at freecycling sites.
It takes about a year to settle into a house and I changed my mind about decor and what furniture would work.

I also have several rooms to furnish in a new house and am EXTREMELY excited about going to Ikea to get Alex drawers, Kallax shelves and lots of useful bits and pieces.