IKEA...it's a bit pants

[CantUnderstand1t]

Dh and I went yesterday. We went to get hinges for our kitchen cupboard Dh had fitted this years ago. Anyway he's had to get them from amazon IKEA didn't have them.

I used to think it was great. I always found something to inspire me. Yesterday there was one room they'd done that was quite gothic that we liked. Nothing else. I looked at a few dining tables they were so cheap looking and feeling but not always cheap prices. I know everything has gone up though.

I'll never set foot in one again. Dh said the same.

It was very busy even though it was a Monday. So they won't miss us 🤣 plus been at least 10 years since we've been.

Do you love it there? Or like us not for you?

Well we can’t afford expensive furniture and our ikea bedroom stuff from gen we bought the house is lasting really well.
When we were looking at high st: M&S or Next for example. The cost was high but they didn’t look any better quality wise. Really thin cuts of wood etc.

Its fine not to like it. But many of us do. It serves a purpose for those of us that earn average or less than average wages.

I haven’t been recently so haven’t seen any price rises but let’s face it EVERYTHING is more expensive, all the time.

My advice to you then would be to stay away 😂

Yeah my friend got argos bedroom furniture and it was shocking! It wasn’t even the cheapest they did.

I like some ranges- we have a hemnes double bed and a chest of drawers which are solid
wood and lasted years. I like the size of the drawers in the chest, can’t stand ones you can fit about 3 t shirts in! I like the storage boxes and the innovative ways to use their products.

I’m not keen on their soft furnishings or their sofas, I find them more poorly made.

Who goes to ikea for hinges? That’s a job for B&Q or similar.
Sounds like your whole experience was tainted by your unreasonable expectations.

It depends - generally yes, it’s a bit cheapy but it suits when that’s what you need! My husband works in property/design and often gets small things from Ikea, things like fake plants etc. he also swears by the fitted wardrobes from Ikea, they are so much cheaper than bespoke ones and often you can design them/paint them to look nothing like Ikea! So I do think it serves a purpose. Also I do love their breakfast…..

You think from what I said that I go?? 🤣

I used to love it. The last time I went to pick something up so didn’t browse, I had to wait about an hour in a room with about 20 angry people to collect it. It was horrendous!

Some people are masochists!

I must add, I kind of think EVERYTHING is shit quality now.
We've just ordered a Habitat arm chair. Does everyone remember how premium Habitat used to be back in the day?! My friend's dad was a very stylish architect and bought everything for his home from there (and the Conran shop!)
Half the reviews for the furniture we've bought talk about how crap and disappointing the quality is. I know it's now just owned by Sainsbury's, but I guess that's yet another brand down the pan.
We have towels in mint condition, used daily, made of thick cotton, that we bought from Asda home in 2009! Nothing would last that long now.
I guess John Lewis is still decent?

This exactly. When I first bought a flat, I was heading off to IKEA and happened to stop off at our local auction house on the way there. IKEA didn't seem so appealing once I had seen the (comparable) prices of solid wood furniture up for auction.
20+ years later I still have all the solidly built antiques I bought at auction in those years, and yet most of the IKEA bits are long gone.
I find after about ten years IKEA furniture looks tatty, whereas antiques keep their faded glamour.

I love IKEA. We have a mix, John Lewis sofas, tables, chairs and beds. IKEA wardrobes, bookcases, storage, curtains, bedding. It never looks old and will definitely outlive me!

This absolutely. We have a couple Habitat things from years ago which still look good and are really solidly built. Wouldn’t touch them since they went online only through Sainsbury’s. Tried one thing, a desk, which looked cheap and flimsy coming out of the box and fell apart after a few months.

We bought a sofa from there with a ten year guarantee. It was a two seater, basic type one. In the eighth year it collapsed in the middle whilst I was sat watching TV on it. IKEA replaced it with no problem. I was impressed with the service.

I love IKEA but am Swedish (live in the UK) so think there's something in my DNA that draws me to anything Scandinavian lol. It's cheap and functional and quality-wise, I think it holds up well compared to other furniture stores these days as quality overall is in decline.

For me, I like plain, minimalistic (bland to some) furniture as I get overwhelmed in cluttered or busy settings. My hotel room / holiday home style furniture means I can go wild in Oliver Bonas on accessories to bring some colour to my rooms without it being too much!

Not sure I would choose to go over half term though as people do seem to treat it as a day out. I go in the evening or take a day off during term time to have the store almost to ourselves.

Ah yes, the pull down shoe storage units, those have transformed our hall and never seen them on sale anywhere else.

I also agree about Argos being shit quality, I ordered a small chest of drawers during the pandemic as I could pick it up in the local Sainsbos and it is so flimsy, not comparable to Ikea at all.

We still have loads of Ikea stuff in our house that we bought 25 years ago. When I go now though everything still looks cheap - but isn't.