Is ikea really as bad as everyone makes out? im considering getting some of my furniture from them mainly because they can do a finance option. Only problem with getting your own place is the cost, it gives me 3 months to get some money before i have to pay back any interest. just wondered peoples opinions?
I don't think there's anything wrong with their products tbh, we've got a few bookshelves, shelving units & some chest of drawers from them oh and some bed side tables, lol in fact we have quite a bit of furniture from Ikea. I suppose it's like almost any other store / product, you get cheap flimsy models & you get more robust ones. A lot of it also depends on your DIY skills as it's all self assembly, if you do a shoddy job then it's going to fall apart. EDIT: Just realised my PC desk is also from there, & my g/f's PC desk...in fact our only furniture which isn't from Ikea is our dining table suit, wall units, coffee table, the couch & the bed. If you're after bedroom furniture I can recommend the 'Malm' range, very solid IMO.
Can't really comment on the stuff they do as the only thing I have from there is an £11.99 desk and price of the desk is a good indication of its quality. On the shop itself though, rather than have sections such as 'desks' 'beds' etc and grouping similar items, they instead have example rooms, e.g. a series of mock bedrooms with thier products. It seems very up itself and shopping there is very fustrating. Personally I'm going to stick to places like B&Q in future!!
Ikea has a range of products from cheap to expensive, the quality is reflected in the price. I bought a desk, pretty large for £40 which will outlast me, ohh and I bought a bed from there also which was very well made.
I have some furniture fom ikea, and i think they are ok. It's like all other places; you get what you pay for. The good think is that it's so cheap, so you can change furniture more often, and it's easier to get something that fits in an existing style. I think the shop layout is good aswell. The example rooms are good for getting ideas. so all in all it's good for people that just have "started" their own home. It's not the most exclusice store, but the products get the job done.
There isn't much point in bothering with the cheapest of the cheap stuff, but everything else is pretty good solid stuff.
furnished nearly my entire house from ikea, but not the cheapest ranges. the Billy bookcase's are very solid for the price, think we have about 7 of the things in our house. I personally do not like the sofa's as i don't find them comfy, and watch out for the beds as they are not(or didnt use to be) standard uk sizes and can make buying sheets a pain. The downside to shopping in Ikea is having to go to Ikea, find all the items, drag them to a vary slow checkout, drag them home and finally assemble them. I do recomend their delivery service if you are in a catch area, and if you live in a flat. much nicer to have two people bounding everthing up 2 flights of stairs than me and GF struggeling with the stuff
i'm getting one of their modular desk jobbies.. they tend to be pretty good. as a basic rule though, if its made of chipboard, or has chipboard parts. If they don't weigh the ammount the size of the box suggests they should weigh, then they are cheap and will snap with minimal effort... oh and if they get damp, they expand.
I'd second that. The cheapest of the cheap stuff will fall apart in no time, and looks crap as well. The more expensive stuff will last for ages. We have some bookshelves that are over 15 years old, and they've survived two moves.
One problem I had with IKEA was that their delivery service had delivered a faulty item. I had to take it back myself as they wouldnt collect it, plus they wouldnt offer to deliver it again for free or give me a refund for delivering a faulty item. Apart from that you get what you pay for.
IKEA offers pretty decent value for money: the design is not too bad, and the quality to price ratio is generally favourable. You have to choose carefully though; some items are pretty wonky (although ridiculously cheap) and that is what gets it its poor image in certain people's eyes. IKEA excells on beds and matresses, offering a quality for value that I have yet to see matched elsewhere. Their kitchen range is better than the standard DIY outlets and MFI (Although MFI is catching up slowly). Their sofas are a bit small, but they do reasonable chairs and office furniture. IKEA is good for basic shelves and storage, and their 365+ range of china and cutlery is insanely good value for money. I'd visually inspect everything first-hand as pictures give you no idea of quality.
As nexxo said, i highly reccomend their china and cutlery etc. But as said, be careful choosing furniture. Make sure its not too cheap. Oh and the lights they sell are pretty "funky" too.
I know everything about that. I live on 3rd floor (plus the parking is in the basement). And as i live alone i had to carry it alone up the stairs. (i guess it's a good thing it comes flat packed. makes it easier to carry alone) It was heavy as hell. I mean, who builds a building without an elevator!? (it's not even a year old)
"Keep the allen key, you might need to tighten the screws later". Says something of the quality... Still - they admit it and tell you about it, i can respect that. I inherited my sister's PC bench some years ago and the short time i could bare it it made me furious. Seriously, how can they expect people to have > 2m cables on _everything_ connected to the box sitting below the table? A nice desk besides that little niggle, check for cable routing before you buy and everything is shiney.
PC benches are a work of Satan, to be honest --I never found them well-designed, regardless of who makes them. Even quite expensive quality units have poor ergonomics. As for screws loosening: Locktite.
I completely agree, I really hate those things, all of them are just too small, too spastic, & just have stupid layouts. Big strong plain desk is all you need
wost part of ikea is the layout of the shop, with the whole making u walk through every department to get out, oh and all the mindless shopper zombies that kinda stand in the middle of the paths with a trolly for no reason. apart from that its good
When you get to know the layout you soon spy the shortcuts. Practice makes perfect though, as those shortcuts can take longer than normal, even the properly signposted ones!