ikea furniture quality

[purbeast0]

i'm interested to hear what people's opinions of ikea furniture quality is.

went into the store to look at their stuff over the weekend and found a bed frame that we really like. we also found a table that we really liked, for an eat-in kitchen table.

my first test on the furniture there is to basically shake the hell out of it and feel how sturdy it is.

both the bed and table felt very sturdy and heavy, which is good. but i'm wondering how well the bed will hold up over the years.

i also saw some dining room tables that felt cheap, and shook a lot when i did my shaker test on them. they just felt wobbly.

the dressers i saw that i liked felt kind of cheap. my test for those were to open the dresser drawers fully and wiggle them back and forth. most of them wiggled a lot, again, just feeling kind of cheap.

there was a cool computer desk that i did like as well, but again felt a little wobbly.

the thing is, the wife and i have been to a lot of furniture stores, and regardless of price, quite a bit of things we liked most style wise were from ikea.

anyone have any longer term experience with ikea furniture, specifically for beds or dressers, or some of the heavy duty furniture?

 

[Zeze]

See it for yourself, it's not hard.

Most of Ikea stuff is pressed wood or pressed mulch. Even when you build it, you can tell most inner parts are fragile while outer stuff is made to look nice.

I never understood the Ikea hate. They're great at what they do- cheap innovative furniture that's great for college kids and 20-somethings.

I have couple of Ikea stuff and they're awesome. I have $30 desk and there's zero need for me to get a better one. Once I settle with a family, I'll invest in quality stuff that's made of whole wood.

 

[WubblyBubbly]

I currently have the MALM furniture. I have the MALM bed frame and dresser. I really like them because they do last for a long time. Although, my only concern with the frame was the fact that it is very low to the ground and the sides of the bed frame can be dangerous because they stick out.

The dresser with the 6 drawers is pretty sturdy. The drawers do not wobble at all and can hold a lot of stuff inside.

Other than that, I honestly have no complaints about the ikea furniture.

Not sure if this is detailed enough to be able to help you, but I hope you get a general idea.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

~25% is total trash
~50% is not bad but can't be abused. Kids/dogs/etc will destroy it. Doors etc can't be 'forced' or they will break

The remaining 25% is actually decent quality furniture. I have redone rental unit kitchens and it's held up as good as can be expected. We have a couple of those very common chairs you can lean back in, which have held up fine.

 

[nickbits]

I wouldn't buy anything that is going to be used a lot or slightly abused.

<-- Has a few Ikea pieces

 

[blackdogdeek]

here's what we have from ikea in order of sturdiness:

2 bookshelves
3 storage units
1 day bed
2 armoires
1 dresser

sure the armoires and the dresser don't feel sturdy but they've lasted us 5+ years each, show no signs of wear, and were dirt cheap relative to other options.

 

[purbeast0]

I currently have the MALM furniture. I have the MALM bed frame and dresser. I really like them because they do last for a long time. Although, my only concern with the frame was the fact that it is very low to the ground and the sides of the bed frame can be dangerous because they stick out.

The dresser with the 6 drawers is pretty sturdy. The drawers do not wobble at all and can hold a lot of stuff inside.

Other than that, I honestly have no complaints about the ikea furniture.

Not sure if this is detailed enough to be able to help you, but I hope you get a general idea.

the MALM low profile bed is actually the exact bed frame i was interested in, as well as the dressers. if i get the bed I'm going to be using it without box springs and have the wood platforms instead. i am just a fan of that look.

i was kind of concerned about the side sticking out like you said, such as ramming my shin into it on accident. is that something you have suffered before? additionally, how long have you had it for?

the frame does seem VERY sturdy.

as for the dressers, they seemed like they would hold up and the slid out of the dresser pretty well. i did notice that wobbly-ness of the drawers though when i pulled them all the way out and wiggled them side to side. but it was only the actual drawer, not the full dresser itself.

 

[purbeast0]

~25% is total trash
~50% is not bad but can't be abused. Kids/dogs/etc will destroy it. Doors etc can't be 'forced' or they will break

The remaining 25% is actually decent quality furniture. I have redone rental unit kitchens and it's held up as good as can be expected. We have a couple of those very common chairs you can lean back in, which have held up fine.

"leaning back in chairs" is actually the test i was doing for chairs. i'd say 75% of the chairs i sat in felt like they were going to break with me hardly leaning back in the chair. the table/chair kitchen set we saw however was not that way. definitely felt much sturdier.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

I have only owned 2 furniture pieces from them and both are still with me. My entertainment center and the desk I have my computer on. They are both solid as a rock, I know its just cheap wood and covered with fake finishes, but zero complaints from the price.

 

[Jeraden]

I have a bunch of Malm stuff. The bed itself is very sturdy and fine. Our middle support beam bent once, but easy to get a replacement. The dressers are kind of light-weight, but not bad depending on what you put in them. If you have hard floors they are good. If you have carpet, the tall dresser has a tendency to be kind of wobbly, as it's so light weight that if you pull a drawer out all the way and it has any kind of heavy contents, the dresser will tip forward slightly. That's why they recommend tethering it to the wall, but even doing that it still rocks a bit.
And yeah, all the drawers are pretty flimsy and just don't feel "sturdy" but I never had any fail on me.

 

[purbeast0]

See it for yourself, it's not hard.

Most of Ikea stuff is pressed wood or pressed mulch. Even when you build it, you can tell most inner parts are fragile while outer stuff is made to look nice.

I never understood the Ikea hate. They're great at what they do- cheap innovative furniture that's great for college kids and 20-somethings.

I have couple of Ikea stuff and they're awesome. I have $30 desk and there's zero need for me to get a better one. Once I settle with a family, I'll invest in quality stuff that's made of whole wood.

well the problem i've had so far is that i've gone to quite a lot of funiture stores, places that sell $2k+ bed frames and what not. i have yet to find one that is low profile and the more modern look, that my wife and I like. the same goes with dressers and stuff.

i'd gladly spend the money on a more quality piece of furniture that will last a long time for sure, but even that type, i have not had any luck finding.

another issue is that getting furniture upstairs could be a problem for us, if it is all in one piece. we had to literally fold our mattress in 1/2 to get it upstairs because it was hitting the ceiling where the stairs go up. if we had one solid bed frame, it's not fitting up there.

 

[Uppsala9496]

I have 3 dressers and 2 night stands from the Hemnes collection. I'm actually happy with the product. They are sturdy and hold a lot of clothes and weight per drawer. They are also solid wood and not fibreboard shit. Going to be moving in about 2 weeks so I'll let you know how they hold up to getting put in a moving van.
My bed frame is the aspelund (I think). It's also solid wood and has held up well for the past 8 years. I've taken it apart and put it back together a good half dozen times. Still solid.

As others have mentioned, there is some decent stuff there. Just get solid wood and it will hold up.

 

[jagec]

See it for yourself, it's not hard.

Most of Ikea stuff is pressed wood or pressed mulch. Even when you build it, you can tell most inner parts are fragile while outer stuff is made to look nice.

I never understood the Ikea hate. They're great at what they do- cheap innovative furniture that's great for college kids and 20-somethings.

I have couple of Ikea stuff and they're awesome. I have $30 desk and there's zero need for me to get a better one. Once I settle with a family, I'll invest in quality stuff that's made of whole wood.

What's sad is how much "real" furniture is also made using pressed mulch and cheapo fasteners. It's shocking how much extra you have to pay over Ikea prices to get quality stuff that's made of whole wood.

Of course, you can find really good quality furniture on Craigslist sometimes. It's amazing how much cheaper even high-end furniture becomes when someone needs to get it out of their house.

Also, pro tip: If you know that you're not going to disassemble your Ikea furniture for moving purposes in the future, grab some wood glue and run a thin bead of it along mating surfaces before you put them together. The fasteners themselves act as good clamps, and once it dries it will be much stronger and won't work itself loose over time.

 

[xanis]

Everything I've gotten has felt sturdy and has held up well. The only thing I wouldn't get from Ikea, however, is a couch; I've heard some bad things about the quality (and they're not that comfortable).

 

[WubblyBubbly]

the MALM low profile bed is actually the exact bed frame i was interested in, as well as the dressers. if i get the bed I'm going to be using it without box springs and have the wood platforms instead. i am just a fan of that look.

i was kind of concerned about the side sticking out like you said, such as ramming my shin into it on accident. is that something you have suffered before? additionally, how long have you had it for?

the frame does seem VERY sturdy.

as for the dressers, they seemed like they would hold up and the slid out of the dresser pretty well. i did notice that wobbly-ness of the drawers though when i pulled them all the way out and wiggled them side to side. but it was only the actual drawer, not the full dresser itself.

The frame is definitely sturdy! Yes, I have rammed into the side many times when I first got the bed. I still do ram into it, but rarely. I have had this bed for about 5 years.

I do not use a box spring, I only use the wooden slats. It's still pretty sturdy with the slats - I have a very thick mattress that I used to have and it was very comfortable and it felt better with the slats than a box spring. I mean I definitely noticed a difference.

I'm not sure of the wobbly-ness that you noticed, but maybe they're wobbly because there is nothing filled in the drawers. I have my drawers full of clothes and it slides in and out pretty smoothly and it doesn't seem to wobble.

 

[iamwiz82]

What's sad is how much "real" furniture is also made using pressed mulch and cheapo fasteners. It's shocking how much extra you have to pay over Ikea prices to get quality stuff that's made of whole wood.

Of course, you can find really good quality furniture on Craigslist sometimes. It's amazing how much cheaper even high-end furniture becomes when someone needs to get it out of their house.

Also, pro tip: If you know that you're not going to disassemble your Ikea furniture for moving purposes in the future, grab some wood glue and run a thin bead of it along mating surfaces before you put them together. The fasteners themselves act as good clamps, and once it dries it will be much stronger and won't work itself loose over time.

I was going to post this.

A good majority of the crap sold at furniture stores is knockdown just like Ikea, it's just rebuilt once it gets on US shores.

 

[ViviTheMage]

The metal stuff, like beds/frames are solid.

But the wood can be hit and miss. HEMNES is the best, I have 4 of these dressers and they're SOLID wood.

I have had a few of the malm, and after 2-3 years, they fell apart....I have also had 4 of the coffee tables for $30 and I just replace it every year or so, it's just so thin/cardboardy.

 

[TheStu]

My general impression of IKEA's stuff is that you are, at the very least, getting what you paid for. I got a super cheap little end table ($7) from there, it didn't last from one move to another, but it was $7, and certainly worked fine while it lasted. I also have a desk (really just a tabletop and legs) that was about $70-80 out the door, and that thing is big, and solid, and a real winner. Certainly more desktop space than anything I could have gotten for that price at a place like Staples (outside of a plastic folding table).

 

[jagec]

the MALM low profile bed is actually the exact bed frame i was interested in, as well as the dressers. if i get the bed I'm going to be using it without box springs and have the wood platforms instead. i am just a fan of that look.

i was kind of concerned about the side sticking out like you said, such as ramming my shin into it on accident. is that something you have suffered before? additionally, how long have you had it for?

I have the ENGAN, which is also low-profile, but less classy. It has bitten a few shins in its day. But really that's a factor of how you set it up in your room. My room is too small to give me decent walking corridors without passing close to the Edge Of Doom. I actually put a little foam pad over it, which helps.

The mattress straight on the wooden slats has been very comfortable for me.

 

[purbeast0]

any of you that have had the MALM low profile bed set, do you know if this side table is for the low profile bed set or the normal one?

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30056929/#/30056929

it's hard to tell from that second picture there. i do like that look though.

i think i will give the stuff there a shot though, especially the bed and the table. i'm not 100% sure about the dressers yet and will check them out when I do go back to the store. it's reassuring though to know that people have actually had some of the exact stuff i'm looking at, and have good things to say about it.

EDIT:

actually after clicking around on the page, it looks like that is for the low profile bed, not the high one. i'm definitely digging that look with the night stand next to the bed, attached to the frame.

 

[Aharami]

i have this malm dresser for a 5-6 years now. it doesnt get opened closed much, but it holds old paperwork and random junk
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40053930/

the bottom of the drawers bow and fall out if you put something heavy in there. So I had to reinforce the drawer bottoms with steel braces. Drawers still open and close ok, but then again, they arent used all that often. I would not buy this dresser again

 

[halik]

the MALM low profile bed is actually the exact bed frame i was interested in, as well as the dressers. if i get the bed I'm going to be using it without box springs and have the wood platforms instead. i am just a fan of that look.

i was kind of concerned about the side sticking out like you said, such as ramming my shin into it on accident. is that something you have suffered before? additionally, how long have you had it for?

the frame does seem VERY sturdy.

as for the dressers, they seemed like they would hold up and the slid out of the dresser pretty well. i did notice that wobbly-ness of the drawers though when i pulled them all the way out and wiggled them side to side. but it was only the actual drawer, not the full dresser itself.

MALM is pressed fiberboard with veneer, I would stay away. If you ever drop it, it will be ruined (chips and falls apart)

They do have some real wood stuff, but it's not in the budget section. I've built a desk for my office using their butcher block counter tops

 

[ViviTheMage]

MALM sucks, seriously...can't hold up for crap.

I am going to get this tonight actually, love the HEMNES line.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80176284/#/80176284

 

[endlessmike]

We just bought a Hemnes dresser, plus a crib and changing table recently. It all seems pretty sturdy and assembled a lot more smoothly than Sauder or other u-build-it brands I've tried before.

Like others have said, you'll have to pay a lot more than this to get substantially better quality stuff. Looking at bedroom sets in the $2,500-$3000 range from more standard furniture stores, even many of those lack things like dovetailed drawers and are made up of a lot of laminates. It was difficult to find the style that we were looking for as well.

 

[vshah]

i've had a malm full size bed for 4 years, and have moved twice in that time. the bed is still very sturdy, but the veneer has some visible scratches/scrapes.

it's a great deal for the <$200 for a queen bed or $150 for a full size.

with ikea, it's all about the joint hardware. some items, like the malm bed, have sturdy metal hardware. other items have cheaper/partly plastic/wooden hardware that gets loose over time.


all of their solid wood stuff is pretty durable. i also used their Numerar solid oak countertop for my dining table and that's held up great.