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ikea furniture quality

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halik said:
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

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:thumbsup:

I use one of their older kitchen tables as a desk, and it's been quite nice over ~7 years now. I move a lot, and it has held up well.

Most of their stuff is trash, though, and doesn't survive constant moving. Some larger pieces--like bed frames and more solid dressers probably have a wee bit higher quality, but for their prices...I've actually found a local Scandinavian furniture manufacturer that makes better quality pieces for relatively the same cost, when comparing larger items (my bed frame).
 
purbeast0 said:
well the bed is just the frame, definitely not getting a mattress from them as i already have a real nice king size one. i actually have a couple shelves as well as a small computer desk that i've had for nearly 6 years that I bought when i moved into my apartment, and they survived the move just fine.

i was looking at this computer desk though because i like the corner style for the space and i will be running dual monitors most likely as well. anyone have any experience with this type or line?

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S19836057/

i'm not 100% sold on it yet though, definitely need to go check it out again at the store. i'm also not sure about the T or A leg styles. i believe the sample one i saw in the store was A leg and it definitely did not feel super sturdy.
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I have a Galant desk and its been great. Very good quality IMO.. Reminds me of the Jerker desk I had in college. I went with A legs and its pretty sturdy on carpet.
 
Imported said:
I have a Galant desk and its been great. Very good quality IMO.. Reminds me of the Jerker desk I had in college. I went with A legs and its pretty sturdy on carpet.
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I think that a lot of us had jerker desks in college...even if we didn't shop at Ikea.
 
Imported said:
I have a Galant desk and its been great. Very good quality IMO.. Reminds me of the Jerker desk I had in college. I went with A legs and its pretty sturdy on carpet.
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this is going to most likely be on the hardwood floor.

did you go with one of those corner ones or was it one of the straight ones?
 
Imported said:
I have a Galant desk and its been great. Very good quality IMO.. Reminds me of the Jerker desk I had in college. I went with A legs and its pretty sturdy on carpet.
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Galant's are the best. I've had two desks and still use the same A-legs that came with the first table. I use to think that the A-legs weren't secure, but they have never failed on me. I'd probably get T-legs in the future since they use a bolt (I think) to keep it at a certain height, whereas the A-leg uses an expanding rubber "shoe". The shoe gets stuck and is hard to set at a dixed height occasionally.

Effers stopped making beech veneer though...
 
purbeast0 said:
this is going to most likely be on the hardwood floor.

did you go with one of those corner ones or was it one of the straight ones?
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Check Craigslist AND the "As-Is" section of Ikea. They are a very popular line of tables and from what I've seen on Craigslist, the corner L-shaped table is very popular. Lots of people unload them for half-price when they have to move.
 
OILFIELDTRASH said:
Or he could still furnish the apartment for a couple grand buying used quality furniture that won't be an eyesore every time he opens the door. And the good stuff will still be around in 20 years while the ikea stuff is being recycled back into newspaper.
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i'd rather diy than buy used. too many people i know have gotten burned by bedbugs etc.
 
They have some higher quality pieces that use real wood. I like the designs on a lot of their furniture. That said, for your house you might want to go with something that is better quality and more unique. The problem with ikea furniture is a lot of people have it and matching sets gets kind of boring.

I don't think you necessarily want furniture that lasts for 40+ years either. Personalities change. Tastes change. Some people like to thrift older furniture and repurpose them.

This is a pretty good blog about how people furnish their places. http://www.designsponge.com/

If you go on http://fab.com/sale/ they also have some cool furniture on their at times. Can be pretty expensive but you get some uniqueness. This is a vintage tanker desk made of steel that's on sale right now http://fab.com/sale/10368/product/96466 ($1.3k though). Etsy is another resource. Example: http://www.etsy.com/listing/76948869/early-american-cumberland-bench.

If you want a step up from ikea you could go to cost plus world market.
http://www.worldmarket.com/

Back to Ikea. If you join their ikea family program, they have like 30 items every month that are discounted if you have the free card. Plus you get free drinks at their cafe. There's a coupon on ebay that you can also buy good for something like $25 off 120 or something. A lot of people offload their ikea stuff on craiglist also.
 
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jagec said:
We're not talking about used mattresses here.
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You'd be surprised at where you can find bedbugs.

The Social Security Administration (SSA), Region II, requires a contractor to use sufficient heat levels and heat application time to remove a bed bug infestation that has been identified inside a several vertical file cabinets currently containing paper files and folders.
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https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportu...df63a8540a455&tab=core&_cview=1&cck=1&au=&ck=
 
I've had all kinds of Ikea stuff over the years and most of it has been pretty sturdy and reliable. Surprisingly good resale value on Craigslist too, I guess since it is a known quantity.

KT
 
We have lots of ikea furniture because it is cheap, and space efficient. Since we move around a lot, we don't want to spend lots of money on good sturdy wood furniture, because it will just get banged up and damaged while moving. If I dent a cheap $30 coffee table I won't be as pissed as a $150 solid oak one.

We have 3 Billy bookcases
2 Herpes (hemnes?) desks
2 Herpes night stands
And an arm chair.

All of them are decent quality, good enough for the price anyway.
 
I only have 1 Ikea piece in my house. My latex mattress I bought from there. Seriously, it's a DAMN good mattress for the price. Equivalent mattresses from other stores were $2000 or more compared to the $800 I spent at Ikea. I did my shopping around before I purchased the mattress. I was so impressed and so was my family that quite a few family members, including my parents, went out and got the same mattress from them.

Other than that, most stuff is junk. There is quite a few good items, but it takes forever finding them if you are there for the first time and don't know what to look for.
 
Nintendesert said:
So if I don't buy from Ikea where do I get this quality hardwood furniture from? Ashleys? 😱
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Modern looking, solid wood furniture with a good build quality is a PITA to find anywhere. When you do find a piece you like, the price is typically pretty high. Not like the old days. You really have to look everywhere to complete a full house hold furniture collection that you would like at a reasonable price. I know I shopped around for ages for the majority of my furniture. I still have some pieces I want to buy but haven't done so yet.

For example, I got my bed frame from overstock, my bed mattress from Ikea, my coffee table with matching sofa tables from hayneedle, my sofa with accent chairs from North Carolina direct, my dining room table from Big lots, my 8 kitchen chairs from Target, and random assorted accent pieces from Ashley's, Target, Walmart, Home Goods, Ross, Marshals, World Market, Chair King, and what not. Accent furniture doesn't have to be completely durable as other pieces. Like a little corner end table in a hallway for example that is there to break up the area and maybe put a potted plant on it.

I still need to buy a good dresser set for my bedroom. Only reason I haven't is because I want something SOLID and at a good price that matches the rest of my decorum. Haven't found it yet.

Seriously, the only pieces you need solid are your sofa, coffee table, kitchen table, any chairs, dressers, and bed. Everything else you can get by with cheaper quality stuff that just "looks" good.
 
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