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When I see videos of people creating custom made tables from a large slab of oak and some resin pour, it looks awesome, but probably IKEA could furnish your who

When I see videos of people creating custom made tables from a large slab of oak and some resin pour, it looks awesome, but probably IKEA could furnish your whole house using the same amount of wood and still cost less. IKEA is a blessing for this planet. As for self-assembled stuff perceived to be more valuable, I also think it is nice to know that you can assemble, and more importantly, disassemble it yourself. It's more repairable (IKEA sells spare parts as well), makes moving easier, and also allows you to "hack" IKEA products: https://ikeahackers.net/ https://ikeahackers.net/

microtonal 5y ago
but probably IKEA could furnish your whole house using the same amount of wood and still cost less. IKEA is a blessing for this planet. Except that IKEA product last far shorter. We moved frequently due to being in academia, Billy bookshelves are often pretty much worn-out after disassembling and assembling them 2-3 times. We had IKEA sofas (not the cheapest models) that would wear out in 3-5 years. The surface of our relatively expensive IKEA dining table cracked open twice. They replaced it, no questions asked, but their quality is quite mediocre. Before IKEA, in The Netherlands Lundia bookshelves were popular. They were made of massive wood and designed to be easy to assemble/disassemble. They would often last and be passed between generations. I knew fellow students who had 30 year old Lundia bookshelves that were passed on from their parents and moved from house to house and then from student home to student home. Besides that, I really hate shopping at Ikea. It's far too chaotic and annoying. (The trick is going on weekdays and knowing all the shortcuts.)
- flenserboy 5y ago
  You disassemble them to move them? No wonder they don't last — I've found that IKEA products are solid & sturdy until the fasteners are removed and/or work their way out on their own (which doesn't happen too often, but can and does on frequently moved/shaken parts such as drawers or desks.
  - xxs 5y ago
    You can reassemble them with some extra mix of PVA and/or epoxy/wood shavings to fill in. Ikea furniture is easy to repair
- gsliepen 5y ago
  I won't deny that solid wood furniture will last longer, but I have been in a similar situation for many years, but our IKEA sofas all lasted much longer. In fact, I don't think anything really broke in the last 20 years (and 95% of our furniture is IKEA). The only annoying thing about the Billy bookshelves is the backplate which you are supposed to attach using nails. We replace those with small screws instead, making it much easier to disassemble and reassemble, although there definitely is a limit to how often you can do that while using the same holes.
  - xxs 5y ago
    If you want to disassemble anything even standard wood screws won't let you do it multiple times (you can fill in the boss with toothpicks/pva, but still). What you want is machine bolts and metal (zinc) wood inserts. Since it's chipboard, it'd take epoxy when installing the wood inserts. Unlimited amount of assembly/disassembly.
- xxs 5y ago
  >after disassembling Not sure what you compare, solid wood assembled with PVA and joints is not a subject of any disassembly method at all.

microtonal 5y ago

but probably IKEA could furnish your whole house using the same amount of wood and still cost less. IKEA is a blessing for this planet. Except that IKEA product last far shorter. We moved frequently due to being in academia, Billy bookshelves are often pretty much worn-out after disassembling and assembling them 2-3 times. We had IKEA sofas (not the cheapest models) that would wear out in 3-5 years. The surface of our relatively expensive IKEA dining table cracked open twice. They replaced it, no questions asked, but their quality is quite mediocre. Before IKEA, in The Netherlands Lundia bookshelves were popular. They were made of massive wood and designed to be easy to assemble/disassemble. They would often last and be passed between generations. I knew fellow students who had 30 year old Lundia bookshelves that were passed on from their parents and moved from house to house and then from student home to student home. Besides that, I really hate shopping at Ikea. It's far too chaotic and annoying. (The trick is going on weekdays and knowing all the shortcuts.)

flenserboy 5y ago
You disassemble them to move them? No wonder they don't last — I've found that IKEA products are solid & sturdy until the fasteners are removed and/or work their way out on their own (which doesn't happen too often, but can and does on frequently moved/shaken parts such as drawers or desks.
- xxs 5y ago
  You can reassemble them with some extra mix of PVA and/or epoxy/wood shavings to fill in. Ikea furniture is easy to repair
gsliepen 5y ago
I won't deny that solid wood furniture will last longer, but I have been in a similar situation for many years, but our IKEA sofas all lasted much longer. In fact, I don't think anything really broke in the last 20 years (and 95% of our furniture is IKEA). The only annoying thing about the Billy bookshelves is the backplate which you are supposed to attach using nails. We replace those with small screws instead, making it much easier to disassemble and reassemble, although there definitely is a limit to how often you can do that while using the same holes.
- xxs 5y ago
  If you want to disassemble anything even standard wood screws won't let you do it multiple times (you can fill in the boss with toothpicks/pva, but still). What you want is machine bolts and metal (zinc) wood inserts. Since it's chipboard, it'd take epoxy when installing the wood inserts. Unlimited amount of assembly/disassembly.
xxs 5y ago
>after disassembling Not sure what you compare, solid wood assembled with PVA and joints is not a subject of any disassembly method at all.