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There's a wired dichotomy that I found with IKEA furniture, most of their furniture is cheaply made and won't stand the test of time, but some of their stuff ju
by _fat_santa 4y ago
There's a wired dichotomy that I found with IKEA furniture, most of their furniture is cheaply made and won't stand the test of time, but some of their stuff just seems to be bulletproof and indestructible. Right now I'm sitting on an Markus chair that my parents bought for me in the 7th grade (I was 13 at the time), now I'm 29 and the chair is still kicking along showing no signs of giving up.
- pram 4y agoYeah I have an IKEA bed base and it’s basically just four solid pieces of wood. They also recently made a floor lamp I got that’s really solid. In closing, it’s a store of contrasts.
- basch 4y agoLike a lot of companies, IKEA sells things in various tiers. Dressers and bookcases have different price points, and at each price point is a different material quality level. They however dont make it easy to identify like Kirkland Signature or Lexus.
- Someone1234 4y agoThat's the worst thing about IKEA. They have a great selection of real wood stuff, but finding it is time-consuming in or out of store. Price is the best proxy but that isn't flawless or ideal.
- badpun 4y agoTheir "real wood" stuff, at least here in Poland, seems to be made from very soft wood, most likely pine (90%+ of forests in Poland are pine). The dark variants (pretending to be exotic wood I guess) are just pine with a dark coloring. When the pine gets nicked, which happens often because it's so soft, its natural color comes out, and sticks out on an otherwise dark furniture like a sore thumb.
- ericpauley 4y agoMy dining set is black painted pine/acacia from IKEA. Sharpie is your friend!
- JAlexoid 4y agoUnbless it's oak, you don't particularly want to have solid wood furniture. Solid wood is dimensionally unstable and my oak chest of drawers requires special oil treatments to keep cracks from appearing. Plywood or melamine boards are way better for furniture.
- CarVac 4y agoThe other proble is that sometimes the cheaply built chair is more comfortable and looks better than the solidly built chair… then the right option is to buy neither.
- system2 4y agoTIL Kirkland Signature is something better than standard Kirkland. Kirkland = cheap but okay, no matter what word you add after.
- Hamuko 4y agoI love my MARKUS but I think I'm currently on my third one. The current one was exchanged during the 10-year warranty period since the gas spring started to leak on my floor. Not sure what I'll do if this MARKUS gives up the ghost too. They redesigned the MARKUS and dropped the leather option, and the non-leather MARKUS has pitiful armrests.
- spapas82 4y agoI've also got a Markus at the office. Been using it for more that 10 years, 7 hours a day. It's still as good as new! Don't think of a better price/value office chair!
- asfasfo 4y agoAlmost all of my ikea stuff has lasted longer than I wanted it. I have a Poang from 2010, a table from 1998, a bookhshelf from 1994, and a dresser from 2006. Their classics last longer than most of the market.
- tap-snap-or-nap 4y agoThis is true for all their stuff approximately pre-2018. Most of my furniture is older and was great value. Now you have to be very watchful of the materials and test it out before buying.
- asfasfo 4y agoI have stuff post 2018 which lasts well too but I agree that you have to check the materials list; however, I remember having to do that in the 90s too.