What's the big Ikea?

gramar

I went to ikea the other day for the first time and was fairly underwhelmed by the whole experience. I've been listening to people for years going on about how it's some kind of holy grail for home furnishings but I for one failed to see the big attraction.

It didn't seem that incredibly enormous, I didn't really see any incredible furniture or incredible prices and the thought of 1.50 hotdogs and all you can drink coke didn't really do anything for me.

I would say the range of items is quite big but at the same time it all seemed like variations on the same simple style.

Maybe I'm bitter as I had to spend half of yesterday putting together a chest of drawers and a couple of beside tables. Instructions are easy to follow and it looks fine but there's a lot to be said for getting something delivered in one piece as opposed to a bedisde table in 20+ different pieces and screws and dowels to beat the band.

I couldn't really see why it has become so successful and Ireland even went as far as changing it's planning laws to accomodate it. Can you?

Ihatecuddles

I'm furnishing a whole house from there. Assembly should be fun! I'd say we'll get a divorce when it comes to the dining room table and chairs!

I like IKEA, cheap, cheerful and I love their stuff! And the hotdogs, I f*cking love hotdogs!

Birneybau

Ah, it's good for shelves, plates, cutlery, tinned elk.

wazky

mauzo! wrote: »

I like IKEA, cheap, cheerful and I love their stuff! And the hotdogs, I f*cking love hotdogs!

They are absolutely vile, I'd rather eat the leg of one of their chairs then those hotdogs.

Red Kev

....... And the meatballs, don't forget the meatballs....and the little pastries/cakes or whatever they're called. I used to go there for lunch when I was passing it's that addictive.

kneemos

You must have missed the extension on the back.

TheBody

I wasn't impressed either. Been there a few times and bought nothing each time.

Ihatecuddles

wazky wrote: »

They are absolutely vile, I'd rather eat the leg of one of their chairs then those hotdogs.

More for me

faceman

IKEA is an over glorified hot dog stand.

omb0wyn5ehpij9

Ikea is cheap and cheerful. Some of their stuff is great and lasts, some doesn't. But as it's cheap, it means people are happy to change their furnishings quite a bit.

Then there are people like me who love putting flat pack stuff together !

Banjo String

€2.50 for a big plate of chickpea biryani for lunch?

Like poster above said, it's worth popping in for lunch if passing. Fcuking yummy.

cormie

It's a place that you will most likely get something suitable for what you're looking for, it does have a pretty good selection but the Dublin store is meant to be one of their smallest.

This is the IKEA business model. A very successful one at that. Cheap furniture that does what it's meant to do at an affordable price. But IKEA don't sell furniture per se, they sell boxes and it's up to you to know what's in that box, the measurements, will it fit etc (no refunds once assembled!), to hope that box is in stock the day you make the visit to the shop (they don't reserve anything, no matter how far you come from), to find that box and any other boxes that are supposed to go with that box, to load that box onto your trolley with the label facing one way, to get in line with that box and queue for what could be an age to pay, in full, immediately and to take that box away with you out of the store as soon as it's paid for before closing time. It's then up to you to assemble what's in the box and then dispose of the box.

If you expect any more, then IKEA may not be the best choice for you, if you are happy with the above, then IKEA is a great choice.

I offer IKEA shopping, delivery and assembly as a service and it's a place you can pretty much kit out a full house. By the time you take all the time you actually spend, or pay someone to spend for you, doing all the extras, it's not going to work out amazing value, but in terms of getting everything in the one place, it's certainly a good solution.

A lot of the furniture is great value for what it is and a lot is about average but has the added workload of assembly etc. The build quality can also leave a lot to be desired. When I'm doing a job helping people move house, you have to be extra careful with the IKEA furniture as it's not really meant to be moved around too much, you won't find any dovetail joints with IKEA furniture

gramar

cormie wrote: »

This is the IKEA business model. A very successful one at that. Cheap furniture that does what it's meant to do at an affordable price. But IKEA don't sell furniture per se, they sell boxes and it's up to you to know what's in that box, the measurements, will it fit etc (no refunds once assembled!), to hope that box is in stock the day you make the visit to the shop (they don't reserve anything, no matter how far you come from), to find that box and any other boxes that are supposed to go with that box, to load that box onto your trolley with the label facing one way, to get in line with that box and queue for what could be an age to pay, in full, immediately and to take that box away with you out of the store as soon as it's paid for before closing time. It's then up to you to assemble what's in the box and then dispose of the box.

So basically what you're saying is that Ikea is the Ryanair of home furnishings?

fran17

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/ikea-secrets-horse-meat_n_2411475.html#slide=2219237

cormie

gramar wrote: »

So basically what you're saying is that Ikea is the Ryanair of home furnishings?

Not quite, you don't have to fuel the plane and become a pilot to get to your destination with Ryanair.

gramar

cormie wrote: »

Not quite, you don't have to fuel the plane and become a pilot to get to your destination with Ryanair.

You do have to go there and bring it home and then put it together yourself!

Ush1

If you don't like assembling things you must be some sort of girly man.

slavetothegrind

at least you get the furniture you pay for the moment you pay,
every other furniture store seems to operate on the pay me now and with a bit of luck in anyones guess how long you may have your furniture if we haven't closed down by then policy

shocking sentence structure that, i'm off to flagalate myself......

biko

I like Ikea, mostly for the food/sweets. The furniture is ok and cheap but you can get similar in Argos or other places.

SpaceTime

It's a lot better than Argos stuff to be fair to them.

Spring Onion

I went for the food and I was very let down. It was muck.
Cheap muck.

gramar

Ush1 wrote: »

If you don't like assembling things you must be some sort of girly man.

The problem is that its gets boring. There are about 10 drawers in the chest and the process to assemble each one is identical so it's only halfway enjoyable doing the first one and then it gets horribly repetitive.

P. Breathnach

Ush1 wrote: »

If you don't like assembling things you must be some sort of girly man.

Some people are girly women.

cournioni

biko wrote: »

I like Ikea, mostly for the food/sweets. The furniture is ok and cheap but you can get similar in Argos or other places.

I have two chests of drawers from IKEA and one from Argos, the one from Argos doesn't even compare to the IKEA stuff.

anishboi

Daim cake...do they still do that? and the 1 euro breakfast??

Sir Arthur Daley

What has Ikea furniture and a butterfly got in common?

They both have an average life span of 2 weeks.

The Backwards Man

Tip for future housebuyers. Buy a house with wide hallways, doors and landings, so you don't have to buy any flatpack crap. I was doing up an old house for renting with furniture from IKEA as it was tiny. Nearly drove me fcuking demented!

Sir Arthur Daley

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Tip for future housebuyers. Buy a house with wide hallways, doors and landings, so you don't have to buy any flatpack crap.

Tip on a Tip, blow out all the walls rsj it, kevin macloud be proud of it.

fiachraX

The quality's reasonable enough for the price you pay. If you're fairly low on funds after buying a house and want something decent looking that'll last a few years until you've built up a bit more cash, Ikea's just the job.

Setun

I've grown to hate Ikea - mainly because most of the rented apartments I've lived in have been furnished with sh!te quality Ikea stuff that duly proceeds to fall apart over the course of my tenancy! I'd rather pick up some second hand furniture from freecycle/gumtree/charity shops next time I move apartment.

Raminahobbin

I can't speak for most of the furniture, but I have a lot of heavy books and went through several bookcases from argos and the like where the shelves sagged downwards under the weight. My cheap ikea bookcases are still in perfect condition after 3 years!

Their bedlinen is also insanely comfy. And I love some of the little knick knacks in the marketplace.

Davarus Walrus

The food is fúcking horrific there. Heard about those meatballs. You could have an impromptu game of handball against the side of the building with them.

Muahahaha

I like Ikea, it's good value and very functional. Their Pax wardrobes with their pull out sock/boxer drawers and pull out trouser rails are excellent and really convenient. You would pay several thousand to get fitted wardrobes with all the bells and whistles that Ikea offer for just a few hundred.

I think the real secret to Ikea furniture is to view it as a blank canvas that can be manipulated and customised to your own taste. There are loads of websites out there with info on how people DIY'ed their Ikea furniture to come up with something unique. Check out this dude who converted a studio into a one bed flat using the sliding doors from an Ikea wardrobe
http://www.ikeahackers.net/2010/10/turn-your-studio-apartment-into-1.html

There is some great hacks on their range of Expedit bookshelves here. http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2014/02/ten-reasons-to-buy-an-ikea-expedit-shelf-while-you-still-can/
The 8 cube shelves are only €65 up in Ikea and if you bring them home and assemble them as is then they are going to look like a €65 set of bookshelves. However if you customise and hack them then you can easily turn them into something that looks like they cost several hundred.

One tip for painting ikea furniture, make sure you use a good quality primer like Bin Zinsser or else the paint will end up chipping as it can't stick direct to laminate without a primer to hold it there.

MadYaker

The Daim bar cake is f*cking amazing. Furniture however doesn't interest me at all.

Vojera

I find the shopping experience pretty stressful if I can't manage to get there at a quiet time as it can be crazy busy, but I like the stuff.

However, it's not always as good value as you think. There are a few units where you have to account for the extras, e.g. extra shelves, separate doors or drawers, etc. and by the time you account for all of that it can work out much the same as a higher quality unit from another store.

It's brilliant for knick knacks and kitchen consumables, though. For example, scrubber brushes are something ridiculous like 39 cent, tea lights are really cheap and it's pretty good for frames too. Although I live in walking distance to it so I can see how this stuff is great for me as I can tip in after work, but not for someone who only makes one trip a year.

If only they'd have a consistent stock of Marabou chocolate...

Nonoperational

faceman wrote: »

IKEA is an over glorified hot dog stand.

Of course it is... Picked up a nice wardrobe and a kitchen table from the hot dog stand outside Funderland last week. Top stuff...

candy-gal1

Tis the restaurant methinks, breakfast, lunches and dinners for next to nothing pricewise and really yummy and filling, I go there just for that sometimes tbh

Stavros Murphy

We assemble a lot of Ikea stuff at work - the kitchens are deadly, very handy and we can now fit a full working, done, dusted kitchen in a matter of a couple of hours - huge timesaver. The office desks and cabinets though, they drive the lads nuts, even after they have assembled dozens and dozens, still fiddly, fussy and a PITA. And we draw straws as to which poor fcuker has to go collect the stuff - very frustrating experience and never, ever, not once, has everything that was meant to be in the "pile" been in the pile. I do like the grub - very nice, and the free coffee/food while you're waiting is much appreciated. Still a pita though.

Ann Landers

It's cheap and cheerful. I'm going there in a few weeks to buy a pile of picture frames. I'll buy a few keenly priced utensils while there too.

But I shop around, IKEA would just be one place I would look.

A lot of the stuff has a sleek, stylish design that appeals to me.

The food is absolutely mediocre though.

hfallada

Unless you want a ****ty pine wardrobe, there is very little affordable furniture in Ireland. Ikea is cheap and well built.

Although its kinda ridiculous seeing the same book cases and sofas in everyones house

Barely There

Banjo String wrote: »

€2.50 for a big plate of chickpea biryani for lunch?

Like poster above said, it's worth popping in for lunch if passing. Fcuking yummy.

The only people who could possibly find Ikea food yummy have obviously nuked whatever tastebuds they were born with using a diet of frozen convenience food.

gramar

hfallada wrote: »

Unless you want a ****ty pine wardrobe, there is very little affordable furniture in Ireland. Ikea is cheap and well built.

Although its kinda ridiculous seeing the same book cases and sofas in everyones house

That would depend entirely on the person doing the building!

Muahahaha

hfallada wrote: »

Although its kinda ridiculous seeing the same book cases and sofas in everyones house

Yeah it's gas to look around other peoples gaffs and see how much of their gear is from Ikea. I've some friends who have gone way over the top and about 90% of their place is furnished from Ikea, it's a bit much tbh

Archeron

Coffee tables called Yordeeborgl.

ceadaoin.

Setun wrote: »

I've grown to hate Ikea - mainly because most of the rented apartments I've lived in have been furnished with sh!te quality Ikea stuff that duly proceeds to fall apart over the course of my tenancy! I'd rather pick up some second hand furniture from freecycle/gumtree/charity shops next time I move apartment.

I've had lots of ikea stuff over the years and none of it has ever fallen apart. I don't think it would be so successful if the stuff was crap quality.

There is no ikea where I live now and after having to furnish a house without it I have to say I miss it!

Amalgam

Their 'SAMLA' range of plastic storage boxes with lids, are a godsend, for Pickaroonies & Hoarders like myself.

SmallTeapot

Muahahaha wrote: »

Check out this dude who converted a studio into a one bed flat using the sliding doors from an Ikea wardrobe
http://www.ikeahackers.net/2010/10/turn-your-studio-apartment-into-1.html

This is awesome! Some people are very creative

dan1895

Muahahaha wrote: »

Yeah it's gas to look around other peoples gaffs and see how much of their gear is from Ikea. I've some friends who have gone way over the top and about 90% of their place is furnished from Ikea, it's a bit much tbh

Why would you care what other people have in their house?

cormie

dan1895 wrote: »

Why would you care what other people have in their house?

Keeping up with the Jonases

Akrasia

gramar wrote: »

The problem is that its gets boring. There are about 10 drawers in the chest and the process to assemble each one is identical so it's only halfway enjoyable doing the first one and then it gets horribly repetitive.

All ikea furniture should be assembled drunk and in partnership with your spouse.

That tends to liven things up in my experience (although hammer wounds are slow to heal)

I've never bought Ikea furniture, but I've bought some soft furnishings like blinds and cushions/throws, and plenty of bedding. All of it is top quality stuff and looks great, wasn't the bottom range 'cheap as chips' stuff, but more mid range and still good value. I also have lots of kitchenwares like crockery and cutlery, all serviceable, affordable and well priced.

I'm not keen on self-assembly - lifes too short. The rest of the stuff I'd recommend, but be aware a lot of the textiles made in developing countries and no ethical policy is on display, so the very cheap stuff may be exploitative.