# IKEA: Love it or hate it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 12, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343 "2011-01-12T14:53:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/101 "2011-01-15T15:26:32Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > If you don’t need or want anything from IKEA, then you don’t need to go there. > > And why is furniture shopping such a quick business that it must be conducted in 10 minutes? Don’t you want to spend some time thinking about which product is better before spending 30 Euros on a chair or 300 on a mattress that you will be using for years? > > When I only want to buy a candle or pillow case, then I take the shortcuts, of course. I think for many people, the maze layout is a giant turnoff. If I’m in the store looking for a bed, then I want to get to the bed section quickly, and not have to wander through the sofa section, the dining room section, and a bunch of model rooms to get there. IKEA is very good for smaller spaces. A lot of the furniture stores that I’ve gone to seem to assume that you live in a 3000 square foot house. I really don’t want oversized furniture since it would look out of scale in my small rowhouse. IKEA is fine if you skip the cheapest stuff and go for the wood stuff. We’ve replaced a lot of our college era IKEA furniture with better stuff, but still have some of it since it is properly sized for our house. I also like their kitchen cabinets. We have them in our house and they really are good quality for the price. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/102 "2011-01-15T15:41:57Z")
I like IKEA for ephemeral stuff - linens, decorative items, and furniture that I don’t need to last more than 5 years. Look, the sofa I really want costs about $8500, I won’t be able to afford that for quite a while. The $700 sofa I bought will last about 5 years, which is what I need right now in my life. I can save up for the expensive one, as I want it for our retirement home, so I have about 5 years to save for it. [actually to be perfectly honest, I will probably pay for it out of the insurance monies from my mother dying. Not to be gruesome, but she is 88 years old and I am being realistic.] ---
**Author:** ![conurepete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@conurepete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conurepete)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/103 "2011-01-15T17:00:28Z")
I love the way the shelfs, containers, drawers and accessories fit and work together. I love my victorian house, but it has no storage spaces and kitchen layout that hints at mental illness. I plan on using ikea to help correct this. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/104 "2011-01-15T22:20:02Z")
Just returned from Ikea. Snagged me some new [whiskey glasses](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40149810), a [tray](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60152627) that looks like the perfect size and shape for a sliced baguette and cheese, a bath mat, two of pillows and a 6-pack of pint glasses. AND I remembered to use the $150 gift card they gave us two years ago when we bought our sectional sofa. Well, I used part of it, anyway. Still have $100 left on it. Thanks for inspiring me to go to Ikea this weekend! ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/105 "2011-01-16T18:27:05Z")
I’m not a fan of contemporary styled things, so to me most of the stuff at IKEA is ugly. Cheap and useful if that’s what you need, but ugly. I don’t like the way the store is set up, either. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/106 "2011-01-16T19:17:35Z")
Love it. My wife and I even used to go to their cafeteria for lunch to celebrate our anniversary when we were dating (don’t ask). However, it’s not a store. It’s Something To Do, which may or may not involve buying some furniture. Kind of like Disney World, only without the Brazilian tour groups and roller coasters, and everything is for sale. ETA: It helps that I like sleek/simple/modern/minimalistic design. Whenever I see an Ethan Allen dresser or somesuch I wonder quietly what the fuck people thought all that carved wood was good for. ---
**Author:** ![BleizDu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@BleizDu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BleizDu)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/107 "2011-01-16T19:34:51Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > However, it’s not a store. It’s Something To Do, which may or may not involve buying some furniture. Kind of like Disney World, only without the Brazilian tour groups and roller coasters, and everything is for sale. This. I’ve been going to ikea since I was a kid and for me it’s not about what I’ll buy, or even if I’ll buy something, but more about roaming the store and marvelling at how well everything fit together. Since last year, Ikea is the top selling furniture store here in France, it’s been first implanted in 1981. I’m sad because I live now in an area where the nearest ikea is almost at a two hours drive. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/108 "2011-01-16T20:07:42Z")
This thread is as good a place as any to link to some of the better Ikea commercials. [That poor lamp](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tetOSMilRKg) [Swedish traditions](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I5BGsK5ZAU&translated=1)(a bit long) [Tidy up for your girlfriend](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFHRAuvjOtQ&feature=related) [and another one](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TO90OV1IME&NR=1) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/109 "2011-01-16T20:10:15Z")
Obligatory link to the [Lesser Known IKEA Products](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=81396) thread. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/110 "2011-01-16T20:28:10Z")
Thanks for the link, **Sunspace**. That was worth several chuckles 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/111 "2011-01-16T21:02:40Z")
I like Ikea very much, though I always have a moment of rage at the rat-in-a-maze feeling the stores give me. I wish I could just shop online and have it delivered more cheaply. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/112 "2011-01-16T23:21:42Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > ETA: It helps that I like sleek/simple/modern/minimalistic design. Whenever I see an Ethan Allen dresser or somesuch I wonder quietly what the fuck people thought all that carved wood was good for. See I’m the opposite. I hate sleek/simple/modern/minimalist design, and love carved wood. I have my grandparents’ old bedroom set and I love it–carved cherry wood goodness. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/113 "2011-01-16T23:31:04Z")
You are a bad person, and you have poor taste. 😉 I think the issue for me is that I’ve always moved a lot. I just see heavy, last-for-ever furniture as a slipped disc waiting to happen. Plus, I get bored of things easily. I’m happy to spend more money on things that need to be durable, like a couch or a dining table. Something like a side table, that will probably never hold anything more than a lamp and a coaster, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/114 "2011-01-17T00:09:36Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > This thread is as good a place as any to link to some of the better Ikea commercials. > > [That poor lamp](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tetOSMilRKg) This one always makes me shed a tear. > [@Maastricht](#): > > [Tidy up for your girlfriend](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFHRAuvjOtQ&feature=related) I will have to send this one to my friend who has a new girlfriend. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/115 "2011-01-17T03:52:57Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > My solid pine Ikea bed is going on 20 years old, and it’s still as sturdy and attractive as the day I bought it. Yep my metal bed is about 12 years old, $200 as a temp and still going strong. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/116 "2011-01-17T18:08:30Z")
> [@sunspace](#): > > this one always makes me shed a tear. BUT THAT IS BECAUSE YOU ARE CRAZY. 😉 matt\_mcl ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/117 "2011-01-17T18:35:16Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Obligatory link to the [Lesser Known IKEA Products](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=81396) thread. 🙂 Ha! I need to get me that IKEA ARGUMENT, the handy fold out sofa. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/118 "2011-01-18T05:09:22Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > No, it’s more like the stereotypical busy American who, if she wished to browse, would choose village shops over a huge warehouse full of cheap shit she doesn’t need or want. What sort of quaint village shops do you buy your furniture in in metro Cincinnati? > [@PunditLisa](#): > > Malls are out. Seriously. Malls, meaning large, enclosed buildings with dozens of stores are on the wane. Malls, meaning open-air collections of the same stores you’d find in an enclosed mall are becoming more commonplace. Examples: [ul][li][Shops at Wiregrass](http://www.theshopsatwiregrass.com/go/dirListing.cfm?FL=all)[_][Lakeside Village](http://www.shoplakesidevillage.net/?url=directory/)[_][Winter Park Village](http://www.shopwinterparkvillage.net/?url=directory/)[/ul][/li] I’d assume every Doper in a decent metro area could name at least one of these having opened in the last few years somewhere near them. Just because they have sidewalks instead of tile floors and street parking along the storefronts doesn’t mean they’re not malls. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/119 "2011-01-18T05:37:54Z")
Oh, and I forgot to answer the thread title: Love it. I’m sitting in a room that I’m redoing. Currently I have a GISLEV rug on the floor. Next door in the bedroom, it’s further along. There’s a BILLY bookcase (with some MOTORP baskets), a LAIVA TV stand, a MALM nightstand (with a set of SKUBB drawer dividers), a BASISK floor lamp, a BASISK table lamp, and an EGEBY runner. There’s another EGEBY in the hall between. In the bathroom, there are two TOFTBO bath mats. In the living room, there are 2 EXPEDIT 2x2 shelves (with 3 KNIPSA baskets), a TRAMPA mat by the front door and by the back door, and a RANSBY mat under the coffee table, and on the coffee table there’s a ROTERA lantern and a HULTET bamboo dish. There’s another RANSBY, a couple sets of PRUTA storage containers, a FÖRNUFT flatware set tossed in with the rest of the silverware, and an ORDNING silverware caddy in the kitchen. In addition, I have a total of 4 sets of DVALA bedsheets for the beds in the house. The stuff at IKEA is affordable and goes together quicker and better than any other assembly furniture I’ve ever dealt with. And since it’s affordable, I don’t feel like I have to agonize over everything because I can just swap it out in a couple years if it’s not working. IKEA is – for me – not somewhere I just run into. I need at least a couple hours, cause I have to eat at the restaurant and linger through the showrooms to get ideas. I’m going for a new computer desk at some point soon and I’m genuinely looking forward to it. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2011, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343/120 "2011-01-18T09:47:56Z")
I don’t like IKEA because: [ul] [li]I have a bad sense of direction. The first time I went, I got lost in the maze and felt like I would never get out.[/li] [li]I don’t want to buy a bookcase named JJiliiillismimiciiimm.[/li] [li]I don’t want to spend hours assembling a cheap looking bookcase.[/li] [li]I don’t like when the cheap bookcase starts bending and warping if you put any kind of weight on it.[/li][/ul] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ikea-love-it-or-hate-it/567343.md?page=7)