# What's so important about IKEA? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 25, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-important-about-ikea/256839 "2004-07-25T20:17:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-important-about-ikea/256839/41 "2004-07-26T21:39:47Z")
Butcher Block: $4 Complete set of drinking glasses: $5 Set of dishes: $7. That’s what I like about Ikea. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-important-about-ikea/256839/42 "2004-07-26T23:41:34Z")
I have never been into IKEA, though I don’t hate the store, either. It has always been a little too crowded/trendy for my tastes. I would rather buy better used furniture from the 30s - 80s (often quite cheap) than new cheapie stuff. ---
**Author:** ![tsarina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@tsarina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsarina)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-important-about-ikea/256839/43 "2004-07-27T15:36:55Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > [Canton 2006](http://www.detnews.com/2004/business/0403/26/b01-104154.htm) > > w00t! A warning to you: this may not happen after all. I read another article somewhere that said the Canton store is still in the planning stages, and they’re not completely sure about it yet. When they lay the cornerstone, that’s when we can start squeeing. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-important-about-ikea/256839/44 "2004-07-27T16:25:05Z")
> [@Trigonal Planar](#): > > Are Ikea’s new to the U.S. or something? I always hear about these big whiz-bang openings down there and I have to wonder. I live in Ontario and they’ve had Ikea’s up here for years and years. I remember playing in the ball pit when I was but a wee lad 🙂 Not new, just recently expanded. For years and years and years there were only something like four Ikeas here. Now there are a lot more and people are just discovering their meatball goodness. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-important-about-ikea/256839/45 "2004-07-27T17:04:30Z")
I’m currently sitting at a desk from Ikea. The top is made like a hollow door and the legs are heavy powder coated metal. Very strong, very cheap, and attractive. I could easily outfit my entire house from Ikea with stuff I like the look of. Some of the quality is not what you would want for the long term. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-important-about-ikea/256839/46 "2004-07-27T23:40:00Z")
I’m not wild about actually going to Ikea, especially on weekends, but when used judiciously, Ikea’s got some good stuff. Their orange-ish laminate finish on MDF (aka particle board) isn’t my cuppa tea, but I’ve got a ton of their Leksvik line at home. (Having carried it all up the stairs, I can confirm that we have a ton of it.) Other that stuff that’s going to be masonite in any brand of furniture, like the back of a cabinet, or a drawer bottom, this stuff is real wood. Another item that I’m quite pleased with is the Abo TV “bench” I got about three years ago, and apparently about two days before it was discontinued. It’s rated to hold all of 75 pounds, but it’s holding up my 305-pound TV with no complaints. Again, it’s wood and not MDF. About the only “duds” I’ve had there are some paper napkins (they were a green on green Xmas tree design) that bled their dye over any hand or face unfortunate enough to come in contact with them, and some leftover-storage containers. I don’t think I spent over four bucks for both the napkins and containers, so it’s really no big surprise or problem that they were crummy. And count me as another who’s happy with their customer service. I haven’t done anything as extreme as bring in a sack of sawdust and a couple of those quarter-turn thingies and say “This was supposed to be a dining room table” but I’ve never had the slightest quarrel out of them with returns or broken part exchanges, even when it was my fault that I managed to hit the wheel on the drawer slide with a hammer and break it off. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-important-about-ikea/256839/47 "2004-07-28T02:09:08Z")
I like IKEA because here in the middle of Saudi Arabia, it feels like a little island of Europe. Nice kitchen stuff and some throw rugs for the villa. ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-important-about-ikea/256839/48 "2004-07-28T05:40:45Z")
When you fly across half the United States before going to Ikea\*, it becomes a place that has to be seen. I’ll probably stop by once it opens in my area. There’s nothing that I’d find absolutely exciting, but I did like some of their silverware and storage implements. \< aside \> Why is it so hard to find Ikea? How do they hide a huge purple and yellow building so well? \< / aside \> \*Trip not made for the purpose of going to Ikea. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-important-about-ikea/256839/49 "2004-07-28T11:22:12Z")
> [@Trigonal Planar](#): > > Are Ikea’s new to the U.S. or something? I always hear about these big whiz-bang openings down there and I have to wonder. I live in Ontario and they’ve had Ikea’s up here for years and years. I remember playing in the ball pit when I was but a wee lad 🙂 The IKEA near me was one of the first, and it opened at least 14 years ago. My husband (then-boyfriend) and I had just moved in together and bought a kitchen table and chair set there. The chairs were rather flimsy (we only have two left) but the table’s as good as new. It’s in the basement now, being put to use as an art/drawing/craft table for the kids. ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-important-about-ikea/256839/50 "2004-07-28T11:42:25Z")
I hope IKEA is reading this… Come on you guys!! There are a billion of my countrymen and women just dying to get their hands on cheap, good looking furniture!! I’d ready to furnish my bachelorpad exclusively with your stuff, if you’d just get over here! ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-important-about-ikea/256839/51 "2004-07-28T12:35:50Z")
Are IKEA kitchen cabinets good quality? Some of their cabinests look a little flimsy…are they of reasonable quality? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-important-about-ikea/256839/52 "2004-07-28T22:13:25Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > The IKEA near me was one of the first, and it opened at least 14 years ago. Hell no. We bought a changing table for our second daughter at the Ikea outside of Philadelphia, and she’s 18 now. It was modular, and we are still using some of the pieces, which still look great. For my books, it is either the Billy bookcases or metal framing, which is awful. I’ve got lots of them, and never had a problem. I think I could supply a hardware store with the little Allen wrenches that come with them. I like putting them together. One finally opened less than 30 miles away, so I’m happy. But one warning - the stuff is heavy. When we redid my wife’s office, I was sure glad to have a truck to bring the stuff home. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-important-about-ikea/256839/53 "2004-07-28T22:52:51Z")
> [@gouda](#): > > I hope IKEA is reading this… Come on you guys!! There are a billion of my countrymen and women just dying to get their hands on cheap, good looking furniture!! I’d ready to furnish my bachelorpad exclusively with your stuff, if you’d just get over here! I hope they are too. There are only 4 million of us but we love buying STUFF. Please come to NZ IKEA…pretty please. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-important-about-ikea/256839.md?page=2)