Ikea?

[jwb123]

IKEA is good for students and those starting out - but the furniture is generally cheap (mainly particle board - they do have some all-wood items) and doesn't hold up well when you move. It is, however, stylish looking.

I am so thankful we are out of the IKEA phase, but when my husband and I were just starting out, it was a cheap and attractive way to furnish our first apartment.

Our little boys have dressers and beds from IKEA, since I know they can be rough with it, and they will quickly grow out of it in a few years.

I do like some of their organizational items and knick knack stuff.

[carolinajack]

Ikea rocks!!! we have 2 here in Philly and cant get enough of them, think i will go to night

[okaydorothy]

I love Ikea
The reason ; I cant reason spending lots of money on furniture that my two boys will wreck. So most of our house s furnished from Ikea. Also by the time you are tired of looking at it, it has served you for about 10 years. I fyou bought more expensive furniture one would want to change it after about 10 years anyhow.

dorothy

[tiggywink]

Ikea also has so many other things in their Marketplace--kitchen stuff, plants, framed art---our dishes are from Ikea, and they're wonderful and cheap!

[mbuszu]

Originally Posted by Mr.Smith

Hey guy's, i've been hearing about this huge furniture store called Ikea. It's opening this fall in Orlando, and need some info on prices of furniture their.

LOL - ok none of the other replies thus far are like mine. I went from being a huge IKEA fan to just 18 months and 2 moves later feeling completely the opposite. IKEA furniture "looks good" initially, and I will go so far as to state that if you don't move it or have kids or pets, it likely will continue to look good for a while. However, all and I mean all of our IKEA furniture died pretty quickly on my wife and I. We even had professional movers for both moves and honestly, we're not hard on our furniture... but the cheap materials used eventually sag and/or break. I cannot and will not endorse IKEA anymore because of this. At first my wife and I told all of our friends and family about the savings we experienced... but then just a couple years later we ended up buying new bedroom, living room, and office furniture from a different manufacturer. Seriously, if you're looking for something that lasts, consider looking at anything made out of real wood or metal/glass.

[EricD]

I think it all depends on what you buy. My wife and I found a line of solid wood furnature from IKEA we liked. It might be pine, but it's still solid wood. Those pieces I think will hold up, but even if they scratch, we were able to buy a can of stain from IKEA that we can use to stain any scratches to match the rest of the set. Also we have purchased a few rugs from IKEA, and they are holding up very well. It's probably not as good if you buy some of the plastic items, or cheaper pieces of furnature, but it's all relative.

Don't forget that you have to put it together yourself, and if you don't put it together right the first time, it can screw up the whole thing.

But you are right... if you want something that'll last a long time, you should get something else... stanley or hooker or something. But, if you're just starting out, and don't mind having to replace the peice down the road, IKEA is a great deal.

[domergurl]

I'm still using my first set of dishes from Ikea that were send to me in 1992 from somewhere out east when I had my first apartment in Chicago (before Ikea came to Chicago)

[pointermom]

We just bought our laminate flooring at IKEA. We were going to buy it at Costco, because they prices are already low and they were having a special. But we got it cheaper at Ikea!
I wish it was around when I got my first place.
WARNING - you have to put everything together yourself and sometimes it seems like you need an engineering degree.
Awesome store. Wait and shop there and give yourself a lot of time. Plan on lunch

[Ohiogirl81]

Two words: Lingonberry preserves.

[eyesis]

I remodeled my kitchen two and half years ago using Ikea cabinets and they are sturdy enough to withstand 4-5 teenage boys. (My house is the hang out.) Not only are they sturdy, the upper cabinets are easy to hang. You put them together and then suspend them from a rail. I opted for the laminate doors because I knew they would be tougher than wood. There are two main drawbacks: they only come in certain sizes and since my house is 60 years old, nothing is standard size, so I had to compromise, like my sink is not directly centered under my window...I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but... The second thing is sometimes the fronts of the lower cabinets don't fit as flush as I think they should. But, for the price, it can't be beat. I would have spent well over 3,500.00 at Home Depot or Lowes to remodel the way I did using Ikea cabinets and I spent under $900.00. And, that includes driving 225 miles one way to visit the nearest Ikea! (Now with gas at 2.95, it would be a little more, but money would still be saved. Hope my ramblings helped!

rubytue: What countertop did you use? Is it from Ikea?