What are your opinions for Ikea and what Ikea sells? (discount, Wal-mart)

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by grimace8

i don't call ikea modern. i call it "collegiate casual contemporary"

modern is stuff like dwr.com , (which is not my cup of tea personally)

Funny, it looks just like the furniture you can get at Ikea ...

[grimace8]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

Funny, it looks just like the furniture you can get at Ikea ...

the folks at dwr would probably have a cow if they heard that. i think dwr's stuff is fugly, as i do most hyper-modern furniture (and that's the category they fall into)(my style is emotional/artistic/sublime, casual colorful). i'd sooner shop at ikea than at dwr. i hope you're not insinuating that i'm promoting them with the raised eyebrow face. i am certainly not. i'm trying to show jersey girl what modern truly is.

[himain]

Ikea rocks.

[younglisa7]

Ikea is a really cool place to walk through and window shop at least once in your life. I have been in two of their store and the first time I got a pair of lamps...great price. The second time I got a really cool counter fitting cutting board.

I wouldn't go out of my way to find one but I will check one out again in about 5 more years

[fruitlassie]

Originally Posted by Thepastpresentandfuture

That is a bit of a surprise to me. I thought plenty of people in Germany (At least in Berlin/Leipzig/Hamburg/Cologne/Stuttgart etc.) were supporters of local independent home products stores that is not Ikea. Did you live in one of those places I mentioned in Germany?

I lived in Berlin, which had 3 IKEA stores in the metro area. It's a city with a lot of people on limited budgets, particularly young people. They have a few other chain furniture stores, some more trendy/modern & some selling cheap but less stylish stuff. Lots of antique/secondhand stores too. Maybe the wealthier German cities like Stuttgart & Munich are less in love with IKEA...

[Ketabcha]

I'm not in love with the furniture at IKEA but I do love to wander around and look at the gadgets and such. I like their solid wood utensil trays. I find bargains galore by just nosing around. I think it is a fun store. Plus, I really love the salmon in the cafeteria.

[persnicketygal]

An Ikea is about 30 minutes down the highway, near a bunch of other stores. If I have a household storage problem and need to come up with a "hack," I'll browse around.

I've had Lack shelves (those "floating" things). Sold them on Craigslist.

I've purchased the Lack storage towers. Sold one of them on Craigslist. Have come to hate them -- they're black. PITA to keep dust-free. But they're useful in the guestroom -- framed photos, knickknacks, books.

And I've had those Parsons-shaped Lack tables. Not horrible.

I think some of their stuff is for keeping just for a couple years, until you find what you REALLY want -- and until you can afford to spend the money for sturdier or better-built stuff. The only piece of true furniture I have from Ikea is a small kitchen buffet with glass doors. It probably took me longer to put together than an Ikea team could do it, cuz I was doing it myself.

I like browsing the Marketplace-type items. But I'm at the point where my house has what I need, so I don't really end up buying. But I still look forward to when the new catalog comes out!

One of my sisters loves Ikea -- a vacation place was nearly completely outfitted with Ikea stuff. No reason to spend tons of money there.

(For folks who've shopped Ikea, an idea for you: Watch the movie "The Devil Wears Prada" and see how many Ikea products you can identify in the apartment that the Anne Hathaway character has!)

[persnicketygal]

And one more thing: I hate the carts at Ikea -- those wheels that go in every direction, supposedly so you can maneuver it more easily when it's full of stuff. You just can't make a 90-degree right turn without the back wheels going in another direction!

[himain]

I don't agree with people saying their furniture doesn't last. I've had an Ikea bedroom set for almost 4 years now and no problems even through numerous moves. I also have their coffee tables and side tables. Can't beat them for $30 and $10 a piece!

[RockyCity]

My decor is basically higher end than Ikea. That said, I love Ikea, and it supplements my modern decor that is in place. The beauty is that you can freshen up a place with new pieces, and its not gonna cost an arm and leg. I have to agree that some items are "cheap", but alot of what Ikea sells is good value and combined with higher end furniture, it seems that you wouldnt be able to tell whether you spent $40 or $400 for a piece of furniture.