Is IKEA a reliable store?

[Groffy77]

I want to buy these things from IKEA for my room..

- MALM Bed

- SULTAN LIEN Bed base

- MALM 6 drawer chest

- MALM 2 drawer chest

- MIKAEL Desk

In other words, I want to buy all the furniture for my room from IKEA. Can anyone give me reviews of IKEA furniture or the furniture above and wether or not I will be happy with it for the next 3 years until I go to college?

ALSO, the shipping on IKEA is like $248.. which is quite a lot. Does anyone know of any other way I can get the furniture without paying that huge shipping price. I would go to a store, but the closest IKEA store to me is in Long Island, which is 7 hours away from me.

Thanks!

[b0m8er]

Ikea's furniture is good (Y)

Don't know anything about shipping though... I always to go my local store, instead of shopping online. Furniture is not something I'll shop online for ;)

[gfsdgfsdgfshgdgd]

IKEA makes very nice stuff - can be a bit pricey but worth it. As for the shipping, there's not really any way to avoid the shipping costs apart from going to a store - it is heavy furniture, so it's always gonna be expensive...

[Rappy Veteran]

Ikea do some nice stuff...tho we had some chairs from Ikea in my old flat that when the first person sat on them they broke :laugh:

[sundayx Veteran]

Is IKEA a reliable store you ask? A majority of North Americans rely on IKEA for their furniture. You decide.

[cyclingplatypus]

I've never had any problems with furniture from their stores.

[X@vier]

Ikea stuff is good for the first year or so, after that u better get something new because it will start to fall apart on u.

~X

[BGM]

well let me see, that first bed is only $149, thats only like ?80

you get what you pay for in the world of furniture and i would certainly want to spend alot more then ?80 on a bed!!

I only like IKEA for little things like, shelves, plates, decoration and maybe the odd chair

i would not go to IKEA to buy my main furniture, especially beds and sofas

[Shof]

what part of ny you live in?

[Galley]

I have a queen-sized MALM bed in black-brown color, along with the matching nightstands. The side rails on the bed are approx. 3" thick, and the headboard is close to 2" thick. Sure, it's particle board covered in a veneer, but it's pretty good quality stuff. My friend has had the same bed for two years. His has seen quite a bit of "action", and it has held up well. :whistle:

[Groffy77]

I live near the Rochester area, so about 5 hours-ish from the IKEA store in Long Island.

Galley, do you own the MALM nightstand that attaches to the bed's headboard? If you do.. does it give you as much room as a normal night stand?

[Samboini]

IKEA = MDF! It looks nice but it isn't designed to last for an overtly long time. Consider it 'fashionable furniture for less' but as someone else said, you get what you pay for. There shelves are generally good though, although I can't comment on their beds.

[dreamz Veteran]

IKEA makes very nice stuff - can be a bit pricey but worth it.

ikea furniture is cheap. lower quality (e.g., an ikea bedframe can't even be compared to a bedframe you might find elsewhere), but lower cost, too.

i'm not saying ikea is bad. i'm just saying it's very inexpensive, but it's also on the lower end of the scale.

i do have ikea furniture, but that's because i didn't want to spend a lot to furnish my first apartment and i don't really care about furniture at this point in my life.

[MrKuro]

^-- what the last two guys said . . . . You get what you pay for.

for me things like lamps, some shelves, odds and ends things . . shop at ikea

but for other funiture (beds, couch, etc) i prefer to get more quality (and expensive) things elsewhere.

[Denis W. Veteran]

There shelves are generally good though, although I can't comment on their beds.

My parents bought this twin-sized bed from IKEA when I was born. It's still all in one piece and going strong.

I also have this wooden desk (sorry, I completely forgot its Swedish name) from 1997 that's still in use. Last month we picked up this POANG chair. There are also some green sofas that were dragged and abused to hell, so much so that one of them is missing its rear leg. So yeah, there's a fair bit of stuff from IKEA. My parents seem to swear by their stuff.

Now on the other hand, this bed from Sears with drawers beneath it... ugh. It already cracked halfway. Cheap sawdust-framed piece of crap.

[DrunkenMaster]

ikea furniture is cheap. lower quality (e.g., an ikea bedframe can't even be compared to a bedframe you might find elsewhere), but lower cost, too.

i'm not saying ikea is bad. i'm just saying it's very inexpensive, but it's also on the lower end of the scale.

i do have ikea furniture, but that's because i didn't want to spend a lot to furnish my first apartment and i don't really care about furniture at this point in my life.

I'm going to be in a simlar spot soon ... first apartment and need to furnish as i'm moving a long distance. I think for everyone interested if you shop around a bit, you can some really good deals at 'smaller stores'. My folks were looking around for new furniture. I helped them look around and found an ad in a newspaper for a new store. Bought the chairs from that store at a great price. The chairs were 1/2 the price of Ikea, of better quality, more comfortable and in 'high end' stores compared to similar chairs worth $500+ each. Just a thought.

And if you go to a smaller shop (not the expensive, exclusive stuff) work out a deal. Try and get 2% or 5% off if you buy more than one item. It usually works and save coin.

[JAbad28]

IKEA is very reliable! The Bed "MALM Bed" my sister has it and it look's great! Very low to the ground but great!

Also the MIKAEL desk, my dad has that downstairs and it's a pretty big desk, definitely reccommend it!

I don't know about the other products though.

[number13]

I have this whole set, in a different color though (medium brown). Looks great. I would recommend IKEA.

[tiagosilva29]

I have a small office completely IKEA-furnished and everything is still as new.

[Hak Foo]

I have a small office completely IKEA-furnished and everything is still as new.

Of their desks, there are certain ranges (i. e. the 'Jerker' range which are SIGNIFICANTLY more sturdy in design). Some of their desks will say "rated to 30kg" and some say "rated to 90kg". If you have a PC and a 21" CRT on it, that's a big difference.

[.Markus]

Being Swedish, I can only condone the use of Ingvar Kamprad Elmaryd Agunnaryd! ;)

I've got quite some stuff from their stores aswell, such as a chest-of-drawers and other miscellaneous items..

[evo0o]

it's good. i use quite a few items from ikea in my home.

(fight club influence? :p)

[Groffy77]

Thanks so much for your reviews! It has helped a lot.

As for searching other stores, I have done that.. and IKEA being the last resort I think I might go with it since I am on a low budget and I don't use my furniture heavily so I think I'll be fine. I looked at furniture in Pottery Barn, but beds are $2000+ and they aren't even solid wood usually. They have some nice stuff, but I like IKEA just as well!

As for the shipping, am I risking anything by buying the furniture all at once and mabye not liking it and having to return it for a huge price.. ? Should I take my chances or should I take a long drive to Long Island? lol

[Dick Montage]

Ikea has pretty much 2 very distinctive ranges:

1) Cheap and cheerful. Make your pad look trendy and vaguely generic. Funky in the same way that everybody else thinks their pad is funky. Furniture should last a few years. Easy to put together.

2) Quite expensive but VERY well made. A lot of "customisable" designs. Classy in the way that you see classy pads in films and on TV. Will last a long time. Pain in the ass to build.

Either way I love Ikea stuff and have a mixture of both from the above. You can use a lot of what they sell in "different" ways - not just how they show you.

But as for returns, I don't buy things thinking I may not like them. If I don't already like it, I don't buy it. I would say rent a truck and take the drive - shopping at Ikea is actually quite good fun, and their meatballs and Dime bar cake are to die for!

[40420_1437839287]

As njlouch said, IKEA has a variety of ranges.

There's the cheaper stuff and the good stuff.

I've got bedroom furniture from IKEA which is coming up to 4 years of use, and that includes abuse at the hand of my 2 year old daughter, and a complete house move.

All the wardrobes fitted back together with no problems, and the bed (Malm) is sturdy as anything.

If you shop around the high streets you get the small stores ad the big stores, and each has advnatges anddisadvantages, but at the end of the day, its what suits your taste that matters the most.