Calling all Ikea experts! (or Ikea beginners...)

[SandraVB79]

I can spend days and days and days at Ikea, and their catalogue is part of my favourite bed-reading

On April 3, I will get the keys to my new apartment, and during the past few weeks, I spent lots of time at Ikea. Call my future apartment dorm-style then, because it will have the Hopen bedroom and the Karlstad couch/ chair (not sure if they are sold in the US, but they are on www.ikea.be ).

Things to avoid at Ikea:
- everything that is textile (sheets, curtains, towels, ...)
- everything that seems too cheap to be true. In those cases, quality always sucks.

If you are on a budget, try to avoid spending too much time in their "shopping" department, where they sell all the small stuff like candles, vases, kitchen stuff, flatware/ tableware/ glasses, ... It all looks so nice (if you like their style) and it's not expensive

Out of experience: you go for 1 item, and you usually leave with a car filled with stuff

 

[Todd&Copper]

Things to avoid at Ikea:
- everything that is textile (sheets, curtains, towels, ...)
- everything that seems too cheap to be true. In those cases, quality always sucks.

I agree with this 100%!

I have a number of bookcases from IKEA, and my TV stand is from there, too. I didn't like their couches, beds or dining room sets. They have some good kitchen stuff (knives, glasses, plates, etc.) and some that are total carp.

Oh, and call me a blasphemer, but the meatballs were just so-so (I've had much better).

Have fun!

 

[Green Tea]

I just went for the first time expecting it to be a full day place. I was actually pretty disappointed after getting so excited. I was looking for pillows, maybe a rug, some window treatments. Very little selection of fabric goods actually.

 

[Green Tea]

Does anyone have kitchen cabinetry from Ikea? I did like one of their styles and the prices seemed to be pretty good. Any real world experience with this?

 

[SandraVB79]

Does anyone have kitchen cabinetry from Ikea? I did like one of their styles and the prices seemed to be pretty good. Any real world experience with this?

My brother has an Ikea kitchen. He has the least expensive white one from their kitchen series. My dad installed it, and he said that it seemed good quality, especially for that price. I don't know about the US, but here you have (I think) a 15 year warranty on the kitchen, so you know it will last for at least 15 years
The appartment I bought already has a kitchen that is too nice and new to throw out, but otherwise, I would also get an Ikea one.

My brother also has the Hopen bedroom, he has a leather couch (very nice, not expensive and also 10 years or so warranty), bookcases, ...

The couch I plan to buy costs 299 EUR. It has a 10 year warranty (or 15? it's long). So, if it lasts at least 10 years, it'll cost me 29.9 EUR per year to sit comfortable... That seems right to me.
ExBF spent 4000 EUR on a (c)ouch and I'm not sure it'll last longer or sits better or even looks nicer.

 

[Daxx]

The furniture is dorm room quality- I don't get why people rave about the place.

Which is why we bought all of DS's furniture there -- better that the Ikea stuff gets beat on than the Ethan Allen, wouldn't you agree? I find it's the perfect place for kids and teens (esp. those who like to redo their rooms often) as they can have fun picking neat things out for their bedrooms. They have some of the best lamps and quirky things for the kids and can really make a bedroom interesting at a good price.

The wonderfully sharp and sustaining yet inexpensive knives, my stupid plastic bag holder contraption, the cheapie colored pencils I give to my students and the other little cool things I can find there that don't cost an arm and a leg! I suppose those are a few reasons why I rave about Ikea.

 

[Daxx]

Does anyone have kitchen cabinetry from Ikea? I did like one of their styles and the prices seemed to be pretty good. Any real world experience with this?

My cousin's v. pricey loft in NYC has Ikea cabinetry and it is gorgeous!!!! I was v. surprised when I recognized that it was Ikea! She loves it and it looks wonderful. I'd put it in my kitchen in a heartbeat but the stuff is too modern for my kitchen.

 

[ZPT1022]

Things to avoid at Ikea:
- everything that is textile (sheets, curtains, towels, ...)

funny, because their bath sheets have been the only ones that seem to last in our house

 

[Green Tea]

I got a pack of traditional shaped but compact flourescent bulbs to put on our porch. They are so very very dim that they are unusable. I think I paid $9+ and they were horrible.

 

[LisaB]

I love Ikea. There is one in Stoughton that we go to. I have some pots and pans from them and this great magnet thing for my knives. I also have a down comforter that I absolutely love. We did most of our adult Christmas shopping there.

 

[SandraVB79]

funny, because their bath sheets have been the only ones that seem to last in our house

Problems that we have already encountered with Ikea textile (not saying every single product has it!):
- cotton textile (bed sheets, curtains, etc): They are starched, so the displayed items at the store look well, and the first time you use them at home, they look fine. And then they get washed. They are woven very loosely (not a high threda count) and without the starch, it's like a rag.
- Curtains that are premade: When you buy material and you make them at home, you make sure they are "straight"; it's cut straight, sewn straight, ... The ones you buy at Ikea are not straight at all. My mom once had to shorten some curtains for someone, it was nearly impossible to do a good job because of this. Btw, if curtains are not straight, they will never "fall" nicely, they will always "pull" one way or another.
- Towels: they don't fall apart soon, but they are often not woven straight. I embroider (machine) on towels, and it's hard to get them framed because of this.
There are different qualities in their towels however. In our store, the cheapest ones (they are so cheap I can only wonder if they are made through child slavery) look even worse than rags when they are new.
The nicest quality looks very nice, but are expensive, and then I prefer to spend the same amount of money on "brand name" towels.

Also, the ones sold in the US can be completely different as over here. As a matter of fact, tonight or so, I'll see if they have a US website, and browse through it. Who knows, maybe the whole collection is different!
(i browsed through the website from France and The Netherlands, some items are considerably cheaper over there, so i'm going to drive there and buy them there.)

(can you tell I'm from a family where we work a lot with textile?)

 

[BethanyF]

If you are on a budget, try to avoid spending too much time in their "shopping" department, where they sell all the small stuff like candles, vases, kitchen stuff, flatware/ tableware/ glasses, ... It all looks so nice (if you like their style) and it's not expensive

That's my favorite department

Although, as I look around, I see lots of IKEA stuff in my house. My computer desk, coffee table, TV stand, and CD/DVD storage. I also have a bookcase that is big enough to hold my scrapbooks (outside dimensions of the books are about 13x15 so it's hard to find shelves they fit on) Oh, and the print above my sofa from there too (it's the sepia toned tulips)

The meatballs are blah IMO. Although I do like some of the cookies they sell in the grocery area. And we almost always get a soft-serve ice cream before we leave.

As long as you realistically check out the quality, some of it is much better than the rest, you won't be disappointed.

Im excited to read the good reports, so far, on the cabinets. DH and I have been eyeing the white panel/clapboard looking cabinets.

 

[SandraVB79]

That's my favorite department

Although, as I look around, I see lots of IKEA stuff in my house. My computer desk, coffee table, TV stand, and CD/DVD storage. I also have a bookcase that is big enough to hold my scrapbooks (outside dimensions of the books are about 13x15 so it's hard to find shelves they fit on) Oh, and the print above my sofa from there too (it's the sepia toned tulips)

The meatballs are blah IMO. Although I do like some of the cookies they sell in the grocery area. And we almost always get a soft-serve ice cream before we leave.

As long as you realistically check out the quality, some of it is much better than the rest, you won't be disappointed.

Im excited to read the good reports, so far, on the cabinets. DH and I have been eyeing the white panel/clapboard looking cabinets.

I think we both shop the same way at Ikea. The "market" part is my favourite, I need the ice cream after a visit, and it seems you have some of the same items as I have!

I love Ikea, about every Saturday, after patisserie class, I go in and shop a little. I try to not buy every time but well...

 

[grlpwrd]

I usually look through the catalog before heading out. I get it mailed to me me every year.

My dh lives just around the corner from an IKEA in Baltimore. Ugh lol - we need one here.

I got most of my stuff used because I like real wood, but I have bought bookshelves and stuff from them. It's not heirloom furniture, but it'll do.

Have fun!

 

[Mono~rail]

Here's my IKEA idea for the day: Look at IKEA catalogs for design ideas and paint existing furniture to look like stuff purchased from IKEA.

Dh thinks the stuff is cheap junk and he won't buy any of the furniture. He's looked at the cabinets, and he thinks they are sturdy enough quality. I wanted to rip out our entire kitchen and re-do with IKEA cabinets, but he said "No way. No how. Get over it." As much as it sucks for me, it is his kitchen and money too so he has input. We both are into the IKEA "look."

I picked up some catalogs last time we went a few weeks ago, and I've come up with a design idea using our existing cabinets. I forget the name of the line, but it is one of the free-standing kitchen designs - very European and modern which we both like. The cabinets look like a light honey oak (which our cabinets are), and the drawer fronts and cabinet doors are white. My plan is to take down our cabinet doors and paint them white and leave the cabinet structures the honey oak wood. I'll replace the outdated looking brass pulls with chrome IKEA pulls. To expand my counter space, I'm planning to buy one of the 52" free-standing cabinets with counter top already on. Above that, dh will install some of the IKEA chrome metal shelving for extra storage space.

Our kitchen is in a family room so it is one big open space. The family room has a big, built in entertainment cabinet along one wall that is very dated 70's. I'm planning to paint it a glossy black (an ikea design style) and replace the 70's brass hardware with new chrome IKEA hardware. I also hava coffee table that I will paint glossy black.

My budget for the entire family room/kitchen re-do is $1,000. I'm so excited, but I'm not sure when we'll be able to get started. I'm ebaying again to make extra money for the project so it doesn't have to come out of our Disney money.

 

[SandraVB79]

I did something like that. I ordered all kinds of furniture catalogs, of cheap and expensive brands (some very very very expensive brands). I looke dthrough all of them, and found some things I liked in the expensive ones. Then I tried to find cheaper alternatives at Ikea or the like.
What I also like or the "big" pictures they have of rooms. Sometimes they combine weird colours, or they use items for something else than they were designed for, and it looks wonderful, but it's something you wouldn't have thought of yourself.

It inspires me
Maybe that one day, after I'm a patisserie chef, that I'll start studying interior design or so...

 

[grlpwrd]

Here's my IKEA idea for the day: Look at IKEA catalogs for design ideas and paint existing furniture to look like stuff purchased from IKEA.

Dh thinks the stuff is cheap junk and he won't buy any of the furniture. He's looked at the cabinets, and he thinks they are sturdy enough quality. I wanted to rip out our entire kitchen and re-do with IKEA cabinets, but he said "No way. No how. Get over it." As much as it sucks for me, it is his kitchen and money too so he has input. We both are into the IKEA "look."

I picked up some catalogs last time we went a few weeks ago, and I've come up with a design idea using our existing cabinets. I forget the name of the line, but it is one of the free-standing kitchen designs - very European and modern which we both like. The cabinets look like a light honey oak (which our cabinets are), and the drawer fronts and cabinet doors are white. My plan is to take down our cabinet doors and paint them white and leave the cabinet structures the honey oak wood. I'll replace the outdated looking brass pulls with chrome IKEA pulls. To expand my counter space, I'm planning to buy one of the 52" free-standing cabinets with counter top already on. Above that, dh will install some of the IKEA chrome metal shelving for extra storage space.

Our kitchen is in a family room so it is one big open space. The family room has a big, built in entertainment cabinet along one wall that is very dated 70's. I'm planning to paint it a glossy black (an ikea design style) and replace the 70's brass hardware with new chrome IKEA hardware. I also hava coffee table that I will paint glossy black.

My budget for the entire family room/kitchen re-do is $1,000. I'm so excited, but I'm not sure when we'll be able to get started. I'm ebaying again to make extra money for the project so it doesn't have to come out of our Disney money.

I just wanted to add that there's even a blog about recreating using IKEA stuff: http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/ whoa lol

 

[palmtreegirl]

I love Ikea! It's a lot of fun just to wander around and explore, make sure and get the meatballs, they're yummy. I say count on spending a least 2 hours in the store.

 

[Kies99]

Another Pittsburgher here.

You can spend 2-3 hourse relatively easy. Especially if you eat there and are the type to "try-out" everything. I go maybe every six weeks and can spend an hour easily.

My personal favorite is the "As/Is" section. It's on the lower level to the the side of the registers. I always hit that first. I've gotten AMAZING deals in there on floor models, scratched items or stock they are clearing out. Only problem is that a lot of it is already assembled so you need to have room. Go in the "Out" door and it's just past the registers on the left.

Anyway, if you're going there is A LOT to do right around Ikea. There is the Mall at Robinson (pretty nice mall with a Disney Store ). There is a Target, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Costco, So-on and so-on.

If you're looking for places to eat, I suggest Bahama Breeze. Great "Tropical" atmosphere for cold and dreary days (Ropa Joe Sandwhich is FANTASTIC!!). I also recommend the Robinson Clubhouse (http://www.robinsonclubhouse.com/). I call it "Chuck-E-Cheese for adults". It's basic food, but good.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Does anyone have kitchen cabinetry from Ikea?

We are about to do our kitchen over using IKEA cabinets. I've researched them and they are as good if not better than similar level cabinets from places like Lowe's or Home Depot. In fact, Consumer Reports rated them very highly in their class. (There have also been Dis threads on the subject.) We're doing a whole house remodel which forces us to be budget conscious. But regardless, I absolutely love the ones I've picked out anyway and they have tons of cool accessories to go with them. My DH took cabinet making in school and he likes them very much too, can install them, etc. Can't wait.

Things to avoid at Ikea:
- everything that is textile (sheets, curtains, towels, ...)

The only textiles I've bought are the pillows I pictured in my first post. They are very high quality and have totally brightened up a room.