Ikea Furniture Thoughts/Experiences

[donnajz]

My 20 y/o daughter fell in love with Ikea's Hemnes bedroom furniture so we are considering buying it for her 21st birthday gift. I have never purchased anything from Ikea so I am a bit hesitant. We looked at it in the store and it appears to be heavy -- the box for the twin size daybed she wants weights 240 lbs. I know this is not the best furniture but would want it to last her the next 5 or so years while she is home and then be able to keep it once her room is a spare bedroom.

My other concern is the assembly. I realize everything comes in a box and needs assembled.

If you have any experiences (good or bad) with Ikea, I would love to hear about them.

 

[ninecrayons]

We have a few items from Ikea. They can be very heavy items! Because of that, it can also be difficult to assemble alone.

I have found Ikea furniture to be reasonably durable. I've had bookcases from them for >15 years. We had a metal bed frame from them that we used for 10 years.

 

[Gorechick]

We have 4 malm dressers and a discontinued coffee table that were bought 8-10 years ago and are still going strong. They have a few bumps from going through a couple of moves, one cross country but are still in good shape.

 

[crisi]

My daughter has that set - its been a great set.

We paid to have it delivered and assembled.

 

[wiigirl]

I love Ikea.

 

[iluvallthingsdisney]

My 20 y/o daughter fell in love with Ikea's Hemnes bedroom furniture so we are considering buying it for her 21st birthday gift. I have never purchased anything from Ikea so I am a bit hesitant. We looked at it in the store and it appears to be heavy -- the box for the twin size daybed she wants weights 240 lbs. I know this is not the best furniture but would want it to last her the next 5 or so years while she is home and then be able to keep it once her room is a spare bedroom.

My other concern is the assembly. I realize everything comes in a box and needs assembled.

If you have any experiences (good or bad) with Ikea, I would love to hear about them.

Ikea furniture won't last forever but if you need it for 5 years, I think it could work for you. We have this bed. As far as Ikea building goes, this bed ranks up there on the difficulty scale. It will take many hours to assemble. Make sure to have a power screw driver or drill on hand. If you can't carry the box, you can order it off the website and have it delivered for a fee. Have the delivery people put the box in the garage and just take the pieces out one at a time. See this youtube video of the assembly process. Good luck with your decision!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkFdvk6uI2c

 

[donnajz]

My daughter has that set - its been a great set.

We paid to have it delivered and assembled.

Wonderful! I am curious which pieces you have and how much it cost to have it assembled????

 

[donnajz]

My daughter is tiny for 20 -- weighs only 97 lbs and is not hard on things at all. I was hoping to have this last for years but maybe that is not the case and we should look elsewhere. My daughter absolutely fell in love with the daybed though and will be heartbroken if we don't get it. I am not sure what to do.

 

[My2Qtz0205]

I just furnished my craft room with IKEA furniture. I have two Hemnes bookcases, the EXPEDIT 4x4 cubbies, and two 7 foot long adjustable-leg tables. Oh, I also have a storage bench and two storage carts. I needed help with the EXPEDIT, but everything else I did by myself.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

I can't think of a single room in our home that DOESNT have IKEA in it.

Our entire playroom, the kitchen, living room, bathrooms, all 4 bedrooms.

We have stuff thats almost 10 yrs old and it's in great shape.

We have stuff from IKEA Germany, pieces that they never sold in the US, that moved from Germany to Texas, and have moved 4 more times, including cross country.

We have the Hemnes dressers, the 3, 6 & 8 drawers and we love them, we've had them for 6 years and they are great. We would have purchased the bed also, but we already had a great bed, otherwise, we would have got it too. We also have 2 of the Hemnes mirrors, and night chest.

 

[geckodani]

We've got a bunch of IKEA furniture (MALM, EXPEDIT and HEMNES) and it's all holding up well. The HEMNES in particular is solid wood, not particle board, so it has a bit more longevity than some of the other pieces.

 

[smitch425]

We have several IKEA pieces in our home. Our tv stand is from the Hemnes line and it looks just like it did when we bought it 4 years ago. It has 3 drawers and we have a lot of heavy stuff in them and open and close them daily. They still glide as if they were brand new. I wouldn't hesitate to buy anything from that line. We also have a lot of LACK and EXPEDIT tables and shelving. Can't beat the price and they look brand new as well, even though they are 5 years old. I built all of our stuff myself, and it didn't take me long, but if you are not used to building things, you may need help.

 

[Eastern]

The pieces tend to be heavy because a lot of them are made of particle board with a thin veneer of wood.

I like Ikea for items that will get light use. Some pieces get better reviews than others, so google before you purchase. I would also advise that you sit on a chair or sofa before you buy it: don't just order it from the internet. Some of the seating pieces are pretty uncomfortable.

I currently have the Bjursta dining table in the medium brown color. It's a great basic table, but you need to cover it during heavy use (wet glasses, many people using it) or it can ding easily. It was $249 so I don't expect more than a few years from it; anything else is a bonus! If you take this attitude, you won't be disappointed.

 

[kim929]

I purchased this bed last year in the black finish http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S59931590/


I love it. It's sturdy, looks great, the only thing is with my box spring and mattress it makes it a very high bed I don't care but it might be an issue for some

ETA: when buying the bed you need to add an additional $40 for the slats that go across the bed, those are not included also I can't remember if I had to pay for a metal bar that goes down the middle of the bed, I think I did but can't say for sure

 

[JandJ]

I'm in my craft room/office right now surrounded by IKEA! I have 2 Liatorp bookcases and 3 Alex caster drawer units (1-5 years old). I'm considering the Liatorp desk, but it's a lot bigger than my current desk so I have to carefully measure. DH's "man cave" is completely done in Hemnes bookcases, sofa table, and TV unit (3 years old). It all looks brand new.

A bunch of DH's old IKEA pieces are still going strong - 12 years later. His computer desk is now his garage workbench - yes, an IKEA workbench - and he hammers and saws on it no problem. His old IKEA coffee table is now our oldest niece's coffee table; his old IKEA bookcase is now in my laundry room holding TONS of stuff; and his old IKEA metal bedframe is now our youngest niece's bed. Our oldest niece also bought an IKEA dining room set (table and 4 chairs) and that still looks great 6 years later.

On the flip side, when DH and I were married almost 8 years ago, we bought a bedroom set at Macy's. It's not solid wood, it's the same stuff most IKEA is made from. It's just us, we're not hard on furniture at all, but all of the finishes are wearing off and chipping. The drawers don't slide as nice as they used to, and it's just not that great. We paid a lot more for that set than we would have paid at IKEA and years later I probably would have been happier with the IKEA stuff.

I say go for it! Your DD likes it, it's not too expensive, and it will last beyond the 5 years you're hoping for it to last. It's not hard to put together, but it is very heavy, especially the Hemnes pieces because they're solid wood. They have a delivery/assembly option, which starts at $59 and goes up.

 

[bumbershoot]

I can't think of a single room in our home that DOESNT have IKEA in it.

Same here. Bathrooms, maybe.


I have a friend whose husband is an architect who builds LOTS of stuff on his own. For their bedroom, they went with Hemnes. I think that says something good about the line.

I"ve been putting Ikea furniture together since I was around 24; I've never found it to be particularly difficult. Can be time-consuming, and with a bedframe you'll need at least 2 people doing it, and you also need room to spread things out.


A friend of mine got the Hemnes daybed for the time when she had moved out of her marital home while they were having counseling; she didn't want to buy something big and expensive if they could work it out (and if they couldn't, well, their bed was from HER parents so she knew she would have that). She really liked it. She's on the smaller side so it fit her nicely once pulled out, and didn't take much room when it was put "away".


I won't buy mattresses or couches from Ikea (though the mattress warranty is a GREAT one), but I'll buy just about anything else. We have Billy bookcases that we've been dragging around for well over 10 years now, from apartment to apartment. Only one has broken and that's because it fell over during a move; it's the one that had glass doors on it, and in the fall the doors yanked out of the sides, so the whole thing was ruined. All the other things we've had from Ikea (not mattresses or couches though) has lasted and lasted.

 

[donnajz]

Thanks for all of your input. DD20 really LOVES the Hemnes in white..the daybed in particular. Since money is an issue, this does need to last while she is home at college, then as a spare bedroom set. While $1100 does not sound like much, to us it is a good bit of money that will not last like regular furniture. I love hearing from those of you who have had your Ikea furniture for 10 years and is still in good shape. I am so confused! I hate to disappoint her since she already picked it out and is so excited about it.

 

[crisi]

Wonderful! I am curious which pieces you have and how much it cost to have it assembled????

No memory on how much to have it assembled - they are independent contractors and it probably varies by region anyway.

We have the three drawer day bed (the trundle does not pull out easy on carpet). The secretary with a add on on top and a stand alone bookcase.

 

[GAGirlInVA]

We have several IKEA pieces and five children. It's been fine in my home for our daily use. (And we homeschool so our stuff gets used a bit more than other households.)

 

[savannahcat]

We have the Hemnes daybed in white with three drawers below. My DH put it together with only occasional help from me to flip or turn pieces toward the end. It took a couple of hours.

Ours is on carpet, and although the trundle is difficult to pull out, I'm still able to do it alone. It helps if you don't keep heavy items in the drawers. Overall, we are really happy with the purchase. My DD is 7 and I expect it to last at least until she graduates from high school.