Ikea is much better quality in Sweden. The stuff here is both inexpensive and cheap. We bought all our glasses their incollege, and after breaking a couple, we learned our lesson. Their glass shatters into glass dust that is a huge PITA to clean up. The rest of their kitchen stuff wears out very quickly.

I've bought some very decent wool rugs there, but they don't seem to have any good ones lately.

We've got several Billy bookshelves, and recently graduated our TV to a "real" console table and retired the Ikea one. A lot of their furniture is a very nice size for small DC apartments and houses.

There's no real catch to Ikea: it's very inexpensive, sometimes easy and sometimes hard to assemble, made in China, and doesn't last or hold up well. You get what you pay for.

One conceivable downside of Ikea is that it is meant to be semi disposable (think back to the sad lamp on the curb ad -one of the greatest ads ever). Some may not like that idea. That being said, we have some Ikea furniture that's lasted for years. Much of it is in our summer house now including some chairs that are over 20 years old. We just recently got rid of some Hemnes stuff that we'd had for more than 20 years. The only reason we gave it away was that we no longer had space for it.

Anonymous wrote:OP here, so IKEA is generally okay. There is no catch?

The flat packing allows for cheaper transport and lower prices. Some of their stuff is excellent quality, others less so. I've had ikea furniture which has made it through 3 cross country moves in a pod.

OP here, so IKEA is generally okay. There is no catch?

Anonymous wrote:Ikea does have some solid wood products. Hemnes line is one.

But is it super high-quality? No.

They carry a lot of solid wood furniture, but the only wood they use is pine. Pine wood grows fast and is a soft wood. The advantage is that it is more environmentally sustainable than other solid wood, but the disadvantage is that it's easier to get dented.
Also, the furniture is not assembled, which saves on price.

I love Ikea, although for me it's a nostalgic thing and I don't buy much there anymore (I grew up in Europe). My kids love it too, they run around the showroom and always ask to eat in the cafeteria.

Now they use particleboard with less off-gassing formaldehyde, but it's still heavy and prone to dents, so I buy the solid wood furniture, Hemnes.

The only room in our house without one piece of ikea furniture currently is our dining room.

I love their dressers. We actually just got a used one for our daughter to replace the pottery barn one that we got for her nursery (bought it at the outlet, though) that we now hate with a passion.

We have ikea furniture in my son's room. It's great. He's 12. I love the stuff. It's not in my living room, but it does have its place.

The wood is harvested from Chernobyl. It is super cheap b/c it is readioactive.

Ikea does have some solid wood products. Hemnes line is one.

But is it super high-quality? No.

A big part of their business model is that you put everything together yourself, so they don't have to charge as much. Also, they use that particle board material for all the "wood". I love Ikea, personally!

One way they were able to keep prices down in the past was using prison labor. Now I believe it's all made in China.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/17/business/global/ikea-to-report-on-allegations-of-using-forced-labor-during-cold-war.html?_r=0

Ikea is inexpensive, and made that way. It is mostly particle board, though higher quality. I think the thing is it jut shows how much of a markup is in some stores.

(I have graduated to hard wood stuff)

I don't have any of their furniture, but I do like to shop in the market place for cheap wine glasses, clothes hangers, and decorative glass pieces. Sometimes I will buy some wall art for my office. Oh...I do love my Expedit shelves to keep games and toys in order. I bought one for my office too.

I know, I have been hiding under a rock. I went to IKEA (College Park) for the first time last night to buy my daughter a dresser. We really enjoyed the experience and purchased much more than the dresser we went there to buy. What's the catch with this place? I know it's a Swedish company, but how can the sell such nice things so cheaply? The kitchen design showrooms were really beautiful. I definitely got a Costco feeling as I walked through--is that, it just buying power? I mean the store was absolutely packed and the line for the cafeteria was like being at a NFL game. I did try the Swedish meatballs, they were pretty good. What's the deal?