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The IKEA appreciation thread
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2008-05-07, 13:28

Yeah, so, I'm planning on moving out sometime in the future (next summer, to be specific ), and I wanted to find out how much I should set aside to "do" my new room. So I went on an imaginary shopping spree at IKEA.com.

I got a bed, a mattress, a bedside table, a wardrobe, a bookshelf, a desk (with an add-on unit), a mesh chair with armrests, blinds, a quilt and two covers, a pillow and two pillowcases and two sheets...for $500.

$500.

My best friend (and future housemate) is planning on spending more than that on just a mattress (although, to be fair, she does have severe back problems). In fact, you could spend easily more than that on any one of the things I bought. But here's the kicker - she's getting her mattress from IKEA, too.

So I guess that's the cool thing about IKEA. It's not just that they have supercheap stuff. They have a whole variety of things at different price points, so that when you feel like splurging on something (half of that $500 went to the desk and chair) you can still get it on the same place on the same trip. If I wanted to, I could go even cheaper - below $400, easily - and outfit the room just the same. Or I could spend $1,000 or $5,000 or more. Whatever your budget is, IKEA expands itself, like a magical gas, to fill it. With plenty of $2 candle holders to fill in the cracks.

I hope we get an IKEA in Vegas soon. (IKEA has stated that they consider opening a store in a city once it reaches two million people, which we officially reached last year.) But even if we don't, we're planning on making a trip to the Burbank store when the time comes to outfit our place. (Yay flat-pack furniture!)

I could go on, but I won't. I suppose you either "get" IKEA or you don't. Like, I know that $20 bookshelf, or even that $125 desk, won't be an heirloom any time soon. But I don't think it really needs to be. That's not what IKEA is about. They have affordable furniture for where I'm at right now. And to be honest - I'll probably replace the furniture long before it wears out, anyway. Because I can. Because it's IKEA.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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PB PM
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Join Date: Oct 2005
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2008-05-07, 13:40

IKEA is a nice store, and hey they have cheap food so you could go there just to eat. I went to the one in the Vancouver area last fall, and that was interesting. Might have to make a trip back this fall, because I might move out and want a desk.
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Fahrenheit
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2008-05-07, 13:42

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roboman View Post
Yeah, so, I'm planning on moving out sometime in the future (next summer, to be specific ), and I wanted to find out how much I should set aside to "do" my new room. So I went on an imaginary shopping spree at IKEA.com.

I got a bed, a mattress, a bedside table, a wardrobe, a bookshelf, a desk (with an add-on unit), a mesh chair with armrests, blinds, a quilt and two covers, a pillow and two pillowcases and two sheets...for $500.

$500.

My best friend (and future housemate) is planning on spending more than that on just a mattress (although, to be fair, she does have severe back problems). In fact, you could spend easily more than that on any one of the things I bought. But here's the kicker - she's getting her mattress from IKEA, too.

So I guess that's the cool thing about IKEA. It's not just that they have supercheap stuff. They have a whole variety of things at different price points, so that when you feel like splurging on something (half of that $500 went to the desk and chair) you can still get it on the same place on the same trip. If I wanted to, I could go even cheaper - below $400, easily - and outfit the room just the same. Or I could spend $1,000 or $5,000 or more. Whatever your budget is, IKEA expands itself, like a magical gas, to fill it. With plenty of $2 candle holders to fill in the cracks.

I hope we get an IKEA in Vegas soon. (IKEA has stated that they consider opening a store in a city once it reaches two million people, which we officially reached last year.) But even if we don't, we're planning on making a trip to the Burbank store when the time comes to outfit our place. (Yay flat-pack furniture!)

I could go on, but I won't. I suppose you either "get" IKEA or you don't. Like, I know that $20 bookshelf, or even that $125 desk, won't be an heirloom any time soon. But I don't think it really needs to be. That's not what IKEA is about. They have affordable furniture for where I'm at right now. And to be honest - I'll probably replace the furniture long before it wears out, anyway. Because I can. Because it's IKEA.
This post bought to you IKEA International Group.

  quote
alcimedes
I shot the sherrif.
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2008-05-07, 13:43

Ugh. Funny. I can't *stand* IKEA.

Bunch of poorly made furniture from China that's built to be bought then tossed in 5 years.

All sorts of raw materials getting shipped all over the world at rock bottom prices in order to push extra sales to our throwaway society.

I'm not a hippie by any stretch, but to me the idea of using wood that was likely clear cut from asia at best, or shipped all the way from another continent to go into furniture that's built *not* to last, bothers me.

But, I don't want to crap all over your thread Robo, and I've been there so I completely understand.

Hope you enjoy the new digs.

Google is your frenemy.
Caveat Emptor - Latin for tough titty
I tend to interpret things in the way that's most hilarious to me
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2008-05-07, 13:48

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roboman View Post
And to be honest - I'll probably replace the furniture long before it wears out, anyway. Because I can. Because it's IKEA.
So sad.
  quote
Yontsey
*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2008-05-07, 13:51

I'm glad you started this thread. This morning I was looking online and through the catalog for stuff for my bedroom. I was looking at scrapping a lot of the crap that's in my pad and getting a new chest/dresser and some other stuff.

I was looking at their bed frames, which I really love the simplicity of, but they only appear to make room for a mattress and not a box spring. I have a great set up for my bed and am not willing to compromise the comfort I have, so I decided to scrap it.

I think once I get everything cleaned out in my room and this other room that I'm gonna turn into a personal music studio, I'm gonna have a lil spree. I want to redo my closets too, and they have some great stuff for that.

I'm like you Robo, I'm trying to only spend about $500 but I could spend much much more there.

How are their shipping charges? The nearest ones to me are in Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Cincinnati (I'm in Cleveland) so at minimum I'm looking at 5 hour round trip.

Die young and save yourself....
@yontsey
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cosus
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2008-05-07, 13:53

I love ikea, but I usually get swedish meatballs. Otherwise, when I'm on a tight budget for furniture, I use the cheaper alternative, craigslist. :P
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2008-05-07, 13:59

Quote:
Originally Posted by Farenheit View Post
This post bought to you IKEA International Group.

Hey, I said it was the IKEA appreciation thread. You expected it to not read like ad copy?

Quote:
Originally Posted by alcimedes View Post
Ugh. Funny. I can't *stand* IKEA.

Bunch of poorly made furniture from China that's built to be bought then tossed in 5 years.

All sorts of raw materials getting shipped all over the world at rock bottom prices in order to push extra sales to our throwaway society.

I'm not a hippie by any stretch, but to me the idea of using wood that was likely clear cut from asia at best, or shipped all the way from another continent to go into furniture that's built *not* to last, bothers me.

But, I don't want to crap all over your thread Robo, and I've been there so I completely understand.

Hope you enjoy the new digs.
I know IKEA is not perfect, but they seem to be trying. And yes, everyone is "trying" to be environmentally hip these days, but IKEA started before it was cool, so they might actually mean it. Maybe.

Things like their complex (yet strangely fascinating) tax avoidance strategy do bother me, but it's hard to argue with their product...or their prices.

Like I said, I realize IKEA furniture is far from heirloom-quality. The thing is, in five years I'd like to be in another state (hell, maybe even another country), and buying new furniture (guess where...) would be cheaper than moving my old stuff. If having furniture I could pass down to future generations (or having future generations, period) was a priority for me, I probably wouldn't like IKEA so much. But I actually wouldn't like having tens of thousands of dollars invested in heavy heirloom furniture (even if I had the money), because that would just weigh me down. It would be a lot harder to move, and at this point in my life, I don't like feeling tied to any particular place (especially Vegas).

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
  quote
Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2008-05-07, 14:06

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yontsey View Post
I'm glad you started this thread. This morning I was looking online and through the catalog for stuff for my bedroom. I was looking at scrapping a lot of the crap that's in my pad and getting a new chest/dresser and some other stuff.

I was looking at their bed frames, which I really love the simplicity of, but they only appear to make room for a mattress and not a box spring. I have a great set up for my bed and am not willing to compromise the comfort I have, so I decided to scrap it.
Their beds tend to use slatted bases instead of box springs. Which, like you said, keeps it simple.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yontsey
I think once I get everything cleaned out in my room and this other room that I'm gonna turn into a personal music studio, I'm gonna have a lil spree. I want to redo my closets too, and they have some great stuff for that.

I'm like you Robo, I'm trying to only spend about $500 but I could spend much much more there.

How are their shipping charges? The nearest ones to me are in Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Cincinnati (I'm in Cleveland) so at minimum I'm looking at 5 hour round trip.
Their shipping charges are, um, not as cheap. Flat pack or not, it's still furniture we're talking about. But if you're doing two whole rooms and some closets, I think it would totally be worth the trip. Make a day of it, eat at the IKEA restaurant, live la vida IKEA for a day.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
  quote
Xaqtly
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2008-05-07, 15:03

This clip is relevant to this topic. But it would be worth it anyway just for the sentence "I feel like I was mauled by Jesus."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm8Zha0LSc8
  quote
BuonRotto
Not sayin', just sayin'
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2008-05-07, 15:07

IKEA is very good for stuff like kitchen cabinets and shelves, no better than Target for blase bookcases, sofas and knock-off table designs, and their light fixtures are positively awful! I will go there for some stuff, but given al the hype and adoration, the company's wares are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay overrated.
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Capella
Dark Cat of the Sith
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
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2008-05-07, 15:38

I wish there was an IKEA less than 2 hours from my house, but sadly there isn't. I don't want furniture though; I want their very-cheap down blankets (which have warmth ratings, which is good, as I get cold extraordinarily easily and thus prefer to know just how warm a blanket will be before I buy it.). Sadly, their rated-5-or-above don't seem to be purchasable online.

Next time I'm in Orlando, though...

"A blind, deaf, comatose, lobotomy patient could feel my anger!" - Darth Baras
twitter ; amateur photographer ; fanfiction writer ; roleplayer and worldbuilder
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Yontsey
*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2009-10-13, 17:04

I'm about to close on my house and I'm gonna buy some stuff from Ikea I think for the house. I was told today that I'd be getting a free king size mattress and I was thinking about getting a bed setup from Ikea, but it looks like all the ones I look at just have the mattress sitting on top of slats.

Can you use a box spring for them or are they not made for a mattress and a box spring?

Die young and save yourself....
@yontsey
  quote
Maciej
M AH - ch ain saw
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2009-10-13, 17:29

Mine doesn't have a box spring However, you could probably put one down there just don't install the railing for the slats.

What's the purpose of a box spring anyway?

User formally known as Sh0eWax
  quote
Xaqtly
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2009-10-13, 17:36

This seemed appropriate here.
  quote
Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-10-13, 17:56

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yontsey View Post
I'm about to close on my house and I'm gonna buy some stuff from Ikea I think for the house. I was told today that I'd be getting a free king size mattress and I was thinking about getting a bed setup from Ikea, but it looks like all the ones I look at just have the mattress sitting on top of slats.

Can you use a box spring for them or are they not made for a mattress and a box spring?
I don't see why it wouldn't work. I think IKEA makes a few box springs, and a few of their demo units use them. But yeah, they're more of a "slatted bed base" company.

The IKEA store people are some of the nicest people I've ever bought stuff from so I'm sure you could just ask them. No such thing as a stupid question, after all

To update this thread, I went "real IKEA shopping" this spring. I got a complete bed for $40, a mattress for $75, a desk for $35, a TV stand (now used as a printer stand) for $20...you get the picture. If it weren't for IKEA I would have, like, no furniture

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
  quote
Maciej
M AH - ch ain saw
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2009-10-13, 18:23

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roboman View Post
To update this thread, I went "real IKEA shopping" this spring. I got a complete bed for $40, a mattress for $75, a desk for $35, a TV stand (now used as a printer stand) for $20...you get the picture. If it weren't for IKEA I would have, like, no furniture
I can get behind all of those except the mattress. They have atrocious mattresses, or they did - I haven't wanted to go back and get one from them for years.

User formally known as Sh0eWax
  quote
Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-10-13, 18:31

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maciej View Post
I can get behind all of those except the mattress. They have atrocious mattresses, or they did - I haven't wanted to go back and get one from them for years.
I actually like it more than I thought I would. OK, technically it was $99, but it came with a $25 gift card. I wouldn't want any of their sub-$99 mattresses, because they're really only appropriate for day beds. But my "SULTAN" ("FLORVAG," I think it was) is okay. It's thin, but that just keeps me low to the ground, which I like, and for the price it certainly beats some crappy Big Lots spring mattress (which I've had in the past). But maybe I'm just not a picky sleeper.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
  quote
joveblue
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Melbourne
 
2009-10-13, 18:35

I love IKEA. My one regret is their lack of King Single sized beds. Beds seem to work differently everywhere. Roboman, it's worth making the investment in a good mattress, even if you don't have back problems... You don't want them to start do you? And you spend a third of your life in bed (or more if you're a lazy slob like me!). IKEA meatballs are the shit.
  quote
Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-10-13, 18:38

Quote:
Originally Posted by joveblue View Post
Roboman, it's worth making the investment in a good mattress, even if you don't have back problems... You don't want them to start do you?
I know. But A) my mattress really isn't uncomfortable* and B) I literally had no extra money at the time. I didn't even get new blinds

*) This sounds more backhanded than I intended (and qualifying it with an asterisk probably doesn't help). It's comfortable. It's my favorite of all the bed's I've ever had, which is admittedly not saying much...but still. Lay off my bed, okay?

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
  quote
Maciej
M AH - ch ain saw
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2009-10-13, 18:52

Haha, lay off jove, he's really touchy about his bed! JK.
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joveblue
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Melbourne
 
2009-10-13, 20:37

Well, it's something to save towards, perhaps...

By the way, just noticed the potential for the meatball thing to be misread. They're not shit, they're the shit. *drools*
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-10-13, 20:56

Quote:
Originally Posted by joveblue View Post
Well, it's something to save towards, perhaps...
That would require a, how do you say, income.

I'm just kidding, about the bed. And yes, their restaurant is surprisingly good (and cheap! like everything IKEA).

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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joveblue
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2009-10-13, 20:58

I love bed
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Brave Ulysses
BANNED
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Join Date: Dec 2005
 
2009-10-13, 21:08

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roboman View Post
I know. But A) my mattress really isn't uncomfortable* and B) I literally had no extra money at the time. I didn't even get new blinds

*) This sounds more backhanded than I intended (and qualifying it with an asterisk probably doesn't help). It's comfortable. It's my favorite of all the bed's I've ever had, which is admittedly not saying much...but still. Lay off my bed, okay?
I had that same mattress.

It's a piece of crap, no offense.... I thought the same thing. I had it while I was in college... thought it was fine... liked it for the same reasons..... then I got a real mattress..... it's amazing how shitty that mattress really is.... although I guess it's kind of to be expected for the price.

Mattresses are one area I will never skimp on now.... it makes a world of difference.... and it is something you use for like a third of your life!
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
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2009-10-13, 21:15

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brave Ulysses View Post
...
Mattresses are one area I will never skimp on now.... it makes a world of difference.... and it is something you use for like a third of your life!
This is so true. I'm willing to pay thousands for a great mattress. For as much time as you spend on it you really should put good money toward it.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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joveblue
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2009-10-14, 00:02

And a good quality mattress will last decades, too
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WrestleEwe
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2009-10-14, 04:46

AFAIK IKEA is as perfect as a sales concept can be.

Their stores are always clean and easy to navigate. The marketing is exactly personal enough to leave you feeling good about yourself. The products are of decent enough quality for an excellent price. You can even see how much of the item you want they expect to have in stock in the next few days. Sales drones are always nice and polite. The return policy is suitably loose.

In my opinion there is absolutely nothing wrong with IKEA and a lot of companies should study them to enhance their own business. Except...

IKEA sells stuff I don't want, IKEA's regular customers will never be my friends and IKEA has redefined the term Gaming the System with their accounting. Please read this article in the Economist about how IKEA actually is the worlds biggest charity.

Oh, and IKEA is so popular here in NL that highway exits have to be closed regularly because the waiting line to get on the parking lot extends all the way to the offramp of the highway. Please, what kind of idiot sees a traffic jam that big and still wants to go there, carrying their crying babies and their nagging wives/husbands...

So, I'm of 2 minds concerning IKEA. On the one hand it is the perfect store, but on the other it is a store I would never, ever want to visit (but still do once in a while)
  quote
psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2009-10-14, 06:44

I have a few things from IKEA, including a $1(!) white clock hanging on the wall over my iMac. I've had it for 7-8 years now. With its frosted-white, rounded and translucent casing (and the clean, sans serif numerals), it always struck me as quite Apple-y. I call it my iClock.



And I have a bedroom set from them. A rounded pine ensemble (can't remember the style name, but it probably had a few "k's" and "u's" in it...Kardüd, Ukkdar, Ruhk, Hkküdarval, etc. You get the idea ), featuring a five-drawer chest, two nightstands and a California King bed, which, last I measured, was about 2.3 acres in area. I can stand on one side and take off in a dead sprint and it takes me about a minute-and-a-half to reach the other side.



Seriously...it's huge. I can lie on it at any angle and not reach the edges. It's almost too big. But you can't roll out of it accidentally (unless you roll over 2-3 times in your sleep). So that's good.

A few other little odds and ends, here and there.

I'd never been to one until we moved to California in late 1993. Then we became frequent visitors to the Tustin Marketplace location in Orange County. Years later, one opened in San Diego, and I would go there. Atlanta has one now, but I've not made the trip down. And there is one in Woodbridge, Virginia at the Potomac Mills Mall. When my ex was going through OCS at Quantico, we lived in the area for about a year in 1996. We'd go to that one a good bit.

I always love walking through one. I like the little set up "rooms" they have, especially the kitchens. I could easily spend two full hours there, especially once you get to the downstairs part with all the accessories and knick-knacks!

But the best thing about IKEA? I credit them with shaping my appreciation (lust?) for the older womens. Seriously...hit IKEA on a Saturday morning or afternoon and it's a wall-to-wall soccer mom vixen hangout/cougar den. Holy. Crap. I'm 97% certain that the term "MILF" originated at an IKEA store. It had to! All those well-heeled 40-somethings with their shapely tanned legs, pedicured nails, short, stylish 'dos, toned arms, SoCal glow, firm lit...

...I gotta go.

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Yontsey
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2009-10-14, 09:29

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roboman View Post
I don't see why it wouldn't work. I think IKEA makes a few box springs, and a few of their demo units use them. But yeah, they're more of a "slatted bed base" company.

The IKEA store people are some of the nicest people I've ever bought stuff from so I'm sure you could just ask them. No such thing as a stupid question, after all
Unfortunately the closest Ikea store to me is like 2+ hours away and I was just going to order a bunch of stuff online, that's why I asked. Thanks for the suggestion though. Maybe when I'm ready to buy I'll take a road trip out and just buy a bunch of stuff. Always exciting getting new furniture.

Die young and save yourself....
@yontsey
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