Quote:
Originally Posted by drew
^ true. When my wife and I first moved into an apartment, we went to visit my sister in Calgary, and came back with half of IKEA in the back seat of the car...
That being said, after having owned this furniture for a number of years, we have both sworn off IKEA product completely (except the kitchen gadgetry of course). We bought the "higher end" solid wood stuff, TV stand, kitchen table, chairs, coffee table, etc. and 4 years later the stuff looks absolutely beaten to hell.
It's dented, pitted, scratched, chipped. It is slowly ending up in the back lane for the junk collectors to grab. Our kitchen table was basically ruined after ONE poker game (splashing the pot with clay chips dents the table!)
If you are young, starting out my advice is to AVOID IKEA furniture. If you do buy it, get the cheap shit, cuz it will be garbage in a couple years anyway. I recommend looking for used stuff, go to antique places... get creative.
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Yeah, fully agree. Though, I still have friends that come out from Winnipeg and go back with a load of Ikea stuff...pushing 40 and they still like it.
They do have a lot of "okay" decorating accessories, etc, but it's still cheap. I'd rather go to Home Sense for that stuff. And even kitchen stuff - same thing, I'd rather spend more money at Williams-Sonoma that will last (heck, even Sears or the Bay), than cheap out.
I agree with your advice though, buy as much as possible elsewhere (at least the big stuff). Spend $1000-1500 on a table and chairs vs $300. We bought some of the solid wood pieces, and had the same issue. I'll also say though, that we cheaped out at Urban Barn, and quickly payed the price too (especially since the tables were made with an Asian wood that needs humidity to keep shape...not good in Calgary ;-) I think the general rule is you get what you pay for, period.
There is a large warehouse-style antique store just east of Lockport that we've been to a few times...only bought some accessories there, but the prices aren't bad - but you have to be into the styles they have to appreciate it (i.e. not modern).