Has anyone bought furniture from Ikea? How did it hold up?

**peanut** · 08-30-2008, 09:03 PM

We only buy solid wood from IKEA. When we were married 28 years ago we bought a living room sofa, love seat and chair, and a table. All are still in use...except the sofa. We had no room for it in this house and actually cut it down into lawn furniture. It was okay until the 75' tree fell on it and smashed it. Anyhooo.... Yeah, IKEA is okay. I need to refinish the pine table after 28 years. And I've recovered the cushions on the love seat and chair. And I also replaced the plastic/tarp like support for the cushions with decent canvas. But I mean, come on, it's been 28 years!!!

Jean

**pollypurebred39** · 09-28-2008, 04:53 PM

We have 2 book cases, a wardrobe and a computer desk from IKEA. All are wood and purchased during their sales. Great deals, had them for years, still like new condition. We also have curtains, dishes,cookware, and loads of other things. I'm quite happy with the things we purchased. We made sure to look for their quality items though, I think that is key. I think if you go for the cheapest stuff at IKEA that is exactly what you get, however like I said we only shop IKEA sales and find that on sale their good stuff is the same price or less than their cheap stuff.

**Lady_V** · 09-28-2008, 05:01 PM

I did my kitchen over... and yes, I used Ikea for the cabinets. I would have loved to buy solid oak cabinetry... but, I didn't have $20K

I did however, buy a better quality counter top than what Ikea offered.

Some of the furniture there is pretty solid and worth the money... some aren't. Same can be said of items at the 'quality stores'.

I was at Jordans (major furniture store here) and they had a dresser we really liked for $1000. After further investigation, it was nothing more than well dressed press board and the one in the 'display bedroom' was cracked, chipped and broken... and it didn't get the daily wear and tear of normal use.

Would I be ticked off if I bought a $120 dresser from Ikea and it chipped? Yes... but not nearly as much as if I paid $1000 for it.

Some of the sofas are great, again, some not so much. Look for one with a solid frame and not the movable metal.

**santoria** · 09-29-2008, 11:33 AM

some is good and some isn't great.

if you spend a few extra dollars for the wood furniture there over the particle board stuff you're better off. the particle stuff will fall apart with use.

all our dressers, side tables and playroom stuff is the real wood and has held up very well over the years.

my brother's had his ikea couch for 10 years now and its still in great shpe.

**kittykatstrong** · 11-14-2009, 03:22 PM

We bought a couch from there years ago and it is stll going strong. The desk we bought not so much. Like others have said you have to be choosy and pick the better peices.

**Dancing Lotus** · 11-14-2009, 06:11 PM

We have two book shelves from IKEA that aren't holding up well. But my Dd has a dresser that is doing fine.

**JessieMom** · 11-14-2009, 08:54 PM

We bought a PAX unit from IKEA when we bought our house because our bedroom is SO small. It takes up the only wall that doesn't have windows & it is set up so we use it instead of dressers. We love it so much that we bought one for our daughters room. Both have held up very well.
We have also bought 2 beds there. One of them was an inexpensive metal loft bed with the desk area underneath, the other is a white day bed with a trundle and storage underneath. the loft bed was a bear to put together but it looks great & is perfect for my daughters little room

**frugalfranny** · 11-15-2009, 12:54 AM

I haven't bought any but I see lots of it on CL...and it looks to be in pretty decent shape when they re-sell it.

**ilovechocolate** · 11-15-2009, 08:52 AM

My son used his own money (at age 17) to buy IKEA bedroom furniture. It is a pain to put together/undo but so far it has held up beautifully. It was some of the pricier furniture they sell but he hopes that it will pay off in the end by lasting a long time.

**Siebrie** · 11-16-2009, 08:14 AM

As others have said, you get what you pay for. IKEA does give a guarantee, but only on the items they believe in: our sofa has a 10-yr guarantee, but the sofa that stood next to it, didn't.

Most of the stuff (cupboards) will hold up nicely as long as you don't move it and occasionally retighten the screws. If you do move, make sure you make it into a flat pack again and use glue to put it back together. With the pressed wood boards, the original holes will be too big after you've taken the screws out, to re-accommodate the screws.

**Luckybustert** · 11-16-2009, 08:41 AM

Have been to Ikea a few times and while the furniture looked good in the store, I wasn't too sure about how good it would hold up. Sounds like not so good....hubby is over here saying "told you so" and "let's stick to real wood"

**Libby** · 11-26-2009, 02:25 AM

I'd say its pretty good furniture - especially if you're just starting out in your apt. Lower in terms of price, quality is decent and it does last.....everything lasts if you take care of it.

So far - my sister's furniture purchased from over 10 yrs ago is still going strong. It's been passed back and forth between us and moved around numerous times. Still looks almost brand new. BF bought his bed, night table and dressers from there - 5+ yrs ago - still looks immaculate. Ikea introduced glass tops for the MALM dresser set - helps protect your investment more!

You do get what you pay for and if you're not patient when you assemble it, you could damage it before you even get to use it. But take care of it and it should last you a good while. And as someone else has stated, if it gets trashed - you'll be sad but won't cry over it from the price you paid for it.