Yes and they were terrible. When my DH and I first got married we could not afford much and didn't know any better. We purchased a sofa and chair from Ikea knowing it was "temporary" furniture. In less than 2 months, the left foot of the chair sunk in so that the chair was lopsided. The sofa which we still have in our basement was a lumpy mess. We had the funiture for 4 years too long in my opinion.

Plus, the delivery was atrocious. They told us they were delivering our furniture on a certain day so we took off from work, only to have them NOT show up. The second day, we took off from work again, and at 5:30, still no furniture. On the 3rd day, we called the company screaming (we had called the 2 previous days and complained and Customer Service was unhelpful) and they showed up at 7:30 because we flipped out.

I did learn my lesson. If you are going to spend ANY money on furniture, whether its alot or a little, do your research and get your $$ worth b/c I felt like I threw away my $$ with Ikea. Some people have had luck with their case goods but Ikea is not worth it in my opinion.

Hi prairiemoon2,

Here is a lengthy discussion that took place not too long ago over on the home decorating forum discussion side. People seem to have mixed, deep(!) feelings about IKEA.

Also, if you go to the home decorating forum and perform a search for IKEA you will find other links about specific pieces...here too probably.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Decorating forums link

If you search this forum you will find a lot of feedback on IKEA. Basically, IKEA sells disposable furniture (ie, junk). For some that like trendy, like to change their "look" frequently, or are just staring out it can be an OK choice.

Best advice if you cannot afford heirloom quality pieces - go to Good Will or Salvation army and look for solid wood, dovetailing, etc. It will be a better investment.

Hello...

I apologize for not responding sooner. Here it is October 5th already...geez...don't you hate that! Sorry.

Well...jyyanks...thanks for sharing your experiences. Sounds like nothing went right for you with your Ikea experience. When I was there, we were looking for a recliner and really weren't expecting to see one at Ikea, but they did have one and so we sat in it. OMG it was awful. It was so uncomfortable. But really I felt you could tell just by looking at their upholstered furniture that it was not only uncomfortable but not well made. So I just crossed that type of purchase off the list of what I would consider getting at that store. I'm sure I learned the same lesson you learned at IKEA, at some other similar store earlier.

I also ruled out a lot of the textiles because they are so modernistic and I am not at all. I am more country/traditional, so you can imagine most of their stuff would be a leap for me.

I did find their cabinetry did appear to have some features that I found appealing and innovative. But then I realized that all of their tall wardrobes are 93" tall and none of them would fit in our house...lol.

So, I guess that isn't leaving a lot for me to find there.
lnmca....I am going to read the link you provided and keep reading about what others experiences have been with them. I do like to know the facts and not just go with my first impressions.

One last thing though...I found that what appealed to me about the company was what seemed like their attempt to try to go 'green', what with their eco friendly 'green roof' on their building and the attempt to use renewable resources to make their products, and I still do find that to be applauded, but...after seeing the menu in the cafeteria there and finding there are limits to how much information you can get on some products materials, I sense there is some contradiction there and/or a very narrow view of what is 'green'.

Just one person's opinion.
Thank you both. :-)
pm2

I have a lot of mixed feelings. We are getting our store in town next spring. But I have visited them in Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh and DC.

I have a few friends and relatives that love the stuff and can afford whatever they want. My niece has had a bedroom set for 16 years and it still looks great because it was well taken care of. For some reason, people from Europe or those that have lived in Europe seem to really like it.

For RTA (ready to assemble) furniture, it's better than most, and much better than what you might find at some of the discount or office supply stores.

They are honest about describing what the piece is made of. Though saying "all wood" is a legal way to describe fiberboard, it's not what the general public thinks.

Also if I'm buying a $49 chair, I have certain expectations. I see chairs that are 5-10 times that cost with no better quality.

Disposable? Probably you will not be able to hand this down to your grandchildren. But you can sent it off with your children to their first apartments or dorm room and not worry.

Hi, prairiemoon2. I am a great fan of IKEA, but I consider 90% of what is sold there either junk or totally not to my taste. The good to outstanding stuff includes kitchen cabinets, kitchen accessories, some of the wardrobes and bookcases, and solid wood furniture. Some of their textiles look good to me, most don't, but the prices and quality are excellent. I would never buy a chair, sofa, or any type of seating whether upholstered or not from IKEA. I would not buy bathroom cabinets or the majority of the pressboard furniture pieces. Outstanding bargains can be found at these stores, but it is necessary to shop carefully.

We remodeled our small kitchen with cabinets from IKEA (all DIY) and couldn't be more pleased with the result.

The contractor our store used for delivery, however, is another story entirely--major dissatisfaction there.

I didn't have any experience with the IKEA, but I some of my friends had some unpleasant experience with them .

Seems like delivery is an issue. Has anyone used their assembly service?

The delivery services and the assembly services are not by Ikea employees--they contract the delivery out, at least at most of the stores I've been to. And they have no control over the assemblers; usually all Ikea does is agree to put out fliers for them.

But to the original poster: Just go with your first impression, don't bother researching what everybody else has to say--or what they say happened to their friends. Ikea is what it is. For some people, it's not enough. Don't overthink it--it's not like your plopping down thousands of dollars for a high-quality leather sectional or something. Read the tags, sit on the furniture--you'll know if it's for you or not (and clearly it's not).

I have some Ikea products that were good choices. And I've had to return some that weren't. But Ikea is still on my list when it comes to accessories, bookcases and--when that time comes--kitchen cabinets.

Hi, prairiemoon2 - I'm a first time poster on this forum but frequent lurker! We are just starting our home and have used Ikea judiciously, mainly because we need to stretch our dollar as far as it will go right now. At Ikea, we found solid walnut storage chests, purchased unfinished and disassembled, in a grid design, that we use in a bedroom. We bought a solid pine stool, again unfinished and disassembled, that we stained red and use our kitchen. We have a *lot* of their rough pine storage units, yet again unfinished and disassembled, in our basement. All of these pieces are solid and now well-built (by my husband). We used Ikea cabinets in our kitchen - particleboard and veneer, but much better quality than anything else that fit in our budget. Our books and files are housed in a large veneer/ particleboard office unit. These particleboard/ veneer units will probably only make it 15 years or so, but the kitchen cabs may last longer. I'm pretty impressed with them.

You always get what you pay for, but if you shop very carefully at Ikea, you can find some nice value. Also, your own assembly skills dictate a lot of the outcome - thank goodness my husband is handy. Personally, I wouldn't buy upholstered furniture or furniture that will be heavily used from them (yet, I got kitchen cabs there - so I'm not always consistent).

Our next project that I'll be returning to Ikea for is a basement playroom. We do the secondhand shop/ save-and-invest approach too, but personally, I don't think that's necessary for every corner of our house.

Cheers - LM

This is very interesting reading. I love hearing what other people's experiences are in most things and this is no exception. Your posts make me think that my 'instincts' seem to be pretty on track. It helps to see that, because I am trying to trust myself more when it comes to these types of decisions. I think I have a pretty good eye for quality most of the time.

I haven't ruled out IKEA all the way yet either. It would seem that they do have some quality items if you are careful and look for them.

The one visit I made to the store, I was looking for bedding, too. I didn't mention it before because I hadn't tried it out enough to really report on it, but I brought home one of their down comforters and 4 pillow protectors. For the price they seem really good. I have already had the comforter on my bed and it is really warm. It is duck down, not the goose down, but, really is a goose warmer than a duck..lol. You have to save money somewhere these days, and at least for the couple of things I bought, I don't feel I sacrificed any quality to do that.

Solid wood furniture at a reasonable price..that is a bargain to me without sacrificing quality, so that would be something I might buy there.

Kitchen Cabinets are something I won't be in the market for any time soon, so that won't be of help...but I will send any friends looking for them in that direction. I might check out the accessories and see if any of them will fit in my cabinets.

I am really glad I asked about this.

Thanks for all your input. :-)

My DH and I bought a few pieces of pine "starter" furniture from IKEA, probably close to 10 years ago, and they are still with us and wonÂt die! :-) I agree that there are at least some pieces (solid pine pieces) from IKEA that could easily last decades, and that a lot probably depends on how well you can put furniture together (my DH is also very handy). Both DH and I love beds that are just a firm mattress (no boxspring) on a platform-style bed, and we bought two of the most comfortable mattresses ever from IKEA, one innerspring we bought years and years ago that is still going strong, and recently a Sultan FORSBACKA foam mattress for my daughterÂs bed. It is so comfortable we are planning on buying a king-sized one and building a bed around it for us.

Thanks jenny...I will keep those items in mind when I am looking through their catalog. Christmas is coming up. :-)

YES!!! DON'T DO IT!! CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS!!!!!!!