STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

kisa · Dooney & Bourke

Ikea - Yay or Nay?

Cortney1982 · Chanel

I have never been, though it's not a long drive to Seattle. I like flipping through my catalog and the prices are so great! Thing is, most of the cheap stuff has the first time apartment/dorm look. Some of their stuff that is more traditional is more expensive. I think they should put all of their stuff available online to purchase, even though it may be more money online than what you pay for in the store since there stores are few and far apart.

Deuce · Dooney & Bourke

I like them but I cannot take the crowds in that store. We bought a table, paid, took our receipt to the pick up area, and them waited for an hour and a half for them to call our # for a table.

On a side note as I am typing this Jay Leno Says that according to Ikea 11% of people have sex in their kitchen. I dont really get the context of this but it was random and I thought I would share.

lynnie · Chanel

ikea is big here. i'm ok with it, but agree that going to the store is a pain. the owner of ikea is officially the richest man in the world now (because the dollar is weaker than the crown, there have been some disputes for title against Buffett and Gates, but think in the ballpark of $50 billion) so i think ikea loving is pretty global.

erin · Chanel

i love ikea, but i think it's better for some things than others. i wouldn't buy something i planned on keeping forever from there. (although our bookshelf and computer table that we bought from there are really sturdy and awesome!)

Elle · Hermes

I Ikea, but we don't have one that's close. IMO their stuff that's made from solid wood is great quality, their laminate stuff not so much. We have a bookcase and a chair/ottoman from there that we've had for 3 years and they still look great.

I also love them for accessories/lamps etc. Cute modern stuff and such awesome prices!

gruiz · Kenneth Cole

I think the prices are great, but most of the stuff just isn't my style. I'm not so into the modern, simple-line style of furniture that they offer. I do like the kitchen stuff though, the glassware and pots/pans are fairly good quality.

mikacat · Coach

I love it and find the whole company/concept fascinating. There was a big article in Business Week last week and it was so good.

I have a glass curio cabinet and love it---it looks higher end.

I bought some lighting, baby stuff, magnetic boards and mobiles and love all that stuff.

Lilykind · Hermes

I live in Los Angeles...within maybe a 50 mile radius there are at least 5 IKEA stores.

My whole apartment is furnished in IKEA stuff (most specifically...there's a pretty decent amount of cheapo LACK furniture). I can sit on my LACK coffee table without breaking it. I think IKEA is so much fun to go to on a day trip...eat the food in the restaurant, try out everything.

NCshopper · Hermes

I

Ikea. We don't have one here in NC and I miss it. Their furniture can be great--it's pretty good especially for people just starting out who aren't looking to buy furniture to keep forever, just furniture that's functional and looks good. I love the part of the store where they have all the knick-knacks. There's so much fun, cheap stuff there.

ViViDogWear · Kate Spade

Love the whole concept of Ikea - but after years of living and struggling from apt to apt with roommates and with BF - now I am 26 and kinda sick of everyone knowing half my stuff is from Ikea and everyone in the whole world have the same f-ing $7.99 lamp! hehe

i still love shopping in their Marketplace for random stuff - I've had my Ikea wok for years and it's really a great buy - but I don't think I could buy the big ticket items there (sofa, bed).

luckylily · Gucci

Ikea is good for random stuff, but generally I think the quality is pretty poor. I think it is good for your first furniture set, but definitely not long-term pieces. That's the way I am with everything tho, I prefer to save for investment pieces. One other thing I dislike about IKEA is that everyone has the same stuff and it is really easy to identify pieces from there.

Shello · Kenneth Cole

I love Ikea. They built one in my town last year and I've gone quite a bit since then. They're really useful for things like bookcases built in odd heights/widths and very simple furniture. I redid my room last year and got a beautiful dresser and floating shelves for not a lot of money at all. However, when I went to look for college dorm stuff, there was nothing I could really use except these awesome heart and star shaped ice cube trays. When I get my first apartment though, I'm definitely going to head straight to Ikea for cheap and somewhat durable stuff.

halah · Kenneth Cole

I like Ikea! When I lived in Arkansas it seemed kind of exotic just because there wasn't one close. I did go out of my way to get my curtains there just because for the size the price was so good. When I moved to NY I had to do some major downsizing which meant selling or leaving most of my furniture in Arkansas. I needed some cute CHEAP furniture and fast...and that is where Ikea is perfect like I think everyone else is saying. I got great curtains, a loveseat, and two dressers for as much as my old couch cost! it's not stuff I plan on keeping forever but design/price wise it's better than cheap dressers I would find at most stores.

bumblebee · Coach

i think they do some things really well--lamps, bookcases, storage items, curtains and rugs. i have a few pieces of the furniture (most of it inherited from the downsizing of a rental that my parents owned) and i think the quality is just so-so. the store is so crazy-crowded on the weekends that it's kind of daunting, but i do love the set-up (where the display areas are set up like real rooms in a house)--it's definitely fun to browse.

kenzie · Chanel

I sometimes like IKEA. It's great for some things, like cheap accessories, but for furniture, I think alot of it (not all) is sort of collegiate or first apartment, like Cortney mentioned.

Definitely not someplace that I'll be using to furnish my next place since I'll be looking for pieces to keep in the longterm. I used IKEA all through college and for my places right out of college, but now I feel like I want something more substantial.

blink · Coach

there aren't a lot of locations across the US, so that could be why it's not so popular in the states. they just built one near me in Frisco, Texas and I feel so lucky to have the choice to buy a stainless steel bathroom toilet scrubber for half the price I could have bought it at Bed Bath and Beyond or Linens N Things.

But for the most part, Ikea is really not my style and the store is too crowded and clustered. I only shop there during off peak hours and never on weekends. But I love the prices and the alternatives they offer to higher priced furnishing stores.