The cheapest Ikea stuff won't last, but the higher-priced items will give great service for the money. We bought a bed, mattress and dresser when we moved here three years ago, and all are still in very good shape.

You might consider that sets are not used much by decorators, considered to be too matchy matchy. More interesting to have dressers different than side tables, and even the side tables don't necessarily have to match each other. You want harmony but not sameness; it just makes for a much more interesting room, at least if you have a flair for decorating.

You should find the maximum weight per drawer listed on the website. If you heed that, the dresser will serve you well. The design possibilities are endless with the Tarva. :) I've been looking for bedroom furniture for months now. I don't have a lot of mid-range price options in my area and popped in to a couple of high end furniture stores to see the quality for their prices. Crazy. I'd rather customize a $100 Ikea chest with solid drawer hardware, thank you. (I've an Ikea store 20 mins from me so it's not a day's outing as it is for some people.)

I bought IKEA furniture for my children's rooms extremely reluctantly. It's all I could afford and I dreaded wasting money on junk that would look awful in no time. I was absolutely shocked at how wrong I was. I had Hennes dressers which lasted beautifully for 15 years. Their super utilitarian bunk beds were in ship shape the day we donated them. The bookshelves, desks and chairs even held up beautifully. Their bedding is even wonderful.

The only IKEA no-no I have come across are the inexpensive rugs they sell. One of my children's classrooms had one and it shed all over the place.

tartenmeup- my first IKEA was the one in Montreal- though I can't for the life of me remember where it was back in the early 90s. My mother and I had loads of fun going through the maze getting to the treat/cafe for our Swedish meatballs.

PS On the whole I much prefer buying from the tippy top or the best of the bottom, like IKEA. Much better value than the middle.

There was an Ikea store downtown at one point, Rita. In the Plaza Alexis-Nihon mall. Now the big one is in Ville St-Laurent and there's one on the South Shore in Boucherville. You're from Montreal? :)

tartanmeup, It was Ville Saint Laurent! Thank you. I was born in Montreal, but never lived there for a significant time. Moved to NYC shortly after being born, then back for four years of elementary school and then my mother moved back when I was at university and grad school, so I would visit. She moved back to the US when I got married. Your name reminds me of my favorite childhood store Ogilvy's. I have a lot of lovely kilts from there (still wear them.)

Apologies for the side discussion. I'm in SF now.

tartanmeup, It was Ville Saint Laurent! Thank you. I was born in Montreal, but never lived there for a significant time. Moved to NYC shortly after being born, then back for four years of elementary school and then my mother moved back when I was at university and grad school, so I would visit. She moved back to the US when I got married. Your name reminds me of my favorite childhood store Ogilvy's. I have a lot of lovely kilts from there (still wear them.)

Apologies for the side discussion. I'm in SF now.

tartanmeup, It was Ville Saint Laurent! Thank you. Born in Montreal- moved away right away, them back for primary school, then my mother moved back when I was in college/grad school, so I visited a lot. Lived on the West Island. Your screen name reminds me of my favorite, long gone Montreal store- Ogilvy's. Still wear their kilts!

I am in SF now.

Apologies for going OT.