We had a great Ikea when I lived in NJ. Was always fun to walk through and see the innovative storage ideas for every room in your house. Our family's Scandinavian genes enjoy the food available to take home - canned fish balls to add to your own homemade cream sauce, caviar in a tube (son #1 squirts it right in his mouth, sans cracker) frozen meatballs, Princess Cake

I would shop there more often, but they are not conveniently located (Newark airport or Philly). I make the effort when I need a new lamp or throw rug. Also, if I'm looking for a basic piece of furniture. The Newark store is always chaos, Philly is a little better.

I love Ikea. And their shipping prices are pretty reasonable, although it is often two weeks between order and receipt. Worth the wait to me.

5 years ago I moved 10 minutes from an ikea. I never was in one and was expecting it was something special from the hype . Boy, was my balloon deflated. There were 3 of us first timers that went. We all walked out empty handed. A year later I thought I would give it another try. I still was not impressed by the store and haven't been back since. My hubby had me howling one day. He went to ikea to surprise me with a bench for at the bottom of the bed. "I went to that $!%* ikea store. Do you know that they make you $!%* walk through that whole $!%*store to look at one $!%* item. You will never see me in that $!%* store again". He walked out empty handed also.

I would not say it holds an appeal for me. More like a curiosity. There is an assumption of quality--I have never heard is not true. Much of their offerings have innovative simple designs. I have been a few times in the 10 years they have been 'near'. I have purchased a few very small items. This one is my favorite.

There’s one near me but I havent bought much there. It didn’t come along until I was past the temporary furniture stage of life. It’s good for doodads like picture frames and perhaps children’s bedroom furniture. I know their kitchen cabinets are popular with those on a budget. Last time I was there I bought this picture, which I kind of like.

I have found that I like the IKEA in Minneapolis but not the one in Kansas City which is slightly smaller. Perhaps it is the people who arrange things that make one more interesting to browse but not the other one. I also find that although they are supposed to have the same merchandise the one in Minneapolis will have in stock more variety and it seems sometime different sizes of the same thing.

Although I do not like turkey sausage and would have to opt for bacon at a higher price if I lived in the immediate area it would be one of my go to places for breakfast. A $1.00 for sausage, potatoes, and eggs along with their other reasonably priced food would be a great savings over the regular restaurant prices.

We remodeled our kitchen with Ikea cabinets last year. I love it! They look great, and a fraction of the price of other cabinets, especially when we used their semi-annual kitchen sale. I also like that they have much stricter off-gassing limits than the other cabinet companies we looked into.

Before they were installed, one contractor we had for another project absolutely trashed the quality but once they were installed, he had a look and changed his mind.

I've only purchased a few things from Ikea, but I love what I've bought!!! My kitchen island could have been custom-made for my space, and I love the affordable stool for the end (what's to to like about solid wood at $39.95!). I love their bamboo baskets.

The closet Ikea is about 1 1/2 hrs away, and in my health condition (lack of easy mobility), I would have to have someone push me in my transport chair, and that's difficult when a store is crowded and Ikea is CROWDED! I'm very impressed with the quality and the price of what I have purchased.

It’s clever and affordable. I live in a small house and I have young children, their stuff solves all sorts of storage and organization problems for us and I can afford it. Never had a problem with quality, it’s all withstanding toddler boys with ease.

We own a collection of cork coasters, wine glasses and an Espevar slat bed with legs. The slat bed is solid and supports a 10" latex mattress in the guest room. It's wood, finger jointed pine. Very solid with reinforced metal corner brackets and solid oak 8" legs.

Ikea is 3.5 miles from us and we like to walk and browse. If it's AM, coffee and cinnamon rolls are on the menu. In the area there's also VCF, Art Van, Morris Home, Ashley Home Center, and At Home. It's a busy area.

My friend and I make an outing of it, about twice a year, because it’s about 15 miles and a convoluted route. She buys mostly housewares and textiles (which she disassembles and reassembles into what works for her house). I buy paper napkins, maybe housewares, and the odd piece of furniture. My son gave me an ikea desk, and I shopped around for a desk chair. I found exactly the right one at ikea. We have breakfast, we shop, we have lunch, we shop, we go to the little grocery, we go home.

The thing is, when we first started going about 20 years ago, the displays were creative, and the grocery was extensive. Several years ago the displays changed from “here are other ways you can use this product“ to “here is the normal way to use this product”, to “here’s this product”.

The main cafe is not as Interesting as it used to be, they have cut the menu by a third.

On our last visit, the little grocery/cafe beyond the main checkout is even littler. Kind of barren, less selection and fewer items of each thing. But the dining area is bigger. To consume what, I don’t know. Not nearly as much selection, very disappointing. I’ll have to find a proper Scandinavian grocery, but I did like Ikea’s Selections.

It’s just not as much fun anymore. The items are still fine.

My DD, DGD and I made a trek to the Atlanta store last summer to purchase some things for DGD’s dorm room. Plus DD was looking for a particular small desk and stool to use for a makeup table in her bedroom. We found several items such a message board with hooks for keys etc, a storage table with lid to use in front of a futon, several odds and ends for dorm storage, and the makeup desk and stool. It was fun, plus we had a nice girls outing in Atlanta.

The thing I liked was that we put several items in our cart as we shopped, and then there was a place for you to return them at the end if you changed your mind before checking out.

My closest one is in Philly the other is in King of Prussia and I detest the roads that I have to take to get there.

I have no reason to go other than I haven't been to an Ikea since the first one in the US opened in Plymouth Meeting in 1985.

I do like their bright blue plastic bags!

We have a small chest and mirror at our home's entrance from Ikea, as well as two Billy bookcases with glass doors in the living room. I really like all these pieces, especially the bookcases which look elegant and streamlined and were a very reasonable price.

I can't say I would rate the furniture as good quality. We furnished youngest DD's college apartment with Ikea. Some of the pieces just didn't hold up.

The Poag chair is the only thing I would recommend.

I LOVE IKEA! I've purchased light fixtures, a vessel sink, accessories for the kitchen. They're pretty nice quality & not much money. I had leather chairs from them. The food court is fantastic! Just walking through the place is a treat! It's a HUGE store!

This sink for instance....I thought it was unusual. The surface next to the faucet....holds soap, cute little bottles.

Oh, those cinnamon rolls! Some of the best I've ever had. Daughter has bought some furniture there and said it was great.

Never been to one but I want to stop every time I pass the one on the outskirts of Cincinnati. For some reason we are always in too big a hurry going somewhere or trying to get home to stop.

I can't say I would rate the furniture as good quality.

Ikea offers good, better, best options.

There are exceptions, but you'll need to spend more to get the better quality furniture. The Espevar bed frame with legs is the only piece of furniture in bedroom furniture that I would suggest as a good value. Disclaimer: I did not use an Ikea latex mattress on the bed frame, it's a Spindle mattress.

There are many poor reviews on items that are probably assembled incorrectly or the assembler doesn't have the handy skill of assembly.

I have seen their catalogs but nothing in there appeals to me.

Sue

I consider ikea good for college students or other people who just need to furnish a home quickly and cheaply. I've had several dressers, bookcases, for my three year old grtand-daughter's room. It;s good quality, except there was a safety issue that some pieces could easily tip over and hurt someone, they recommend connecting tall pieces to walls with anchors. the gadgets are good, stuff like peelers and kitchen tiowels, and I do enjoy their cafeteria, signature Swedish meatballs.

So why do I (or you) like a trip to IKEA so much more than a typical furniture or household goods store? I think the answers for me are: I like the overall modern, clean, streamlined, functional style of their products in general -- so I'm thankful to not trudge through displays of furnishings that don't appeal to my taste. And, I like the layout of the store(s): a 'design idea' section to walk through quickly (or slowly, as the mood strikes), then a section where all the like items are grouped side by side so I can compare them directly. Very little of what I'd call "cheap sh-- from -----" in the Marketplace (household goods section).

Since retirement, DH and I travel to IKEA once or twice a year, on a weekday that's less likely to be crowded -- which helps any shopping experience!

Europeans love Ikea. I have stayed in several airbnbs where the kitchens are Ikea, especially in Croatia. The cabinets were sleek, functional, and seemed to be of good quality. I have to admit, I am leaning more towards that sleek minimalist design the older I get.

If you don't care if the furniture lasts only a year, it's good stuff. Their sheets and duvet covers have a very low thread count. Don't last long either. BUT: if you like tealights, they have the best ones. It's about the only reason I shop there.

We furnished my daughter's college apartment with Hemnes bedroom furniture. That stuff has been moved 6 times (2 of them cross country) and still looks great at 8 years old. The drawers open and close easily, have organizers that fit inside them and are big and deep. I feel that the furniture is a better quality then that from Ashley or stores of that nature. For the Hemnes line they even have glass tops to protect the furniture.

Part of the fun of IKEA is finding things you didn't know you needed. We have gotten some nice small baking trays that work great with smaller portions in the oven, decor items and we have found their linens to be reasonably priced and of nice quality.

I 2nd the cinnamon rolls. Even if I don't end up buying anything, I don't leave without cinnamon rolls ;-)

I had bought a used Ikea dresser and the back panel was not attached, it was all wobbly trying to get it loaded. I ended having a piece thin wood cut to fit the back and it's been fine since. When I bought new dressers for myself, I used gorilla glue when putting the drawers and bottom pieces together to give it a little extra strength. PSA, if you use the Gorilla glue that sorta puffs up, be sparing to allow for the "puff" LOL

Recent posts reminded me that we have a secondary kitchen that has Ikea cabinets. I don't use it--my teens did/have and still do, as does my husband. It gets heavy (and pretty careless) use, and the cabinets are still in great shape. I recall my husband assembling it and liking the fact that he could make sure the screws, etc., were tight. So I think the self-assembly of most Ikea furniture can be a good thing.

Debby, we've had good luck with Ikea bedding. The notion that lower thread counts = less quality, and higher thread count = better quality is a myth.

I've been using the duvet covers for years, and the fabric wears like iron.

This thread has been a timely ping for me because we need to get some pieces for an infrequently used bedroom and want to do it inexpensively. From looking at the Ikea website, I think the Hemnes line would work fine. Thanks.

Debby.... my Genevad leather club chairs lasted about 6 years. Really comfortable! My cat liked sitting on the wide arms.

Murraysmom....didn't YOU purchase a duvet cover for your down comforter? and you still have it? Super cute!

Cinnamon rolls! Theirs are the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!! Now your making me want one!

If you like traditional and heavy furniture, you probably won't like Ikea.

Personally, I like Ikea for being of our time, or at least of our century. I like the simple lines, and often smart(er) and out-of-the-box designs and for not being pretentious or kitchy.

Ikea offers furniture lines of different quality levels and various price points, from college furniture to built in kitchens, it helps to know the pros and cons of various materials and finishes when shopping there.

Just a short little list of smarter design:

• kitchen cabs that hang on rails on the walls. So much easier to level and shim a rail, vs individual, heavy cabinets. Lowers too, hang on the wall, the boxes don't touch the floors (non-wood legs give extra support), so cabinets weather minor floods without any damage.
• dressers, desks and shelving that come with protective transparent or backpainted glass tops. Easy to clean and elegant and at such a very affordable price.
• porcelein cups with drainage slots on the bottoms so they don't accumulate water. No more spilling water onto dishes in the lower rack due to water puddles on the cups above.
• bread board with a magnetized slot that holds the knife securly. And the removable cutting board sits above a cutout that keeps the bread crumbs contained.
• and so many more innovative design solutions that by the way, eventually get copied by other houseware manufactureres.

When DH and I arrived in the early 80s from Switzerland, we experienced serious culture shock when we tried to furnish our Chicago condo. The choices were either unbelievably expensive, or too sleek and glammy. For modern furniture, we had to use interior designers/brokers to get access to the merchandise mart with its showrooms. We did discover Crate and Barrel, so that was a life saver, but just like merchandise mart prices, their offerings being mostly imported from Europe, the prices were easily double to triple what we were used to (and Switzerland is expensive!) I remember us living with essentially no furniture for a long time (mattress on the floor) and building our own low and simple slatted bedframe, a mod coffee table and some modern fitted and open storage. Essentially we became DIYers due to culture shock :-)

We bought our first house in a yuppie neighborhood in the late 80s. The place needed gutting, so we were free to create a moden interior. There was no Ikea in Chicago yet, so DH rented a Uhaul truck to pick up our whole kitchen and additional cabinet for use as vanities, at Ikea Toronto. We then paired that white kitchen with Gaggenau and Miele appliances.

Ikea's kitchen boxes, drawer glides, hinges and accessories are an incredible value compared to mid level and even more high end kitchens. The quality of their doors do differ. It's definitely worth it to go with their more expensive fronts or get 3rd party doors, widely available and specifically made for Ikea boxes.

Two years ago we remodelled the kitchen in our suburban Chicago house. Put in an Ikea kitchen again. Couldn't be happier.

Not sure now, but I think we paid about 8k to 10k for all cabinetry, high gloss Ringhult fronts, soft close Blum hinges and drawer glides. We used all drawers plus lots of hidden drawes in all bases, including the pantries. And this price includes a gazillion of organizers and accessories such as the Blum Blumotion automatic push opener for hands-free access to the trash bin.

Leicht kitchens quoted us 60k to 70k for their white gloss fronted cabinetry (same layout, some small differences in cabinet sizes).

Very happy with our kitchen :-)

pippabean.....I need a rug like the one in your BEAUTIFUL kitchen....? help?

Pippabean, your kitchen is just lovely!

Elmer, we have the Hemnes dresser in our master bedroom at our lake cottage - we bought it and put it together about 10 years ago. Its very sturdy and has nice clean lines and is finished nicely inside as well as out. The doors glide open and close smoother than any other piece of furniture that I own.

nicole, thank you for the compliment. I ordered this commercial rubber backed entryway rug from a Canadian company. Inexpensive, and it can be cut to size without unraveling. I can't remember the company name, I'll have to look at my kitchen binder receipts. Hopefully later today (when I'm not at work) I'll find some time.

janie, thank you.

I like the simplicity of the Hemnes and love the inset drawers. One caveat, I wouldn't ever recommend the Hemnes vanities. I don't think their finish holds up in a wet environment.

Above mentioned DD acquired a DH on one of her moves! ;-) They have since added the dresser pictured above and one night stand. Being thrifty they are waiting for them to go back on sale to get a second one. All have held up well and are nicely made (by us!)

nicole - here is the link to my rug/runner.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074Q16D1R/ref=twister_B074Q31YJD?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

Tough stuff. I think I'll take it outside and power wash that thing if it ever gets grody looking...

Most, if not all, Ikea bed frames need some extra support added by purchaser. The mid beams are weak. When building the Espevar I added a 2 X 4 support (with pocket screws) attached to the supplied mid beam, along with two more Sultan adjustable legs. A $25 improvement to an already solid bed frame.

pippabean...thank you! I need an odd size.....47"x 14'....would love an indoor-outdoor material. Can I cut an inch off the edge? or will it unravel? LOVE your kitchen!!!!!!!

pippabean - it looks like it was your kitchen I saw somewhere on kitchens and asked about your lower cabinet on the far left. I want one like that. looks like it's 3 shallow drawers and 1 deeper one? you replied to me on that thread but I could never figure out how to find the thread again, but it has been on my mind. I want to add a lower cabinet of all drawers in my kitchen - maybe next spring. it's just me here so no hard wear and tear on it. If it works out for me, I might get a 2nd one. I don't have much drawer storage in my kitchen and it is to difficult to get things in the back of my lower cabinet - and I only have 1 of those of any decent size. but bending down to get things in the back isn't something I can do anymore.. I've been slowly going thru things (to pitch or keep) and putting in some turntables in the uppers/pantry to better utilize space. will see how it goes in the coming months to determine what more I do need to add for storage.

could you tell me how deep the shallow ones are? and the deeper one also. I'm pretty sure they must be at least as deep as the shallow ones I already have and if so, that would work fine for me. I think I'd get 3rd party fronts. I want to paint them. From what I've read over the past 9-10 yrs they have great rails and are full extension - and I need that. and hopefully my nephew will put it together for me.

The first time I walked into an Ikea store, I didn't get it at all. But now that I've had a few Ikea things, I love it (for what it is). Here are some examples:

colorful plastic dishware (soft plastic), dishwasher safe and indestructible for the kiddos. Still have it, kids are teens. It was a few bucks.

Hemnes dresser and glass-door armoire. That and the Ikea white iron bed are in DD's room for 5+ years now. I love how the Hemnes dresser drawers glide.

Couple of easy shelves for some of our bigger closets, to store shoes and little-used stuff until the day we can get the closets "done". They suffice for now!

Took some Ikea "fancy" looking picture frames and spray painted them in DD's room colors (lilac, mint and turquoise). They look fancy! Also spray painted some inexpensive Ikea baskets to display stuff in her Hemnes armoire.

I've heard the mattresses are good, though haven't bought one.

Their wood hangers are excellent, and inexpensive.

The giant blue bags that you grab at checkout come in handy, as well.

Kids' rooms used to have some other Ikea beds, and after moving several times, we misplaced some of the screws, but Ikea was great about just giving us a few. They knew exactly what we needed.

Tall, thick glass vases in several sizes, that resemble pottery barn's. Simple, elegant, sturdy. Very useful for a few bucks.

I've looked at their kitchens pretty exhaustively, and can use the software designer. I'd feel very comfortable installing those cabinets.

The rugs are a good value, but I haven't found linens I like there(but it's been a couple years since I went).

I almost forgot about the curtains! We have huge tall ceilings, and Ikea curtains come in really long lengths, especially if you can use white or off-white. I love our white curtains against off-white, creamy paint. Most people would assume mine are linen. They're really nice, imo, and very inexpensive.

Many others have already said the same things, but I'll reiterate several points.

Ikea has a wide range of quality and price points in nearly every product category that they participate in. Especially for furniture, you have to be careful and critical when evaluating each piece.

There is cheap stuff from Ikea that is crappy quality, there is more expensive stuff that is great quality.

Unfortunately, there is also more expensive stuff that is crappy quality. The best is when you find less expensive stuff that is great quality. Our house has been furnished with Ikea furniture since Ikea came to America. we live in the Philadelphia area and I work about 5 minutes from the Ikea of America headquarters and that flagship store in Plymouth Meeting PA. I go to Ikea nearly every month.

Our bedroom set, dining room set, kitchen counter stools, living room coffee and end tables, bookcases, kids desks and dressers and our kitchen were all Ikea products and all lasted at least 14 years.

Unfortunately, we had a fire in May 2018 and nearly all of the contents of our house had to be replaced. The house was stripped down to the studs and of all of our furniture, the ONLY pieces that were able to be cleaned and returned to us were the Ikea solid pine Leksvik bookcases, coffee table and end tables from our living room. Lots of very good other furniture was not able to be cleaned - who knew painted furniture would not be able to be salvaged?

The Kitchen was once again redone with Ikea and where appropriate, we replaced with Ikea furniture again.

Our previous bedroom set was Hemnes (King bed, night stands, tall chest and 8 drawer dresser - vintage 2004). Though the Hemnes line still exists, we were not happy with the current color selections for our new master bedroom so we went elsewhere for that replacement, but we did end up with Ikea back in our guest bedroom and for three desks in various parts of the house.

In summary, I guess I'd say that if the design style is something you like and you can (in general) find products Ikea makes that are made of real, solid wood you will get very good value for your dollar.

Ikea makes it very easy to determine this with a little research as the materials of each product they sell are listed on the page for that product on their website.

P.S. - I didn't even touch on dishes/cookware/cutlery. If Ikea has design options in these areas that appeal to you, we've found them to generally be VERY good quality for the price. I have cooked with and eaten off of Ikea pots/pans/dishes/glasses for the last 30 years. They hold up as well as anything else and are generally much less expensive. Again - don't go for the cheapest thing they offer - move up their line and get comparable quality for much less cost to higher end brands elsewhere.

nicole - yes, you can cut the length and width, no problem. Due to the ribbing it should be really easy to achieve a nice straight cut just using scissors.

desertsteph - The Ikea boxes are 30" high, excluding the toe-kick area. The lower drawers have 15"h drawer fronts and each shallow drawer above is 5". In those you get about 4" of useable height. Make sure you buy all "Maximera" drawers for full extension and their Blum soft-close glides.

If you don't need the full height of the 15" lower drawer, you could break it up into a one 10" and one 5" drawer, or you could install a Maximera drawer at whatever desired height as a hidden drawer within.

I have a couple of those hidden drawers, as I didn't want to mix various heights of drawer fronts in my kitchen. Check out here, how to control which drawer you want to access, pulling on just the outer drawer once.

thx pippabean. I like that they are only 30" high. I'm short @ 5' and shrinking I think, so don't want it to be as high as others. my shallow drawers now are 4" high on the sides of them. so 5" should work for me. would there then be space for 3 @ 5 inches and 1 @ 10 inches? that'd work for me too. I'm sure I don't need one 15" deep. I want to use the bottom one for some of my larger plastic storage containers. I'll try them in my 9" drawer and see how they fit (I thought my lower large drawer was 11" but it isn't - maybe the opening for it is). I don't have that many larger containers but if they fit in my 9" drawer, 10" will work. I also don't use them as often, so that's good for a lower drawer, I won't need to access as often.

I do want the Blum glides. are they all soft close? do they close all the way rather quickly? I don't want it hanging open for a time - I'm likely to turn around and walk into it. I do a lot of 'walking into things' here now! and dropping things and spilling things! I make so much more work (and pain) for myself.

the Maximera drawers was mentioned on the 'kitchen thread', so I looked at the cab online and it does have those drawers. I just didn't know they were full extension. that is a must have. I thought about the inner drawer pull outs, but think that might be a pain to open one and open another. haven't checked the link in your above post yet, but I will next.

thx for all of your help on this.

pippabean - ok, well after reading your link to info on drawer within a drawer, I'll have to think on this more. isn't like I was going to pull the trigger on a new cabinet in the next month or 2 tho. it takes me a long time to mull things over and refigure things. but I'll definitely keep this in mind! thx so much again!

desertsteph

So you could have various combinations of drawer heights, any combination that equals 30". So stacks of: 15/15; 10/10/10: 5/5/5/15; 5/5/5/5/10 or the crazy 5/5/5/5/5/5.

Sektion cabs either come with Maximera drawers (that's the ones you want) with full extension, Soft-close Blum glides, or the crappy Forvara drawers you want to avoid at all cost, no full extension, no soft close.

The hidden drawer allows you to choose at what height to install it, maximizing your storage depending on the height of your items within both drawers.

I much prefer Ikea's soft-close to other soft-close and or self-close drawers at friends houses. A little push and they close. Always.

Hope that helps.

Brochure:

https://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/img/buying_guides/fy19/IKEAKitchens-Jul2019.pdf

Sektion products:

https://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/img/buying_guides/fy19/SEKTION_BG_APR2019n.pdf