So, my girlfriend took me to IKEA with her over the weekend. I have seen (and assembled) some of their furniture before, but I was totally unprepared for the overwhelming feeling of being disconcerted I had when I was there. I don't know what it is about their furniture -- it seems to exist somewhere between "cool" and "evil-incarnate." Seriously, most of their furniture I like, but there's also something about each piece, something I can't seem to articulate or put my finger on that just seems wrong. It really throws me off, because I'm usually very confident about what I like and what I don't aesthetically and the reasons for it.
I do unquestionably like much of their kitchen furniture, but everything else just bothers me somehow. And I don't know what it is. Heaven help me, if I had to live in a house fully furnished by IKEA, I think I'd go mad. Someone help me out here.
[ December 14, 2004, 12:06 AM: Message edited by: Godric ]
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I like nice furniture, but I'm not willing to spend money on it.
I don't think we have a single piece of furniture that we didn't get second-hand or were given as a gift.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
On our trip to Russia we were impressed with the great big IKEA store between Moscow and the airport.
Our guide laughed about one group of parents remarking how such a great American store was doing so well in Moscow and all over Europe.
Our guide told them, "Yeah, especially in Sweden."
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
Did they miss the swedish flags, swedish commercials and GIANT YELLOW AND BLUE STORES? It's kind of hard to not know that Ikea is Swedish!
Personally, I like a lot of the Ikea furniture. As new furniture goes, it's tasteful, cool, fuctional, interesting and compared to many stores, not that expensive.
I would never furnish my whole house with it but, given the money, I'd definately have a significant amount of it.
Posted by Godric (Member # 4587) on :
Dan.
Wow. I never fail to get a laugh out of the apparent obliviousness of people. Every day at my video store the customers look at the sign that says, "Please put all rental returns in the drop box," and then proceed to hand them to us at the counter. And then there are those who return our videos to Blockbuster and Blockbuster's videos to us. And then the people who walk in our door, look around and realize they're in the wrong store -- they were looking for the funiture store two shops down (Did the giant movie posters not give them any idea we don't sell furniture?).
I don't expect everyone to be paying complete attention to their enviroment all the time, but the sheer volume of ignorance in the world never ceases to amaze me, or amuse me.
[ December 14, 2004, 12:05 AM: Message edited by: Godric ]
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
IKEA: Swedish for "Why are there so many parts?"
Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
"do you feel sorry for the little creamer? that's 'cause you're crazy."
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I could live in IKEA. I love that store.
They're building one in Frisco! The closest one will no longer be in Houston! *plots to move to Frisco by next summer*
Posted by Derrell (Member # 6062) on :
They just opened one here in the Phoenix area, ketchupqueen. It's a lot closer than Houston.
[ December 14, 2004, 01:07 AM: Message edited by: Derrell ]
Posted by esl (Member # 3143) on :
There's an actual city called Frisco in Texas? I had no idea; I initially thought you meant San Francisco, CA..
There's isn't an ikea there, but two are close by.
Posted by Derrell (Member # 6062) on :
I thought she meant California, too.
Posted by Godric (Member # 4587) on :
I still want to know why the furniture bothers me so much...
Am I just weird?
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Yes.
Posted by Godric (Member # 4587) on :
That's what I was afraid of (and what my girlfriend told me).
Posted by esl (Member # 3143) on :
I don't think the furniture's weird. I think a lot of it's cheaply made.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
My brother bought the softest, most comfortable couch I've ever rested my ass on from IKEA. After a good 4 hours of tv watching, and then a night of sleeping on said couch, my back was a mess the entire next day. I have a feeling my bro will have chronic back pain by the time he's 30.
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
I have a Ikea store near my home. Not my ideal fourniture, but let's face it, we buy a good house, we don't have the money to buy excellent fourniture to go with it.
Posted by punwit (Member # 6388) on :
I'm not sure I've ever owned a niture. What is it and why would you need four of them?
Edit to add that as Anna is from France this is the correct spelling for her. I checked after I posted. on me.
[ December 14, 2004, 09:04 AM: Message edited by: punwit ]
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Yup, Frisco's just north of Dallas. I think. *is not so good with directions* But I thought "San Fransisco" for the first year and a half I was here, until I actually went out there for a baseball game.
I had an Ikea bed; after I moved out, my brother sat on it and it broke. That's not what I like about Ikea; it's the experience. And the housewares. And the lingonberry jelly.
[ December 14, 2004, 10:49 AM: Message edited by: ketchupqueen ]
Posted by xnera (Member # 187) on :
I detest most IKEA stuff. Seriously. My ex took me to the store once, and the only thing I liked about it was the shopping cart escalators.
Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :
I bought my media shelves from Ikea and *love* them. They were easy to put together, inexpensive, and they're exactly the right depth. I installed them behind my office door, where they fit exactly perfectly.
Maybe the best part of it was getting my 11 year old to alphabetize the DVD collection. He has a vested interest in keeping it alphabetized now, and I no longer have any trouble finding what I want. Not sure that Ikea can take credit for that part....
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
Godric:
Your not weird. What you are responding to is the mass production and commodification of design that is meant to look designed.
Ikea is like on of those Monet umbrellas or bookbags.
That said, I like a lot of their stuff although I agree that I would find it difficult to live in a home furnished solely with their products.
Posted by Wussy Actor (Member # 5937) on :
quote: I don't know what it is about their furniture -- it seems to exist somewhere between "cool" and "evil-incarnate."
Evil incarnate. Nail on head, my friend. Nail on head.
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
i didn't think the furniture was very high quality... its mostly nothing but cheap glass in weird shapes.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
It depends on what you get. My brother has a metal IKEA bed that's quite excellent. I would never, under any circumstances, buy a crib from them, though.
Posted by RackhamsRazor (Member # 5254) on :
Personally, I like IKEA. We have one close to us and its nice when you need to get a new piece of furniture for somewhat cheap...and they pretty much have everything. It can be a fun store too! I once went in with a few friends and we took pictures of ourselves near/on all the furniture or in all the fake room settings.
However, I see how one would not like that store. Especially since when you buy something and have to put it all together, the directions are hard to follow. Also, you are ALWAYS, and i mean ALWAYS, left with all kinds of extra pieces you dont know what to do with and hope that you didnt forget to nail/screw something in. Silly Swedish store...hehehe
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I've never had a problem putting IKEA furniture together.
In fact, when my sister bought a table and chairs there, she paid me to put it together for her.
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
I hate the atmosphere of the store as well.
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
You guys would have loved the episode of The Amazing Race from two weeks ago. One of the big challenges for the racers was working with an IKEA store, and it got hilarious.
Actually, I've found their furniture quite easy to assemble compared to other assembly required funiture. And yes, they always include extra pieces -- I imagine so that if one of the pegs or other pieces breaks you'll have one to replace it with. I actually like that.
I suppose you're right Zalmoxis, I do have a keen dislike of mass-produced consumption. I don't like wearing name-brand clothing with logos for that exact reason.
I actually think having some of their furniture combined with other, more traditional pieces might enhance a houses' furniture aesthetic. But I guess too much of it just overwhelmes me (in a bad way).
[ December 14, 2004, 12:52 PM: Message edited by: Godric ]
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
That Amazing Race episode was HILARIOUS.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
I'd LOVE to be able to furnish with some IKEA stuff.
Pretty much I just want shelves. Lots and lots of shelves for all my books. I don't have enough. Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
I have used lots of Ikea furniture and I have never had any problem with the quality. Ever.
Am I buying different furniture?!
Posted by Vána (Member # 6593) on :
We have a couch, an entertainment center, and a set of bookshelves from IKEA, as well as a few odds and ends. Our couch is fantastic, everyone loves it. The entertainment center actually holds our TV, VCR, DVD player and every gaming console known to man (well, all the current ones). And the shelves were $45! We have had no quality issues with them at all. I love IKEA.
I love them extra much because they're Swedish. *is from Rockford, where the train stopped when all the Swedes were coming to America*
[ December 14, 2004, 04:37 PM: Message edited by: Vána ]
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
IKEA's cheap furniture is better quality and lower price than most other places' cheap furniture.
Their "higher end" stuff is not as good as the lower-end stuff you could buy in a good local furniture store, but it's still cheaper.
But, really, if you are buying for long-term use, then IKEA's furniture is probably not for you. It does not last as long as solid woods and veneers over solid wood. The styling, though fun and funky now, probably will not hold up in terms of matching your tastes in the long run.
Some of their stuff I have kept (like the black folding chairs). But the rest is stuff I ended up giving away to people who were just starting out and needed some sticks of furniture.
So...interesting styles, good prices, and quality that will last a few years, but not much longer.
I would definitely shop there again, though. Especially if I was helping someone fill a place or they needed furniture just for a few years (like a college student or someone with their first apartment or something).
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Billy bookcases are amazing.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Those are the very shelves I am drooling over, Dag.
Posted by kerinin (Member # 4860) on :
the irony of modern design is that it was concieved as a way to make mass produced products of high quality which were affordable because they were designed around modern manufacturing processes and materials, yet the aesthetic (and the work of the designers who pioneered this approach to production) has become a halmark of the ultra-rich and corporate environments. in a way, IKEA is the epitome of the modernist movement - it attempts to create products which are inexpensive, relatively well made, minimalist in implementation. i would argue that IKEA is not "like on of those Monet umbrellas or bookbags", but is in fact more legitimate from a theoretical point of view than the $12,000 cassina couches that IKEA resembles.
Godric: i would say that the parallel uneasiness and interest you experience in IKEA is simply a manifestation of our culture's love-hate relationship with consumerism. we love the products we fill our houses with but are frightened by the system which produces them. this tension seems to be the only interesting (IMHO) issue being discussed in design theory these days.
[ December 14, 2004, 08:27 PM: Message edited by: kerinin ]
Posted by got4hooves (Member # 7128) on :
This is the girlfriend.
The gentleman who started this post is just a bitter individual. He doesn't like Ikea because he knows that if we go to Ikea, he's going to end up hauling furniture up a flight of stairs and assembling it.
His rage associated with these tasks is then directed toward the store itself.
Ikea is amazing. He knows it. Y'all know it. There was joy in his heart while there, even if it was masked.
Besides, Ikea is keeping him from lounging on a used couch soaked with someone else's DNA.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
*giggle* Godric's in trou-ble!
xnera, funny link! I especially liked
quote: Not only that, but the soft upholstery is made from real kittens, all cute.
*blink*
Posted by Godric (Member # 4587) on :
Nobody saw that.
Edit: Crap! Except, apparently, rivka...
[ December 14, 2004, 11:59 PM: Message edited by: Godric ]
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Godric
See, this is why you never, ever let your significant other register on the same forums as you.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
O:)
I saw nothing. Nothing at all . . . but kq is very, very correct.
Ohyes.
Posted by Godric (Member # 4587) on :
Yes, but now that she has, does that make us a Hatrack couple?
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Godric,
Maybe it just has "bad feng shui" ??
quote: I was totally unprepared for the overwhelming feeling of being disconcerted
I don't know of any IKEA stores in my area of Kansas, so I have never experienced that phenomenon.
FG
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Godric, my main question is, if it was so hard to deal with, why didn't you just retreat to the restaurant and fortify yourself with some meatballs?
Posted by Godric (Member # 4587) on :
I did. Although it was a hotdog and a bottle of Julmust instead of meatballs...
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
No, no, no. Only 5 year olds should be allowed to go to Ikea and get a hot dog.
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Dan.![[Dont Know]](graemlins/dontknow.gif)
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on me.![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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