Has anyone here ever used IKEA’s interior design service and what was your experience?
Has anyone got any thoughts or experience with the quality of the furnature?
To be honest nearly all of it as I have a new build I need to furnish, unless anyone has any tips of more affordable/good quality furniture elsewhere?
The very very basic IKEA stuff can be a bit crap but the next level up is good stuff.
We have the PAX wardrobes and can’t fault them.
4 Likes
Highly recommended the meatballs 
Had some drawers and a tv unit from there a few years back, moved a few times and they still look good and remain stable.
Also purchased a 3 door wardrobe, that probably would’ve lasted much longer if it hadn’t been moved house twice, falling to bits but with the right props it stays stood still but it’ll never move again.
Wouldn’t buy them again.
Interior design stuff might be better built.
2 Likes
Have an ikea kitchen and I hate it. Sooner I replace it the better. Everything about it feels cheap. If you squint at it from a distance, it’s just about passable though.
2 Likes
In terms of price vs quality IKEA is really unbeatable. It is flatpack and laminate - that’s what the price range is, but it’s the best of its kind (and also the assembly instructions are great).
These days I tend to buy from Swoon or Habitat and get more solid / long lasting pieces (I do think most Ikea furniture has ten good years in it, but a very well made solid hardwood piece can last a lifetime if maintained). I’ve furnished my whole house though so it’s more the occasional ‘ohh that looks nice’, if I needed to furnish a whole room at once or something I’d probably go back to Ikea.
2 Likes
I’ve had good experience with Habitat, though equally poor too.
Back to IKEA. It is what it is. Don’t pay peanuts and expect solid lasting oak furniture.
That said, we also have PAX wardrobes which have survived three house moves so far.
For the stuff we have, I’m generally pretty pleased.
2 Likes
No they have some really good pieces, and occasionally some collabs with good designers. They do also sell some absolute tat though. Best to see it in store first if you can, but there is good stuff I promise
2 Likes
I got my bed frame Habitat and it’s lasted me 4 years so far 
pretty solid.
A bed frame, to be fair, should last a lifetime.
It’s only used for lying on, after all 
1 Like
Ever since they merged ranges with Argos there’s more tat under the Habitat name. I still like Habitat and like you said they have some nice things that are good quality for the price. I’ve recently been doing a bit of updating and M&S also have some really nice things. The quality is really top notch imo.
1 Like
Be lasting multiple lifetimes at this rate.
2 Likes
Another +1 for Pax. Love the fact that they’re so versatile and as your needs change over the years, the parts still exist to reconfigure them.
I have a Habitat bed too and I’m happy with it.
Also you can’t not mention Ikea’s smart home products. They’re fantastic.
Recently picked up and installed a pair of Nymåne LED lamps from IKEA for our hallway.
These are compatible with IKEA Home Smart and Zigbee. It’s really nice to see ceiling lamps that are Zigbee compatible out of the box rather than having to use smart bulbs. Very reasonably priced too, and fairly easy to install.
Mine are hooked up to the Adaptive Lighting integration in Home Assistant, so they start off as a cool light in the morning and gradually become warmer as it turns to evening. Very happy with this purchase!
3 Likes
I must be the only person in the world who hates them. I don’t find them clear at all.
3 Likes
Similar to Pax, I had their Besta units where you can build your own TV/Entertainment unit for many years which was really good.
We have various other bits of storage solutions from there but as others have mentioned, you ideally need to go in store and see the quality as it does vary. For example, their coffee tables are like cardboard and scratch so easily.
1 Like
To give an example, we recently got this shelf for our kitchen to go above the kettle and coffee machine:
In the basket we store all of our pouches of coffee and loose tea. Then on top is where the coffee syrups live, plus a few other bits. It’s really good and holds so much stuff given it looks small.
1 Like
Another +1 for Besta too. We’re still adding bits here and there to ours too.
Absolutely. We have a coffee table and it feels so low quality. On the other hand, our dining table was purchased second hand and is from IKEA. The quality of that is fantastic.
Likewise, we just bought a metal shelf. Put it up in the wall and the metal is so warped that the shelf is visibly uneven on the wall. It’s going back.
1 Like
I always think they are great! I ordered a wardrobe off Amazon once, the instructions were terrible - badly written sentences, not clear which parts were which, diagrams that made no sense. I’ve never had that with Ikea!
1 Like