I may just get my school room after all. Help me convince DH that IKEA furniture "holds up".

[AimeeM]

DH hasn't had good personal experience buying cheap to moderately priced furniture - in the past when he has, it just hasn't held up well at all compared to the pricier pieces he owns.

I'm not having much luck convincing him that IKEA furniture will be a good buy for the school room. 

He e-mailed me a link today of a very nice u-shaped school table... from a school supply retailer online. It's very nice... but it's twice the price as something similar from IKEA!

 

Is IKEA really as good as I've heard? Is the quality as great as the price? I've heard it is, and I'm in love with several pieces, but I also realize DH's concern - we have three children; two of them quite young, so the pieces *need* to be quality pieces, or else we'll be buying the same pieces again in a few years.

[Tanaqui]

Mmm. If you ever think that furniture might move or be bumped or leaned on, keep a close eye on your l-keys. I go around tightening all ikea screws once a month.

[Kiara.I]

*Some* Ikea furniture is quite sturdy, and probably will be fine.  Other kinds are not.

 

It really depends on what you want, how you'll use it, and how hard you and your children are on furniture.  We got a dresser from there for the kids that got destroyed in under a year. But we've got bookcases from there that are doing just fine--of course, nobody's climbing on them, you know?

[Guest]

Their hard goods hold up really well..  We have had Billy bookcases go through 4 moves, intact.  They havent chipped (the veneer is very thin) and the shelves have not bowed, and we have not been kind to them; we have double stacked books on them and they are as good as new.  I got some TechLine shelving and it has held up just the same as the IKEA...at 3-4x the cost.  

 

My kitchen in the house we bought 1.5 years ago is IKEA.  I had a friend over who is a kitchen designer and she loved the cabinetry.  I said later that we were going to go down to IKEA to get a matching sideboard, and she got a HORRIFIED look on her face--YOU CAN"T USE IKEA in this beautiful kitchen, she cried!  I told her it IS IKEA and she couldn't believe me.  I've done custom kitchens before, and I never will again as there is so much more money in it for the same effect  IKEA also has some "cheats" you can use to make things look built-in, and the previous owners of this house did that in the family room with bookshelves and in the laundry room with cabinetry.

 

The cabinets wipe clean easily, they have not scratched or chipped and the shelves do not sag under the weight of stoneware dishes.  

 

I do not like their upholstered goods, though.  

[Plink]

Ikea furniture holds up as much as you can expect for the price, but personally, I'd skip the paper-board and order from Woodland Mills.  

[Arcadia]

Our Ikea stuff all have chips and cracks. All the laminated wood/plywood Ikea furniture has broke in our house. Our expedit cubbies is the longest lasting but its just to store books so zero rough handling.

Which pieces do you like because quality is different across Ikea series?

 

ETA:

Our IKEA sofa bed held up very well though even with kids jumping on it.

[NorthwestMom]

Professional movers will not guarantee no damage to IKEA furniture because it is so easy to break/chip/scar. You get what you pay for.  It's meh.

[Farrar]

I agree that some ikea stuff is really hardy and some is really cheap.

 

When you buy from a school supply place though, remember you're paying for it to be hardy not just for a couple of young kids but several classrooms of them who never grow more mature over time.

[LucyStoner]

It depends on what it is. Some of it is super cheap and shows it. Other stuff is super durable.

[Beaniemom]

We look for Ikea furniture that is solid wood. We have bookcases that have moved cross country 3 times and held up great. I recently did a tabletop desk and it seems like it will hold up well, the surface does not seem to chip easily at all.

[Beaniemom]

We look for Ikea furniture that is solid wood. We have bookcases that have moved cross country 3 times and held up great. I recently did a tabletop desk and it seems like it will hold up well, the surface does not seem to chip easily at all.

[Ausmumof3]

I'm not a good person to ask because the only Ikea furniture I ever owned is falling apart and will be going on the bonfire in burning season...

 

Honestly some decent locally made furniture or second hand stuff might not look as trendy but often isn't that much more expensive for what you get where I live.

[KungFuPanda]

I've had the same leather IKEA chair for 16 years and two moves. It looks brand new. Ikea furniture IS cheaper, but unless your kids are jumping on the tables or especially destructive, it's nothing you have to replace in two years. It's not an heirloom you'll pass down; more like something you send to college with them. I wouldn't do multiple moves with the bookcases, but I've bought a lot from them and it's held up. The wooden kids' table outlived the little kid stage. I still use the chairs as a step stool and my kids are 14 and 18 now. Anything you buy will most likely get you through homeschooling. No sense investing in a tank when a bicycle does the job.

[Orthodox6]

Our experience with Ikea has been very good with one exception. When a 250 lb.(my guess) (maybe higher) young man plopped down on our futon sofa, the curtain fell, to use the phrase.  :crying:

[LMV]

I have no experience with Ikea furniture but enjoy your new school room!

[Sneezyone]

We used it for our classroom (and we move A LOT) and it's holding up fine.  I didn't want to spend a fortune though BECAUSE we move so much and I hate getting dings, dents, chips in pieces that I spent a fortune on.  The kids have basic rectangular table tops with silver adjustable legs (so son can have a lower writing surface).  Over the last six months, we've used them as white boards too and they still wipe clean with a Lysol wipe.  I use the kidney shaped one as my desktop and it's plenty sturdy for me.  The chairs I ordered from Amazon. We have four Expedit 2x4 units for books and supply storage and a lack table that I use as a printer stand.  Honestly, all of our stuff still looks new (although my kids are 7 and 10, not hard on things anymore). When we move, I know I can unscrew the table legs and all the desks will pack flat.  I know all four Expedit units will fit easily into the moving crates. I also know that when/if one falls apart, I can replace it for cheap and it will still match the rest of our things. I think it just depends on how rough you are on your gear.

 

DS also has the all-wood storage cubby things with blue bins for his train set pieces and they are going strong three years later.

[Jasperstone]

DH hasn't had good personal experience buying cheap to moderately priced furniture - in the past when he has, it just hasn't held up well at all compared to the pricier pieces he owns.

I'm not having much luck convincing him that IKEA furniture will be a good buy for the school room.

He e-mailed me a link today of a very nice u-shaped school table... from a school supply retailer online. It's very nice... but it's twice the price as something similar from IKEA!

 

Is IKEA really as good as I've heard? Is the quality as great as the price? I've heard it is, and I'm in love with several pieces, but I also realize DH's concern - we have three children; two of them quite young, so the pieces *need* to be quality pieces, or else we'll be buying the same pieces again in a few years.

Oh. ..I can so relate to this!

 

I love IKEA stuff, but my dh doesn't! :-(

 

Maybe, a part of it is they are the ones putting it together? ???

 

My dh says the same about the quality.

[BarbecueMom]

I have three not really destructive boys and nothing "holds up". Nothing. I'm about to hand off a beautiful, family heirloom, heavy wood dining set because they are slowly destroying it with dirt, pee, puke, rowdiness, pencils, and curiosity. 90% of it unintentional. I'd rather spend $100 on something and replace it in three years than $1000... and replace it in three years.

 

FWIW, we have a school supply store table and despite frequent tightening, it wiggles like every other table in this house. Because boys see a table and think, "Gee, I should brace myself on this table and jump up and down because reasons."

[SparklyUnicorn]

I agree some is decent and some is meh.

 

One of our book cases is from Ikea.  It was very inexpensive.  It does not look particularly impressive, but it has survived 5 moves and a ton of heavy books.  The shelves don't bow at all.  It's pretty amazing. 

 

Our kitchen/dining table is "ok".  The wood is so soft that it has a lot of nicks and dents.  It's in pretty rough shape at this point.  I won't bother with anything else until the kids are a bit older, but I'm not particularly impressed with the quality of it.  It isn't so thick so there wouldn't be much left if we sanded it. 

 

I have a similar mindset as BarbecueMom.  I'm not going to cry over the inexpensive Ikea dining table, but a very expensive set, yes I would.  So for now that suits the purpose. 

 

Although for our school tables we use those folding buffet style tables.  Aside from some burn marks (chemistry) and marker marks they have held up quite well and they were not expensive.  We've also used them for company.  Just throw a nice table cloth over it. 

 

But yeah kids just don't give a crap about your stuff. 

[AimeeM]

Well, I do have one particularly... er... daring little boy (the 2 year old). 

The 5 year old and the 13 year old aren't a concern at all, insofar as furniture goes, but yeah I think part of DH's concern is that he'd like to know that no matter how much The Marvelous Flying Marco jumps on the school table, it isn't going to tumble out from under him.

Hopefully, this table would never have to move homes. The home we are putting a bid in on (and even if this one doesn't work out, we'll be putting bids in elsewhere, because we're pretty intent on a bigger home right now) is "dream home" for us - a place we hope to never leave, barring a major job move or something similar.

 

I love the desks (for DD13, who needs her space with some of her work) and the larger "everybody" utility tables from IKEA. The u-shaped school supply store desk DH linked would be perfect, to be honest, but I cringe at the thought of him spending almost twice as much on something I know can be had for cheaper elsewhere. I'm also looking at (and loving) the bookcases (from IKEA). 

 

(and, okay, so I've maybe been spending too much time googling "IKEA homeschool rooms", so I might be living a pinterest envy right now)

 

It is important to note that the school room will also double as the boys' playroom, as their bedrooms would be upstairs, and I do not want DS2 *anywhere* near stairs unsupervised, whereas the school room would be downstairs. So yes, whatever is purchased as school room furniture, will also be doubling as playroom furniture (as far as chairs, desks, and tables go).

[Sneezyone]

Given what you describes, the magnificent, flying Marco is likely to destroy whatever you get so I'd definitely be erring on the side of cheap and replaceable...interchangeable even.   :) I looked at the school supply U shaped tables too, btw, but concluded their utility was too limited. Your classroom layout and furniture needs may change too as the kids get older.

[MEmama]

We've had Ikea bookshelves and dining set (table and bench) for years, and none have suffered as much as a scratch despite our many moves. We aren't hard on furniture though, so maybe it would depend on your kids and your house rules. I wouldn't hesitate to buy anything from them.

[Seasider]

Their hard goods hold up really well.. We have had Billy bookcases go through 4 moves, intact. They havent chipped (the veneer is very thin) and the shelves have not bowed, and we have not been kind to them; we have double stacked books on them and they are as good as new. I got some TechLine shelving and it has held up just the same as the IKEA...at 3-4x the cost.

 

My kitchen in the house we bought 1.5 years ago is IKEA. I had a friend over who is a kitchen designer and she loved the cabinetry. I said later that we were going to go down to IKEA to get a matching sideboard, and she got a HORRIFIED look on her face--YOU CAN"T USE IKEA in this beautiful kitchen, she cried! I told her it IS IKEA and she couldn't believe me. I've done custom kitchens before, and I never will again as there is so much more money in it for the same effect IKEA also has some "cheats" you can use to make things look built-in, and the previous owners of this house did that in the family room with bookshelves and in the laundry room with cabinetry.

 

The cabinets wipe clean easily, they have not scratched or chipped and the shelves do not sag under the weight of stoneware dishes.

 

I do not like their upholstered goods, though.

I love hearing this about your kitchen! We would love to do our kitchen, and though the money's not there right now, we hope to in the next 2-3 years. However, if we were to do a full custom kitchen remodel, in a house in our current location, we would likely never recoup the renovation cost, were we to sell the house. Plus, we really don't want to spend that much money on a kitchen, anyway. So we think IKEA will be the way to go. Nice to hear you've been pleased with the products.

[Ethel Mertz]

Oh dear. I momentarily forgot about the Marvelous Flying Marco. In that case, I'd go for a nice Ikea desk for your daughter, Ikea bookcases, and the school supply store table. Please tell me the MFM doesn't climb bookcases...

[AimeeM]

Oh dear. I momentarily forgot about the Marvelous Flying Marco. In that case, I'd go for a nice Ikea desk for your daughter, Ikea bookcases, and the school supply store table. Please tell me the MFM doesn't climb bookcases...

Yes, the MFM absolutely LOVES bookcases. Brand new home perk - the walls will be able to have the safety pulls placed on them, and on the bookshelves, unlike our current (adorable, older) home's walls (we can't safety latch the bookcases here - the walls are too old, however lovely, lol).

[regentrude]

my ikea stuff is 18 years old and lived through an overseas move without problems.

we have shelves, chairs, sofa, coffee table

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Here's my experience:

 

I have a huge desk and hutch from Ikea that I've owned since I was in college in 1995. It has moved with me 8 times since then. It's not in perfect shape, but it's still sturdy, functional, and in use at the moment in our downstairs office.

 

I bought a blue sofabed from Ikea in 1997, and we kept it until 2010, when we only replaced it because we wanted something "more adult." We hated the couch we replaced it with, and in November we bought a new Ikea couch to replace the awful one. We gave that old blue couch to my uncle, who still uses it and loves it.

 

We have a dining table from Ikea that we bought when we married (14 years ago) and we use it at least once a day. The piece underneath that supports the pop-up extension (the only solid wood piece on it!) has cracked, and a few spills have made the MDF table top bulge in places, but in terms of sturdiness, it's still rock solid, as are the original chairs that still go with it. I actually kind of wish it would break or something, because I want a new one (I want different dimensions) but can't justify it while this one's still in such good shape!

 

We have other odds and ends pieces from Ikea (bookshelves, small dresser, living room chair) that have seen years of use and are either still in use or have been passed on to someone else.

 

We've bought furniture from a few other places in the last 15 years and regretted every piece. As someone else pointed out, Ikea offers a range of options, from really inexpensive and made from cheap materials to solid wood pieces. Our stuff has always come from the middle to low end of the range, and we've been happy with the sturdiness of all of it. I'm not fond of MDF, but that's what you get at our usual price range, no matter where you buy. I highly recommend Ikea and was thrilled when DH agreed to buy our new couch there. We are so happy with it.

 

Does that help? :D

 

[Arcadia]

Yes, the MFM absolutely LOVES bookcases. Brand new home perk - the walls will be able to have the safety pulls placed on them, and on the bookshelves, unlike our current (adorable, older) home's walls (we can't safety latch the bookcases here - the walls are too old, however lovely, lol).

 

If you have a climber, you do need to earthquake proof your furniture regardless where you get the furniture from. If you ever buy bunkbeds, be prepared that some kids enjoy jumping off them (BTDT as a kid).   Our Ikea dining table did survive adults standing on it to change the dining room ceiling lightbulbs. The scratch and dents were from the math compass.  

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Our Ikea dining table did survive adults standing on it to change the dining room ceiling lightbulbs. The scratch and dents were from the math compass.  

 

Here too. DH has actually changed the lighting hardware several times while standing on the table :lol: The only damage to the tabletop has come from liquids (and one random battery acid leak that still mystifies me). 

[Guest]

I love hearing this about your kitchen! We would love to do our kitchen, and though the money's not there right now, we hope to in the next 2-3 years. However, if we were to do a full custom kitchen remodel, in a house in our current location, we would likely never recoup the renovation cost, were we to sell the house. Plus, we really don't want to spend that much money on a kitchen, anyway. So we think IKEA will be the way to go. Nice to hear you've been pleased with the products.

 Our house was a "flip house" but I didn't know that until a year after we lived in it.  :0)  Nice flip.

 

There are several youtubes and internet references as to how to make IKEA stuff look great/built-in.  A lot of it involved crown-molding and a lot of it is have the matching paint colors or stain colors or free-standing pieces that go with the IKEA kitchen.  Eg., we got a back-of-the-couch table to go in our breakfast nook to act as a sideboard.  It is in exactly the same design and paint/finish as the kitchen, so it looks like it was meant to be there all along.  

 

The other thing we did:  we got the paint that matches the cabs (they are an off-white lacquer) and painted behind the fridge and under the counter on the breakfast-nook side.  That finished the look of the kitchen, and made it look built in--or at least not like a ready-made Tetris kitchen.  

 

I doubt I would have gone IKEA with the kitchen if I had not seen it for myself.  Now I love it.  Oh--they also have under-cabinet workspace lighting and cabinet lighting and so on...so you really can tart it up. 

[Runningmom80]

This is so funny because I answered a thread a few years ago saying ikea doesn't hold up and everyone jumped on me saying "mine is FINE! YOU must be doing something wrong!"

 

I don't feel so crazy, or destructive now. ;)

 

OP, it really doesn't hold up I'm afraid. I've been buying it for 15 years. Yes, I continue to buy it. Lol

[AimeeM]

If you have a climber, you do need to earthquake proof your furniture regardless where you get the furniture from. If you ever buy bunkbeds, be prepared that some kids enjoy jumping off them (BTDT as a kid).   Our Ikea dining table did survive adults standing on it to change the dining room ceiling lightbulbs. The scratch and dents were from the math compass.  

DH made custom "bunks" for the boys, since DS5 badly wanted them, but is so tiny himself. He made them only about 3 feet from the ground (the top "bunk") - the bottom "bunk" is a pull out trundle bed that he made. 

 

The Marvelous Flying Marco STILL jumps off of them :P

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

This is so funny because I answered a thread a few years ago saying ikea doesn't hold up and everyone jumped on me saying "mine is FINE! YOU must be doing something wrong!"

 

I don't feel so crazy, or destructive now. ;)

 

OP, it really doesn't hold up I'm afraid. I've been buying it for 15 years. Yes, I continue to buy it. Lol

 

I don't know, mine's fine. You must be doing something wrong!

 

:lol: No, seriously though, I've never had any complaints. I mean, cosmetically, yes, our stuff is beat up, but given its life span and the fact that it survived pets and kids, this is pretty much what I would expect it to look like. 

 

What hasn't held up for you? I'm curious. (OK, nosy!)

[Momof3littles]

We have a lot of Expedits and they've been great.  The new model is similar but a different name and slightly different style with different proportions.  Our Expedits are used for book and toy storage mostly, have been moved 2x, and are still sturdy.  We also have a long desk, which is one of their long desk counters and some legs, nothing fancy, but we use it as a work station for two computers in our study.  Not fancy, but it does the job and has been easy to deal with.

[Arcadia]

 

What hasn't held up for you? I'm curious. (OK, nosy!)

 

I have a discontinued Diktad wardrobe with a door that is cracked because my younger boy push the door open with so much force it cracked at the hinges.  The thin wood piece for the back of the wardrobe has warped.

 

One shelf of a discontinued Leksvik short bookshelf cracked.  Where it cracked was also the spot that get the strongest afternoon sun so that could be a factor. The other Leksvik bookshelf that doesn't get much sunlight was ok.

 

My Lack white coffee table had a big chip showing the wood underneath when my older boy hit the table top with his toy as a baby.

[Um_2_4]

Trofast and Expedit = awesome for us so far.

 

The sansad table is great (height adjustable)

 

But the desks I  got my older 2 (and for the school computer) are about to need replacement after 2 years. And now I see that they no longer sell them.

 

The alrik chairs are not great (in fact the up and down adjustment stopped working after 6 months).

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I have a discontinued Diktad wardrobe with a door that is cracked because my younger boy push the door open with so much force it cracked at the hinges.  The thin wood piece for the back of the wardrobe has warped.

 

One shelf of a discontinued Leksvik short bookshelf cracked.  Where it cracked was also the spot that get the strongest afternoon sun so that could be a factor. The other Leksvik bookshelf that doesn't get much sunlight was ok.

 

My Lack white coffee table had a big chip showing the wood underneath when my older boy hit the table top with his toy as a baby.

 

Oh, yeah, that's disappointing. We don't have any of the plastic (is it plastic?) laminate furniture, with the exception of my desk, and I don't pay much attention to the cosmetic state of it because no one sees it. I would be very unhappy about the pieces cracking, sun or no sun. 

 

I did actually think of something that didn't hold up for us. We bought youngest DD a daybed that was tubular metal. The scroll panel that kept the mattress on the bed failed after a couple of years--the metal gave way at one of the joints, leaving a sharp metal piece sticking out. Once that support point failed, the frame itself cracked along the end panel. We tossed it and bought her the Hemnes bed frame instead. Though to be fair, it cost $99, and the joint failed because I used to hook my foot under it to hoist myself up when, after I snuggled her to sleep, I needed to get out of the bed without jostling her too much. Still, I think it should have been stronger than that. So I do have one negative story!

[TravelingChris]

I have an Ikea two door cabinet that has moved across the Atlantic (back to US) and then three moves here and no problems at all.  I also think one of our tables is IKEA and if that is so, it has moved twice across the Atlantic, plus three moves and the chairs have had less problems than my dining room chairs that weren't IKEA (fancier).  

[BooksandBoys]

I have an overly tall Ikea filing cabinet/bookcase combination that has now weathered 4 moves and 7 years. It looks and performs like new (except those spots where my husband wasn't careful when packing it into the truck. He thinks moving blankets are silly. :-/).

 

Edited for word order

[Orthodox6]

Reading this thread just brought back memories of my first "away from home" book storage.  My father provided me a large supply of concrete cubes -- (You read that right!) -- (cubes with square holes running through them) -- and press board shelves.  I dragged those terrors from Texas to North Carolina and back again, then through Texas for several years.  Finally, just before I turned twenty-nine, I got married and we acquired "real" bookcases (albeit inexpensive).  I don't remember the name of the company; it was a chain no longer in existence, but appealed to the same demographics as now flock to Ikea. 

[City Mouse]

Ute only thing that we bought from IKEA that did not last long was a cheep mattress for my DS when he moved to,a regular size bed, but then again, he wet the bed for a long time. Even with a waterproof pad, I would have wanted to keep that mattress 10 years.

[chiguirre]

GW's school has had some Mamut tables and chairs since he could sit in them. I'd say they're very durable.

[Cafdog]

I've had pretty good luck with IKEA furniture.  I've had a dining room set (table, china hutch, chairs) and a Billy bookcase for 15 years and 4 moves.  I keep thinking that the day I'm IKEA-free, I will be an actual grown-up.  LOL

 

[DawnM]

Our bookshelves  have held up ok, but they certainly don't look as nice or as durable as our all wood oak shelves.

 

I haven't had anything from IKEA hold up all that well.  I had a futon in the 80s that didn't last.  I have had nightstands and a kitchen table and they were easily scratched and dented from bumping.

 

I wouldn't buy more.

[MrsBasil]

I have no idea on IKEA, but I have a (thirdhand) u shaped school/church quality table and that thing is solid. It doesn't wiggle at all.  The previous family to use it had 4 kids.  I have 2, but one is very, very busy and jumps and climbs anything.  Anything.  This has held up to everything I've caught her doing and whatever happens when I'm not looking.  It's adjustable in height, everything wipes right off of it, and it is sturdy.  Even when the 3 year old treats it like a trampoline, it has held.

 

I've also picked up a couple of things from Lakeshore Learning(a front facing bookshelf and a rolling cart with shelves, a white board, and a flannel board on it) from the Habitat for Humanity store and while it's clearly been used(scratches and dings) the construction is solid. No wiggling and no cracks in any of the wood.

 

The downside is my school room looks way more like a school room than I ever intended.  The upside is the beating they can take and the fact that I paid $30 total for everything.