Hellobee Boards

Some stuff from Ikea is worse than others. The cheap shelves and tables we bought for our living room are still sturdy but the finish on them is chipping off.

The bedframe, nightstands and dresser we got for our bedroom on the other hand is all still holding strong and looks great! We just recently bought a bunch of desks for our company's office and they look great and seem like really nice quality. We also bought a faux leather couch which is looking good too.

Their stuff is not heirloom quality, but it should last 5-10 years easily. Maybe longer depending on what it is.

It totally depends on what you buy. The solid wood construction holds up better than the particle board, we bought a slipcovered couch so that we could buy new slip covers if we wanted. That said, we have some *great* stuff from Ikea:
Slipcovered love seat and coffee table in our office
Expedit large shelving unit in our kitchen
Crib and daybed (+ mattresses*) in our nursery

* IKEA is actually great for things like crib mattresses. They sell all over the world and their stock meets the safety and toxicity standards for the strictest country they sell in. Many countries -I.e, Germany - have much stricter standards for things like crib mattresses than the US, so if you buy it at IKEA, you know you are getting that won't harm your baby.

My husband bought a couch that did not hold up very well at all. The cushions got all smushed and warped after a couple of years. It was comfortable for about two years. I had a dresser that broke after about 5 years. But this was all about 10 years ago. Maybe the quality has improved?

We really like our karlstad!

We have lots of Ikea furniture. We don't have a couch but our bookshelves, tables, etc. have held up very well.

I appreciate this post, because my mom is planning on taking me to Ikea to pick out a dresser for LO. I've been wondering the same thing about their furniture.

I think YoungHouseLove.com has a Karlstad couch and they have done updates on it a couple of times and are really happy with it, you might be able to search their site and find some more information.

We have a few other things from there like the Expedit bookshelves (the cubby ones) and a Hemnes bed all in the dark finish (which is a veneer) and they hold up fine for the price. They are sturdy and well made but the finish is a little more sensitive to nicks and deep scratches. For the price we are super happy with it and frankly filling in nicks with a black sharpie does the trick on those pieces (we probably only have 4-5 and have 4 shelves, two desks and the bed so we aren't talking tons of issues.)

My mom bought IKEA couches when she and my dad got divorced. That was nearly 20 years ago. It survived multiple moves, college apartments, and pets. She finally just got rid of it, only because it didn't match their new decor and none of us kids needed it. One of them was a sofa bed that was actually pretty comfortable, as far as sofa beds go.

We have a ton of Ikea stuff and some is better than others. The solid wood stuff is great, our bed frame is one I bought when I was single in 2004 and it's still in great shape, even after being taken apart and put together for five moves. We also have a wood table that is pretty great.

Our entertainment center and bookshelves are pretty decent.

LO's dresser kept coming apart until DH used some glue to keep it together. But it's got a bit of particle board so that's why. You really just have to look at what the items you are buying are made of.

We lurve our couch from IKEA! We shopped high and low at many furniture stores, and I fell in love with this white chaise couch. You can get your slipcover in many colors. I love that they are washable as well. Great delivery process, easy to get it setup, and it moved like a dream-and did not break. It comes with a 10 year warranty, which we loved! Here's a pretty picture of it on a blog.

http://hookedonhouses.net/2011/11/10/my-sunroom-in-the-fall/

I also bought this IKEA coffee table. Previously, I had a $20 IKEA coffee table that got me through college and law school. Solid baby! We upgraded to this one. I can't tell if it's our exact one, but look at the last one. Ours is a big macdaddy.

http://www.kitchencabinetscolors.com/2012/03/white-coffee-table-ikea-creative-interior-design/

Oh yeah! My entertainment center is from IKEA. It's solid wood, and my parents got it for me for my first apartment when I was 19. I'm 26, and I've moved every single year since then. Still looks awesome. Same with my IKEA bookcase. Had it sense I was 19 and it got me through college, law school, and beyond!

Growing up my parents used to buy pretty much everything from Ikea. We actually have a shelving unit from Ikea that used to be in my bedroom growing up. It must be over 20 years at this point, but it's held up great!

Currently the only major Ikea furniture we have is our bedframe and mattress. Both are beautiful and are still like new 2 years later.

Growing up I had mostly Ikea furniture, and it was also good quality.

I think some things can be hit or miss, but you can check out the quality of things by scoping out the actual demo pieces in store.

I voted yes, with a caveat. My karlstaad couch was an absolute piece of junk - it literally fell apart after a few years. It was, however, covered by a lifetime warranty, so it was fairly easy to get a replacement. I got a different couch that is sturdier, and so far it's held up well.

I'd only buy ikea furniture if it were covered by the same lifetime warranty, and then I'd be careful to save the receipt.

I do have a few smaller things but lately I am staying away from ikea because their prices seem to be going up and for that price I can get something better elsewhere. Never bought a couch though, and I don't know if that holds up because I know their couches are very affordable.

We have a few Ikea pieces and it's holding up well so far! It's a hit and miss though so read reviews first!

I have an IKEA coffee table, dining room table and four chairs. Plus little things like vases and lamps. The furniture has held up great for quite a few years now, at least 3? 4? I can't remember

We have a bunch of ikea but primarily shelves and dressers and a couple of nightstands. We have one mattress + bed frame as well.

Everything has held up really well so far except for our dressers. I assume we are just packing them too full but the quality probably isn't there.

For couches, something that has always stuck with me is an episode of Oprah where Nate Berkus was the guest and he said that a couch is an investment piece. Ideally it's a purchase you make that will stick with you for a lifetime. With that said, I don't think we will ever buy an ikea couch as we have always set aside money for high quality custom pieces.

A lot of people joke that IKEA furniture is for poor college kids. We are neither poor or in college. Honestly, we just like the look. We have the Kivik sofa, which we LOVE!! It's paired with a discontinued mid-century modern table from them. Neither was cheap, and they've both held up really nicely.

We're also fan of their Poang chairs (we have 2), and anything they sell that's solid wood (versus the compressed fiber board).

It's great because as we find true, vintage mid-century modern pieces in town, they fit really well with the IKEA furniture.

I say, GO FOR IT!

If you're not moving the pieces and they're staying in one place. They're pretty good. I have a dresser from Ikea and I had to put some wood glue on it since it came apart during a move.