Where would you be without Ikea?

I'd be in exactly the same place as I am now. Our nearest Ikea is 2 hours drive away (Lakeside) so we never go.

I'm like Ginni, our nearest is to far. I wish they did online delvery at a decent price on the whole range.

I'd be just where I am now too, although we have one a little nearer I've only been once and absolutely hated it

A lot of our stuff here is from Ikea, because we needed to furnish a whole flat cheaply and quickly. Not much of our UK furniture is Ikea - apart from the ubiquitous Not lamps ?

In a bit (more) of a mess! Toys in an IKEA storage unit.

Other than that we have a cushion, a cot we're about to dig out again and some bed linen (not thinking about the rivers being drained for cheap cotton farming ☹️) - think that's about it?

The only thing in our house from Ikea is a vase of artificial flowers - and it's only the flowers that are from Ikea, not the vase! I actually really hate going to Ikea.

I love Ikea but it's just too far away to be practical. The nearest one is a good 2 maybe 2.5 hours away.

I find Ikea to stressful to walk around. Everything is laid out so oddly that I can't find what I want and although the rooms they put together are lovely, most wouldn't fit the style of my home. I have a real problem somethimes trying to picture how an individual item would look in my living room when the general style is so different.

We end up driving an hour there, an hour walking round, buy an oven glove or other pointless peice and then driving an hour home feeling frustrated ? At least the pasta and meatballs make it partly worthwhile.

I can't wait until we live in a place with no Ikea furniture!

Our current flat is mostly Ikea through having to furnish it cheaply and also being very tight for square footage, but my 2 favourite pieces of furniture are the ones we bought for £10 from the local "antique"/junk shop. One day we'll have all mismatched old furniture and I'll be a happy odd-ball ?

The store also gives me really bad migraines - last time we went I ended up projectile vomiting across the till ?

It definitely has it's uses though, and it's kept me in furniture, kitchen stuff etc since I left home.

I've never been to Ikea ? I do have a few bits though which have been bought as presents. My house is a mish mash of items which don't really match but mainly because most of them were free or in a sale ?

At home we don't have any ikea stuff. I think because it's a long way away, and H had never been to an Ikea before he met me.

However, for the studio we have 3 sofas, 4 chairs and some props for children, a lamp, a couple of tables.

I would recommend the Klippan sofa, in fact I think if we needed a sofa at home again I would get a Klippan because it lasts really well and was seriously cheap

L
xx

WE dont have anything from there. I've been once and never again. Sometimes I see noce things advertised but its not worth the stress of actually visiting.

I reckon there would be less divorces without Ikea ?

Oh God decibelle I think we will trump you! We are only 15 mins away from Ikea, it's lethal. The day we got this house we went to Ikea in the evening and spent a fortune!

Hallway - curtains, letter storage thingy, storage box for kids' shoes etc, coat hook.

Living room - glass display unit, wall storage cabinets

Kitchen - glasses, chopping boards, mixing bowls, a few utensils, storage jars, wine rack.

Dining room - table and chairs, highchair, shelves, display cabinet, candles, tablemats

Conservatory - sofa, coffee table, child's table and chair, child's poang armchair, rug, throw, cushions, blackboard

Our bedroom - bedframe, 2 chests of drawers, 2 bedside cabinets.

Matthew's bedroom - bed in its entirety, chest of drawers, coat hook, wall light, toy storage boxes.

Jonathan's bedroom - chest of drawers, small table, lamp.

Bathroom - step for reaching sink/toilet, mirror, wall cabinet, bathmat, metal storage rack thingy.

We also have various shelves/storage boxes in the loft.

And also various toys!

We live about 1.5 hours away, but there is loads of stuff here. But we moved from a small house to a much larger 3 bed, and needed furniture.

Everything is 2nd hand or Ikea. And the dining table is even 2nd hand Ikea ?

Where would we be without Ikea? Sitting on the floor looking at a largely empty house ?.

We had hardly a stick of furniture between us when we bought this place 8 years ago, and it would have either taken us ages to save up or else we'd have had to get into a lot of debt to furnish the house. We're now in a position where we can afford to spend a bit more, but to be honest, the stuff we've bought from Ikea has served us well, and I think we've got enough non-Ikea odds and ends that it doesn't look like we've tried to clone the catalogue.

We do live about half an hour from the one in Wednesbury though, and with the late opening til 10, it's very convenient to shoot up there after work (and have meatballs for dinner!).

We are about 10 mins from Ikea and without it I wouldn't have a wardrobe, bedside tables or chest of drawers in our room, Chest of drawers in the smallest's room, toy box, kids table and chairs or book shelves in the Dining room. Also my eldest may have been killed a few times without the free 1 hr creche facitily ?.

I love ikea. I hate going to anywhere else - why would I want to spend £50+ on an mdf bookcase when I can get the same from ikea for just over a tenner.

I have some vases, lamps, rugs and bookcases from Ikea. We live within 30 mins of TWO Ikeas which is handy because one is shut on Sundays.

When I lived in Newcastle I could see Ikea from the upstairs window, now we are a 3 hour drive to the nearest.

We furnished our first house almost entirely with Ikea stuff, but sold most of it when we moved.

I'm most excited about our new kitchen we're about to order from Ikea.

Its easier for me to list the stuff in my flat that's NOT from IKEA ?. Everything bar the sofas, my bed and the boys' beds is from IKEA.

There was absolutely no point in us spending a fortune on furniture that would get wrecked by two small children, so everything is cheap and cheerful, and will be replaced gradually with decent stuff once the boys are older and slightly less destructive!

I suffer withdrwal if I don't visit IKEA once a month, minimum. And I have yet to leave there empty handed (or empty-tummied, thanks to the meatballs ?)

Having never been in an Ikea store before, am i really missing out?

All of our furniture is from Ikea except from one desk and wardrobe! I love Ikea, and think the stuff is reasonable quality at a very good price.

We'd have nothing to sit on, no kitchen and our toddler would have no bed without Ikea. Plus no side board and book shelves in conservatory.

I love it, but our closest is an hour away which is a bit too far to just pop in!

Yup, pretty much the only stuff not from Ikea is our sofa,bed & kitchen. I have 3 billys and all our bedroom furniture is from there. Jonathan wouldn't have a bedroom either ?

In my defence a lot of our Ikea stuff is vintage Ikea from my student days so at least we're not living in a clone of their showrooms.

I'm 10mins from the Leeds one and often pop in there for hotdogs etc. Was most chuffed when they started selling the meatballs at the hotdog counter too? [wave to Keef]

Our kitchen is the only room that is totally Ikea-free in terms of furniture - although we have tea towels, blackboard and various implements from there. Dining table and chairs are from Homebase.

Utility room - not much furniture in here as it's mostly dishwasher and washing machine - but there is a small shelving unit, and the worktop and small cupboard is Ikea.

Living room - coffee table, sideboard, small table, one of the lamps. Non Ikea is the other lamp and a little table-top drawer unit from The Pier (RIP). Sofa is DFS <spit> but covered with Ikea fleeces.

Hall - shoe rack is the only furniture and that's Ikea.

Bedroom - bed AND mattress and all bed linen etc is Ikea (superking size!). Bedside table and 2x chest of drawers.

Spare bedroom - the bed in there is a hand-me-down so not Ikea but there's an Ikea chest of drawers and a clothes rail.

Attic study type room - rug, and computer desk and laundry airers are Ikea, sofa bed is hand me down from parents.

Hmmm we wouldn't have much really would we! I'm sure I've forgotten a fair few smaller things that are also Ikea.

Oh yes. You're missing out on couples screaming at each other, parents screaming at children, shoppers screaming at staff when stock that was advertised as available isn't. You're missing out on Soviet style queuing at the tills and centrally planned routes throughout the store. Just want to pick one thing up and leave? Sorry, not allowed. Follow the route that is designed to take you past every piece of preformed plastic armchair whether you want it or not. You're missing out on beds and bedding that come in Scandindavian sizes and won't fit any linen you already have. You're missing out on delivery charges that makes Harrods look like a bargain emporium. You're missing out on spending an unexpected £50 on a candle holder, cutlery rack, lamp and placemats that you never knew you needed. And then of course, you're missing out on the carnival of fun that is flat pack construction once home.

Chuh. I furnished my first flat between Ikea and Argos, so it has its place. However, I can't tell you how delighted I am that I can steadily replacing the instantly recognisable Ikea stuff with more idiosynchratic stuff from different places. I suspect I can spot and name something from Ikea from 50 paces (even if I can't pronounce it correctly...) as their stuff is so distinctive. If you can bear the most miserable shopping experience that exists in a capitalist country (I know people go there for pleasure - I can only assume I come from a different species) you can fit a home out in one fell swoop for less than just about anywhere else. Its ideal for first homes, students and rental flats (and I've lived with Ikea in all of those situations) - but the process of getting the stuff from the shop to use makes me want to gnaw my arm off.

I have a theory that if you can survive Ikea with your partner (from arriving to assembling the furniture) without arguing you could face a lifetime of stress together and cope...

Putting it that way Dopper2, I think I'll give it a miss! ?

We have book cases and beds from Ikea. The book cases are mostly great but the beds are very flimsy. Ours is only two years old and it already needs replacing.

I really don't like ikea. we have the poang (and mini poang for cub in a twee moment of madness) because we needed a good, cheap chair for me to breastfeed in without spending ages looking for one and I knew a few hitchers had recommended it. we looked at the bathrooms / kitchens recently and i was really unimpressed.

it's ok for lunch with lots of babies/ toddlers, as they have lots of space and a ton of highchairs, but i don't eat meat so the meatball craze kind of passes me by and their veggie food is always so over salted i come away feeling slightly sick.