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Comment by chrisseaton | Hacker News Reader

It's the junk food of furniture. Produced at scale with poor materials, satisfies people's immediate need, locations are functional and service is fast. But don't you want something more substantial and created with more craft? You probably don't need more than one adult bed in a lifetime, for example. I've got furniture that's been in use hundreds of years.

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There is a very high variability in the quality of their goods, that is for certain. Each of my daughters bought steel bed frames that will likely last a lifetime. They are really solid. The slats will probably need to be replaced someday, but they will last as long as any box spring.

But yes, a lot of their MDF beds are junk.

I bought a stand up desk from them a few years ago. They had three models available at the time, and two of them were 'wobbly' when fully extended, but one of them was not. After four (five?) years of use, both raised and lowered, it is still a great desk. It is hand cranked. It is solid, it is sturdy.

So yes, when you shop at Ikea, you have to know what you are getting into, and you need to actually go and see the piece assembled on the floor. The quality from piece to piece is hard to tell from looking.

One of my daughters bought an "Alex" dresser. The construction on that is solid, the drawers move beautifully. But many of their other dressers are fine for four years of college, or maybe a first apartment, and not much else.

Having said that, that 'temporary' market is huge.

Quick edit: If you are looking for a practical 'sit/stand' desk. Here is the one I have. It has been really good. It is not light (in case you live in a walk up). Available ina couple different lengths. Fully extended, it is very stable.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/skarsta-desk-sit-stand-white-s8...

> But don't you want something more substantial and created with more craft?

No. My furniture is...part of the furniture. I care about it being practical. I don't care about its heritage. IKEA quality is perfectly adequate for me, so I'm not inclined to pay for any more.

I also appreciate light furniture that can be moved easily. Furniture that is more "substantial" and made from real wood[1], for example, is far more of a pain for me.

[1] As opposed to chipboard; I don't mean to imply that IKEA aren't using trees.

And that's fine, that's how some people view food and they're happy with junk food in the same way people are happy with junk furniture. Junk food and junk furniture are both consistent, cheap, simple, unsurprising, available anywhere, and sometimes that's what people want. But that's what it is - junk furniture.

Junk furniture probably won't give you diabetes.

No. I have several pieces of Ikea furniture that've survived multiple moves and are still rock solid. It's light, cheap, and sturdy. I don't care if my furniture has craft or history.

Honestly a lot of the furniture I've purchased one or two steps up from IKEA ended up being thoroughly underwhelming.

Based on my survey of what's available on the market, you have to go up nearly two orders of magnitude on price from IKEA to find solid wood furniture that feels like it has the craftsmanship to be an heirloom. And at those prices, it's not only more than most people can afford, it's more than most people who can are willing to spend.

Historically no it's not, my parents still have a lot of IKEA furniture bought in the 1970s made of real wood which gets used every day.

Like every company, there is some good stuff and some trash. The materials tend to be the key to which is which.

Anything made of solid wood or laminated wood is great because it will take knocks and bumps and ast basically forever. Things like chairs and tables.

Lots of their all-metal stuff is good. One of their desk lamps with springs is a design classic, very cheap and amazing value.

Their non-stick kitchen pans are very good value as is most of their kitchen stuff, including glass, ceramics and some plastic stuff.

Anything made of MDF or manufactured wood is just pure trash.

If it’s junk food, it’s decent junk food. You can get much worse.

Also, with the relative prices of labor and machines being what they are nowadays, fewer people can afford to buy the traditionally made stuff.

It’s the same with housing. You may want a house built with hand-made bricks laid in complicated patterns, but few people can afford that.

That's great if it meets your needs, but I don't think that's a good argument for why other people shouldn't have the option to buy stuff from Ikea. Population growth alone dictates there's not enough furniture from a hundred years ago for everyone to furnish their homes.

> I don't think that's a good argument for why other people shouldn't have the option to buy stuff from Ikea

I didn't say it as an argument for this? But there is an impact on the environment that effects us all.

I don't think the junk food comparison is valid.

IKEA design often deservedly wins awards, and their products are a great fit for many use cases that otehrs don't even cover.

It's closer to fast casual than to junk food. More Shake Shack than McDonalds, but not a steakhouse.

I actually went to some high end furniture stores and was surprised that a lot of stuff on the floor was still IKEA quality. Maybe a slight step up, but a lot of it wasn’t solid wood. Additionally, a lot of it was a bit too fussy or looked like something my grandparents would like. When I went to IKEA, I was glad to see some simple furniture, as it suits my tastes.

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