IKEA: classic or dud?

Dennis Björnberg wrote:

Ikeas founder, Ingvar Kamprad, was a member of a nazi-party in his teens. He has since totally rejected nazism, and said that he was just a stupid teenager without a clue about what nazism really was.

I'm sure that's true. But Ingvar Kamprad (the I and K in Ikea, now 75) is an odd cove.

Ikea's product catalogue is well read. Media reports suggest that with 65 million copies published in 20 languages it is the worlds second most widely read publication after the bible.

Appropriately enough, then, a book Kamprad published in 1976 was called 'Testament of a Furniture Maker'. It stressed qualities like humbleness, simplicity and self-reliance, and spoke about Ikea's 'Nordic values'.

Kamprad has kept total control of Ikea, it's not answerable to any shareholders or finance capitalists. Its head office is a 'charity' in Copenhagen. An article in the Indian Express reports: 'If Kamprad had not turned over the company to a foundation but listed it on the bourse and kept 40-50 percent of shares he would be worth some 40-45 billion.'

The article continues:

Despite Ikeas success and his wealth, Kamprad tries to stayout of the public spotlight, always travelling economy class from his home in Lausanne, Switzerland.

He made headlines in Sweden in 1992 when it was revealed that his travel expenses to attend an interview at a Swedish television station showed he had taken a bus to the studio.

Kamprad's reputation was called into question in 1994 when a Stockholm newspaper found his name in the archives of pro-Nazi activist Per Engdahl with whom he was friendly in the 1950s.

Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.

There are some people (for instance an activist group in Bristol, UK) who boycott Ikea, claiming they use child labour and discriminate against black employees, but I think such witch-hunting is fairly silly. The big picture is that Ikea provides good design at reasonable prices. And if you look at Ikea-owned Habitat (unfortunately not available in the US), under new design director Tom Dixon I'd call their new stuff 'good design at reasonable prices'.

Hmmm.. don't know that this is strictly true. I've bought similar style furniture that wasn't do-it-yourself, and I've found that my IKEA stuff is way, way sturdier and harder wearing. Some of the materials admittedly aren't brilliant, but they do seem to be improving all the time.

Don't forget the cheap gravadlax, crayfish, pickled herrings, Diam bar related products, 9 metre packs of strawberyy laces, arctic flat bread, lingon berry jam, cloudberry jam etc. that can be got there.

I do not think I could put the stuff together by myself though so beware when I DO get to IKEA I will be calling on all you strong tough meng rowr oh yes.

my Ikea inventory: three shelves, two PS armchairs (red), one coffee table, four Herman kitchen table chairs, two rugs, two sets of curtains, three lamps, knives and block, dish rack, cutlery holders, and more cutlery, dishes, bowls, pans, knives, wine glasses than i could possibly count.

Things I would not buy from Ikea: bed linen (nice, but I HATE patterns on sheets etc - COMMON), sofas, the actual bed.

In reality this meant seven beds, seven wardrobes ten chest of drawers and sundries - chairs, pointless shelves and five bookcases despite the fools they got in never reading any of the crap free books we got off of the remaindered bookshop. Bathroom cabinets a gog go not to mention the entire kitchen cabinets (I did get half a day off to lump a fifteen foot roll of Lino from Borough to Nitting Hill by tube but that was barely a break really.)

This is why I like my furniture to come pre-made by people whose job it is.

In reality this meant seven beds, seven wardrobes ten chest of drawers and sundries - chairs, pointless shelves and five bookcases despite the fools they got in never reading any of the crap free books we got off of the remaindered bookshop. Bathroom cabinets a gog go not to mention the entire kitchen cabinets (I did get half a day off to lump a fifteen foot roll of Lino from Borough to Notting Hill by tube but that was barely a break really.)

This is why I like my furniture to come pre-made by people whose job it is.

I once had to spend a whole Saturday in my old job assembling 10 new Ikea desks. On a Saturday! How unfair. I agree, furniture should come ready assembled. DIY sucks. I have better things to do with my time.

I like IKEA because I can buy fairly large (ultimately) items and still get them home in my car. And they finally carry good CD cabinets - three shelves, walnut veneer, sliding glass fronts, wall hangable - for $20. They never seemed to get the size right before, like they weren't really made for CDs, or they were those slotted types where if you wanted to insert a new CD while maintaining the order you had to take every other disk out and move it one slot.

In the future, all materials will be like this.

I hate Ikea because I haven't got a car and nor have any of my friends. It's as simple as that.

It's just not NOT worth it, but what choice do I have????

Sorry, there. It just gets very, very tiring living in a location where all the big chain stores are from local or regional chains(hello, H-E-B!) and so many stores I keep on hearing about are nowhere near me. What I wouldn't give to have a large music store somewhere close by, for example. But I digress. Heh.

(but what of Todd Oldham at Target?)

2 different ballgames. Are you looking for craftsmanship, and the price that comes with it, or functionality, pure and simple? At this stage in my life, decent design, affordability, and DIY assembly outstrip brilliant design, excellent materials, craftsmanship and the attendant premium. Someone said they had "better things to do with [their] time" than put furniture together. Alright, I hope those better things include work...so you can pay for my Eames lounge!

That said, I have a collander that is the shit and ez to clean, and one of those 4x5 bookshelves full of books and trophies and such.

Tres chic.

and yeah the cafeteria is awful. it can be a savior if you're hung over, though.

I <3 the IKEA monkey.

what a stylish fellow

I don't hate IKEA, I like the caf and the walk-through part! I just hate getting your pieces together and standing in line at the end, and then having to get them HOME. It's all a lead-up to the horrible part, which is carrying way too much home on multiple subways and/or buses.

PS the next thing I want from there is a dining table so I guess I should start being nice to someone with a car.

btw i broke at least one wine glass on the way home because it was stupidly packed in the bottom of a huge back.

also i have about a million christmas sausages

http://distilleryimage9.instagram.com/58ccedb6423811e2979622000a1fb04f_6.jpg

i thought i was a basically heartless person but goddamn if this isnt the saddest photo ever taken :(

ikea is just about the lease stressful furniture buying experience out there. unless you're loaded then buying forniture is all pretty stressful and at least in ikea you can have fun if you just decide to go with it.

fun in ikea looks like a photogenic couple spinning their goods trolley around & hugging in front of the wine glasses, a montage set to sugar pie honey bunch, like there's always this homemaking scene going on somewhere around you while you're glibly deciding whether you need a weirdly dimensioned bowl that you don't need but which is basically too cheap to not buy

I don't hate ikea at all but yeah it sucks if you go there w/o a car because it's like idk going to a p good restaurant and being allowed to taste and chew the food presented to you but there is a maitre'd who physically prevents you from swallowing it and makes you spit it out into a bin

and you never ever feel like paying for car service or delivery service because then it doesn't feel cheap anymore and what's the point of going if it's not cheap!

PS the next thing I want from there is a dining table so I guess I should start being nice to someone with a car.

it's just not worth it

man i really hate going to ikea.

― i guess i'd just rather listen to canned heat? (ian), Sunday, 9 December 2012 23:02 (Yesterday) Permalink

NEVER AGAIN

― i guess i'd just rather listen to canned heat? (ian), Sunday, 9 December 2012 23:02 (Yesterday) Permalink

Me too man. And I think it actually has been at least a year and a half since I've gone, because of this hatred. Although we've had our eye on a bed from there for a while, and I guess eventually when we have the extra money we'll go get it.

ikea is awesome for some things (beds and mattresses, lamps, things with shelves) and really awful for other things (housewares, anything that you sit on).

i don't plan to go there again unless i need another thing with shelves, and we already have too many of those.

I got rid of the crappy Ikea bookshelves the last time I moved
felt good

i do maintain that my ikea bed consisting of a $100 foam mattress and $70 frame and $20 slats is the most comfortable bed i've ever had.

more comfortable than the disheveled pile of old winter jackets that you previously slept on?

but I suppose it could be true. I just hated the last ikea bed with slats that I owned

believe me i was as shocked as you that it was any good

That's good to hear. My spring mattress is a pile of crap and I'd wondered if the IKEA foam mattress was any good.

Haha, I just saw someone on facebook call the monkey "Jörj".

Oh no, now CTV is saying the monkey won't be returned to his people because of his prohibited pet status. He's still in Animal Control custody. ;_;

CTV now reporting the monkey is a sex addict ;_;

CTV now reporting the monkey's favorite metallica album is St. Anger ;_;

but seriously that is too bad. I hope the monkey finds a good home. I love the little guy.

Poor little monkey. Am sad that I cannot plan to have a pet monkey in the future as I temporarily dreamed.

ikea is classic. ikea platform beds with slats are even more classic (xpost). i think it's more comfortable than a traditional box spring, but more importantly it looks kewl and sophisticated in my opinion.

http://i.imgur.com/w2g6c.jpg

i have been to ikea twice in the past two weeks. i have assembled five bookshelves, a couch, an ottoman, two metal shelving units, a tv stand, a nightstand, and a dresser. i hate ikea.

I feel your pain, I am old so I dread 'hex wrench finger' and sore back. My mind was utterly blown when I found out their catalog is all CG and not photos

that makes perfect sense as i suspect all their in-store employees are holograms as they are utterly unwilling to lift a finger to assist you.

I feel your pain, I am old so I dread 'hex wrench finger' and sore back.

Use a hex bit in any cheap power screwdriver or cordless drill. Not sure what Ikea was thinking expecting normal people to assemble 4x4 Expedit shelf cubes with a tiny hex wrench that needs to be turned about 400 times.

Today, around 75% of all IKEA’s product images are CG

http://youtu.be/vDNzTasuYEw

three wardrobes to get upstairs and assembled today and thats before however many months it will take the odd weekend here and there for get to some level of instagram level youtube-instruction 'built in' standard

I’m gonna use this thread to see if I’m the asshole.

I take my 4 year old daughter to ikea. She has a blast. She gets on every bed and says “yeah I could get use to this”

As we’re leaving, I put her in her car seat and realize the cart bin is all the way at the back of the parking lot. It’s nearly 100 degrees out and my daughter is already strapped in. So instead of walking the cart to the bin, I put it in front of my car but out of the way of anyone parking.

Guy pulls in next to me and says “oh, you done with that cart?”

I say yeah, you need it?

He says, no but we wouldn’t want to leave it there would we?”

I say, I think they hire ppl to gather them up so it’s not a big deal

He just gives me a look.

I say, ok buddy thanks for guilt tripping me!

He walks in the store feeling satisfied.

I at that point I contemplated putting my cart on the roof of his car but I didn’t.

Who’s the asshole?

you are both assholes but it's really not that big of a deal. i wouldn't dwell on it too much but you do need to be putting your cart back imo. calling a stranger out about it as a dick move though unless you're the guy from youtube lol

afraid budo otm there yes

That’s what I figured…

I mean the kid becomes the center of everything but I get that no one else cares

ah thats a parenting thread question and if that viewpoint was entered there i wouldnt venture my personal opinion on it im sure

weve had disaster #1 with the wardrobes btw but i dont think its visible not catastrophic

I think it’s part of what makes parents obnoxious to non parents but every parent has the long piercing cry of their child at the forefront of their mind at most times.

If you had taken the cart to the end of the parking lot, asshole on the curb would've called the cops on an abandoned baby left in a car when it's 100º.

I love IKEA but last time I drive an hour on a Saturday to get us another black Billy shelf. I cross the shop with baby girl to pick up two tiny things, arrive in the hangar space, they are out of single black Billy shelves. You're kidding me, this is like your most sold item. I'm spending an entire morning to get a lamp shade and a baby stepstool. I was enraged. Got us two 1-frank hotdogs. Saw on the exit they had a "damaged goods" section with reduced prices, entered although it said you can't enter with purchased items. Of course no Billy either, didn't feel like re-queuing, so I exited through the same door ("no-exit"). It beeped, soon enough I hear steps and "mister !" and I'm mentally sighing "again me and my temper getting in trouble over the stupidest things". Turns out he was the nicest security guard ever, he apologized profusely for stopping me, it was only because he had to, brought me back to the standing lady by the electronic cashier. I hadn't taken the receipt of course, was getting ready for ten minutes of explanation. Turns out the cashier is also adorable and she's like "oh yes, with the baby, yes absolutely, I saw them pay, have a great day".
This story is to keep Heez company :D

I support Heez

three wardrobes up but didnt get the drawers or shelves in today

didnt do anything wrong with my non existent children in that time

Congrats that’s quite an accomplishment

Might go to the 7 11 thread to talk about an encounter the other day that turned me into Larry David for a solid 30 seconds