I'm going to the Ikea in Atlanta on Saturday, and I think I need the white Noresund table, and some new dishes...

Blah.

I think it's too bad that everyone is so excited over a company that produces low-quality furniture and promotes predictable, unoriginal design. Too bad we don't think more about how (and where for that matter) that which we spend our money on is made instead of how inexpensive we can get something we won't want anymore in another month or two.

I see your point about being conscious of where and how Ikea stuff is made, rainy_day, but I must say that I have owned much of my Ikea furniture for years.

rainy-day,

I also want to make the point that a lot of human error goes into the failure of IKEA furniture longevity. I've been present many times when people made the pieces "fit" or didn't even follow the directions. I think if anyone has ever done that then they have no reason to complain about the quality.

Note: I am not saying this about you, but people in general.

rainy_day, Ikea furniture means Ikea budget. If I could shop at DWR, Crate and Barrel, etc. I'd do so in a heartbeat.

At least a lot of us are lucky enough there's an Ikea nearby and we're not buying our furniture at Wal-Mart or Value City. Talk about uninspired, predictable design...

I love me some design, but let's talk about functionality and actuality.

I picked Manhattan. With what my rent costs, I can't possibly spend any more money on things with which to fill my apartment. Even Ikea is expensive for me.

Would I love to have a Haywood Wakefield dressing table? Heck yeah. An Eames chair over which I can casually toss my (also hypothetical) Burburry coat? Who wouldn't?

Is my priority having a bed to sleep on? Absolutely.

Thanks to Ikea, I have a bed, and a kitchen table, a dresser and some book shelves. Even a vase.

Thank goodness that Ikea exists, or I'd be sleeping on the floor. And that, rainy_day, is truly poor design.

Amen, Yakimushi.

What's wrong with Ikea if it fits your budget and you like the design? I have a few Ikea pieces in my house and so far, no complaints. In fact, it's nice having access to designs that are typically priced well out of reach for the majority of us.

teacupcake, perhaps the point others are making is that Manhattan living lacks balance? Instead of blowing all your $ on the address and then filling said address with carb furniture, it would be more harmonious to get a good-value address and fill it with good-value furniture.

I love ikea! I think not only do they provide furniture my right out of college budget can handle, but they are a socially responsible company. A lot of thought goes into their designs to make sure they are not only a functional piece of furniture, but they have also been made as eco friendly as possible.

Educate yourselves! National Geographic did a piece last month online about being green and mentioned IKEA as the place to go for affordable green bedding. Also, alot of their woods are chosen for their sustainability. I live on a very comfortable DWR budget and I am an interior designer, I love IKEA. I do not want my house to look like the catalog but, I like many pieces. Just because you put it together does not make the furniture cheap, in terms of quality.

...."low-quality furniture and promotes predictable, unoriginal design. Too bad we don't think more about how (and where for that matter) that which we spend our money on is made.."

I could not disagree with this statement more! Predictable and unoriginal? More often than not it seems like IKEA stuff is either a direct knock off of current, high end design or is inspired by such. The level of thought that is apparent with many of their products absolutely amazes me and is miles above that of most any mass market brand.

I live in Minneapolis, not the design mecca that is NY or LA, but we do host several high end modern showrooms ala Ligne Roset, et al. , where I may go to search for a single, specific item at a time that I then would choose not to afford anyway because, generally, I am not of the ilk or tax bracket that can embrace a 10K sofa. OR I could go to IKEA, where I will find thousands upon thousands of items in all categories (making it more of a one stop shop), usually smartly designed and functional AND with a price tag that is sane. Plus, I can take it home today instead of waiting 12-16 weeks for the slow boat from Europe.
That some people tend to assume reasonably priced means cheap junk is, IMO, often an issue of perception, not fact and seems to be a particularly American affliction. I refuse to play martyr to expensive furniture when there are acceptable alternatives available.

Based on the current statistics regarding consumer debt, I'd say maybe we all need to think more about how we spend our money, period, and to revisit the concept of "our" money vs. money we don't have.
Contrary to what Americans seem to believe, we are not entitled by birth to a 10K sofa, and I for one appreciate that there are other options out there.
Long live IKEA.

My 19-year-old Billys are doing just fine, with no sagging under the book-loving stress they carry. Even the less-than-Billy shelves from 1993 or so don't sag. (So old I don't remember the name.) And I love my little pine end table with the sorta hairpin cantilever legs; I'll never get rid of it.

I love my fine mahogany, maple, and golden oak, plus pine, vintage and antiques, too, but comparable shelving/display is outta siight for now.

Stid, I think that it's GREAT(!) that companies are becoming more "green", but it's sad (and misleading) when it overshadows the way in which their third-world country laborers are treated.

Contrary to how some responders to my first post may have taken my previous comments, I rarely buy anything new, let alone spend 10K on a piece of furniture!! One, I can't afford to and two, I won't support companies (including IKEA, Crate & Barrel, etc.) that value those who make their products less because they're not white Americans. I'd rather have an empty apartment than have my "stuff" at the expense of others. Most of the time I either purchase things second-hand (estate sales are wonderful!) or don't purchase at all. I love innovative design and how my home looks, but I love knowing others are treated well more.

I do appreciate everyone's honest comments and am thankful that I wasn't the target of any immature backlash I've witnessed on other comment pages.

Again rainy_day, do some research and you will see that Ikea does do miles more than their competitors in terms of taking care of those, young and old, who work in their factories abroad. In underdeveloped countries, sadly child labor is a fact of life. But instead of saying child labor will not be tolerated in the factories of Ikea suppliers (since this would just result in the kids going somewhere else) Ikea sets up alternative education centers, resource centers, etc. to help educate these kids an their families. Additionally, factory owners have to enter into strict agreement with Ikea to promote safe working conditions and a good environment for the kids who work for them.

The only really shady thing Ikea does is cheat on their corporate taxes.

First of all, although child labor occurs in underdeveloped countries I don't agree that makes it right. There are so many factors that contribute to why child labor exists (including the very infrastructure of said country), but rather than address a very complicated issue such as that, I think it's more important here to understand the way in which a multi-million (billion?) dollar corporation such as IKEA operates. I would agree that IKEA appears to be doing more than other corporations (GAP, Target, etc.) to address environmental and social concerns, but they do so for the bottom line: profit, which, unfortunately, influences what they tell the public (their profits rose quite significantly after they began their "green" campaign...hmm...) and what they keep behind closed doors.
IKEA claims to not employ children though they sub-contract in countries such as India (where many of their rugs are made) which makes it impossible for them to know whether their rugs are being made by a 5-year olds in their home or not.
Also, IKEA was found to be in violation of workers' rights in a Chinese factory in a report released this last April (http://www.goiam.org/content.cfm?cID=10258).
I found this article (http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14272) to be quite telling of the way in which IKEA operate behind closed doors. (I'm not extremely tech-savvy so if you have problems viewing either of those articles, let me know and I'll try to redirect you.) I must admit that sometimes I will buy a product from a place like Fred Meyer, for instance, when I'd like to buy something (i.e. shoelaces) I can't find at a local (ethically-run) store, but I can't say as though I enjoy or get excited to buy things from such a company. I am continually trying to challenge myself to support companies that aren't just doing some good (IKEA), but doing ALL that they can to ensure the wellbeing of all those whom they employ and not just their CEOs and stockholders.