apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i have to agree with this. when my boyfriend and i moved into our own place we went to ikea and got everything we needed for a very low price. now a year later, the sofas are sunken in and all the wood is chipped because it's so cheap. it's still a fun store to shop around, but i wouldn't buy furniture there ever again.

I wouldn't buy everything there, but they fill a very specific need for small items that work in weird spaces that other furniture retailers don't do well.

(Also, as a clutzy person who enjoys wine (and therefore breaks wine glasses semi-regularly), Ikea is my source for wine glasses. I figure it's just as wasteful to throw away $1 broken glass as it is to throw away $10 broken glass.)

I think the situation is more complicated than the author of the Atlantic article allows. I purchased a number of furniture items when I lived in Dallas then moved them to my current home in DC. They all survived the move just fine. This includes 4 pieces which are all made of solid pine - tv stand, cd/dvd unit, gateleg table, and large corner curio. I avoid particleboard furniture no matter who makes it.

My apartment in DC being much smaller than my house in Dallas, I eventually sold most of what I brought here so that I could buy pieces that were more suited to the space. I was able to get a decent price for most items. I also ended up purchasing used Ikea pieces in some cases. Buying them used saves the trip out to Ikea and saves the hassle of putting everything together plus the environmental factors like saving the cost of new materials and preventing items from being trashed.

I am planning another cross-country move in the next few years, and I plan to sell most of my furniture before I do. I want to transport less and then pick out new (if only new to me) items that are suited to my new living space. It doesn't make sense to me to invest in high-end furniture designed to last a lifetime until I have a better idea of where I will be living long-term. I don't want to be a slave to my things.

I wouldn't say that Ikea is green, and I certainly think that it is good to encourage all mass manufacturers like this to improve where they can. But it seems like this article is setting up some false dichotomies.

FSC certified wood is still not common in any low end furniture that I have seen, but given the size of Ikea, it would certainly be a boon to encourage them to do at least some purchasing of it.

All Ikeas that I have visited have been set adjacent to a city, but I know people who travel hundreds of miles to shop there. That means that they probably only make that trip once which is a difference from people buying from Target or Wal-mart who are more likely to make frequent trips due to proximity. I suspect that could significantly skew the average number of miles traveled.

Regarding "designed but not crafted", I would say again that this is a false dichotomy since I doubt people are choosing between Ikea and Eames.

I've rambled on here long enough, so I'm cutting myself off now!

It always seems alternative companies that are well-liked for their difference in a market of homogeny are pointed out - as thought we should expect better. This kind of expectation should be placed on all companies.

[IKEA] positions outlets far from city centers, where taxes are low and commuting costs high—the average IKEA customer drives 50 miles round-trip.

You mean they set up their stores where it's much easier AND cheaper to put up a gigantic 300,000 sq ft warehouse?!? No way! What jerks.

I still have an Ikea bed my dad bought for me in 1999. I also passed along my brother's bed to an old roommate who still uses it.

And my roundtrip milage during my last Ikea visit was about 10 miles. So I guess it all depends on what you end up doing with that furniture and where you live.

Getting rid of old furniture instead of fixing it is not just an Ikea problem. It's a problem of American culture. Everything is disposable to us and that seems to be what kept the economy running. People buying more stuff that they don't REALLY need. Period.

i agree with "graciela"
where ikea stores are situated is hardly an argument. even if you bought your furniture somewhere else, you'd still have to travel there.

i don't think that putting together the products are a problem, think about how much space the packages would take up if they would ship all products ready for use!

some of you complain about the particleboards. the technique they call "board on frame", demands minimal use of resources and the core of the board is made of 100% recycled paper. brilliant solution -you just have to be careful with it that's all.

I'm not saying ikea i green. but atleast thats what they aiming for. alot of companies don't even do that.