Random ramblings:
I've been somewhat addicted to shopping at Ikea since they opened up here. For the first couple of years, an Ikea shopping trip was a weekly excursion. I've tried to scale back in recent times, now it's mostly a twice-a-month online order capped at 3k to stock up on replenishables and other curiosities that show up on their website.
Ikea has a wide range of quality when it comes to furniture. Most of the stuff is meant to be discarded after a few years and is priced accordingly (sub 1k table tops) but they do also have higher quality stuff at much higher price points.
Ikea in a way, is a lot like Taco Bell. They reuse the same 5 ingredients for a dozen different menu items. So a plain white Linnmon table top can be had through their in-store "as-is" or "circular hub" section for under 500 has the exact same construction and longevity as their black veneer Linnmon top that's 1400 or so. And then they have table tops at 4k and up which also have the same paper honeycomb internal structure. But at 4k, you'll also find particle board table tops.
Most of the larger furniture I purchased was through the as-is section, so they were at deep discount and you didn't have to think twice about the price. For example, I have half a dozen PAX wardrobe frames and they were priced between 800 to 1100 each. A similar discount was on shelving, pull out baskets at under 500 for each. I've only ever paid full price for the pullout trays and drawers, since they never appeared in the as-is section.
For actual long life purchases, I prefer places like Pepperfy for their solid wood furniture and minimalist design.
Like everyone else, I have a collection of Skadis pegboards and accessories though I'm a little sad they discontinued the black/dark ones before I could get enough. Products made of plastic, glass and metal have lasted years now without fatigue (for plastics) or rust (for metals). The only stuff that's aged badly were the Linnmon table tops where the surface finish started flaking or the entire thing started bowing. I probably should used a table mat for them. Paper based products from Ikea in general are not going to last in our climate.
Almost all of the kitchen stuff has held up really well, much better than expected — from knives to pots to containers.
For furniture assembly, I find that for better build and longevity you need to use glue and go crazy with fasteners, which is what i'd do for anything shipped in a flat pack.
What attracts me most about Ikea products is the modularity and standardization. I can come up with a set of size requirements and almost always reliably find something. Containers of this size, or a shelf of that size. This is now changing with stuff that's available on Amazon.
The best part of Ikea is the discounts and markdowns that's only available in store. Some time ago, they had high CRI gx53 led bulbs at less than Rs 80 each. Stuff like this was the entire reason behind my weekly trips. But my spending quickly got out of control and so I had to stop, ha.
But places like Amazon are now flourishing after the lockdown and I'm discovering really cool stuff there so I don't miss my Ikea trips much.
