IKEA Bedroom Furniture

ikea has different price points and quality levels within their store. While their stuff is not heirloom quality it is pretty durable. We bought a Big Hemnes Chest for my husband and he has used it for 7 years. There are a few dings on the front from stuff hitting it but it is in great condition. He currently does not need the dresser and wanted to get rid of it. I pointed out that he didn't have a place for his tools since we moved (old home had built in work bench we could't take with us) So he is using the chest for his tools now. When you purchase make sure you are buying something wood and not laminant because that will fall apart quickly if he is rough. I think it is doable but if he is rough I would look into something else that could withstand it for sure.

My son (6) has Hemnes bedroom furniture he's had since he turned 3. He is NOT gentle on drawers at all, and the dresser is still going strong.

IKEA has different prices and lines and many pieces ARE solid wood (although those cost more than particle board pieces). Our formal dining room and family room are both entirely IKEA and the table, especially, gets lots of complements from company.

Go to an IKEA store and check out the bedrooms in person. Pull on the drawers, feel the weight of pieces etc.

Good luck.

T.

I'll tell you what, for being "lower quality" furniture, IKEA stuff really does well. My husband and I bought a bedroom set in 1995, when we moved from NJ to San Francisco. It was built in SF, then taken apart 2 yrs later and moved to Denver. In Denver, it was taken apart and rebuilt each time we moved to a new house (3 times in all). THEN, we moved from Denver to PA...one of the dressers didn't make it, but the rest - yep, taken apart and rebuilt AGAIN. Two years in one house, then FINALLY, last summer, we got rid of it when we moved to our current house. NOT because it was falling apart, but because I was so darn sick of it (and it only cost like $600 total for the bed, 2 side tables and 3 dressers in 1995). All in all, that "cheap, low quality" furniture lasted us 16 years! And one of the dressers is still being used in our guest bedroom - it's still in perfect shape! We also have a coffee table that we bought in 1995 - it pretty much looks like it did brand new. And it's been the "kids" table for a number of years, so it's taking a beating. But it still looks great and is really sturdy.

Obviously IKEA stuff isn't "pass it down to your kids" type of furniture. But for the price, I think the quality is pretty darn good. Plus while the kids small, who wants expensive stuff that they're going to ruin anyway? Now that our kids are older, we're *JUST NOW* starting to talk about getting "good" furniture. But then I look at the prices and styles and think "I could get something more my style for a lot less at IKEA..." and it makes paying big bucks for furniture really hard to do.

Our experience with the dresser drawers hasn't been that great. We have 3 pieces, 2 from the Leksvik (sp?) line in my baby's room, and the under-bed drawers for the Hemnes daybed. The Leksvik's drawer bottoms are very flimsy, and I can't load the drawer to even 3/4 capacity, or the bottoms sag down and interfere with the operation of the drawer. The Hemnes under-bed drawers are sturdier, however since Day 1 something has been off with 1 of the tracks, and the drawer sticks, and can be nearly impossible to close.

So, my advice--inspect the bottoms to see how thick they are, and how deep s the groove is that the bottom slides into. If it isn't thick enough, and the groove not deep enough, chances are it won't hold up very well. Hope this helps!

I'm not familiar with Ikea. I've been in the store 1 time and it appeared cheap to me.

My thoughts. You get what you pay for.

Buy a $200 dresser and replace it every 3 yrs then you come out ahead to buy a one time Nice dresser and it last 10+ yrs.

Or does your hubby just disrespect furniture in general and act as though you use it 2 yrs and throw away?

We purchase classic custom pieces mostly that are one of a kind. These are meant to last 10+ years.

You do pay good money for good quality and good quality does not fall apart in a couple of years.

Yes, I am careful with my furniture, not overboard , but we've had it over 16 yrs and it still looks new. We didn't go cheap. We bought quality.

My stepkids still have the wood dressers that DH bought them when they moved in this house about 10 years ago. IMO, I'd go check them out, you might be pleasantly surprised at what they offer. (We also have IKEA bookshelves, a night stand, some office chairs, and a desk/loft combo for SD, for what it's worth. They all look fine to me. If you can, take a stroll through one of their showrooms to check out the pieces in person.)

My guy isn't gentle with drawers (he slams them every morning while getting dressed) and he's had his IKEA dresser for 8 years (it also holds a very heavy tv, so pretty sturdy). It survived two moves and did great.
The only pieces of furniture we own from there, that hasn't "completely" held up, are the two shelving units. From the move, and the wind on the freeway the particle board came off. We just went to home depot, spent 10 bucks and nailed a new piece on. You can't even tell.
Good Luck =)

The quality isn't great (a lot of press board, rather than real wood, at the back of the furniture), but for the style and price, you can't beat it. We have Ikea furniture throughout our house (intermixed with other, signature pieces) and it works really well. As for bedroom furniture, our kids have Ikea Malm bed frames and dressers. They are in like-new condition after 3-4 years. The wardrobe and shelving unit were both severely banged up and damaged in a recent move, but again, press board...what did I really expect? The good thing is that they are inexpensive to replace, so when something does happen, its no big deal.

We've had our IKEA furniture for 7 years, and it's held up fine. We have a couch, dressers, book cases, and two beds.

IKEA, when put together properly is really good stuff.

I really don't get why everyone is so against IKEA stuff. We have a dresser from my daughter that i am selling because she outgrew it. It is like new. It is 5 yrs old. Like other furniture--wood or not--the drawer pulls do loosen, just tighten them occassioanlly. Not hard.

TIP: When putting the drawers together, pay attn to what you are doing and use wood glue in the joints. I have not had a drawer bottom fall out ever when i was the one that put it together. The only problem we had was the original dressers had bad gliders but they are different now. And my kids totally beat up their bunkbeds (literally) though they did last 5 yrs so I won't complain too much.
I bought the dresser my older son currently has from a couple that had it for 5 yrs. We have had it for about 3 now. No problems at all and he is the kid that throws clothes in and lets them hang open. I did take 2 drawers apart and glue in the bottom. And it is pine, not super cheap composition wood.

I get bored with furniture and house decor in general really easily. I would never want anything more than 5 years. I can't imagine having something that is 10 years old just because i think it would LOOK old. So I dont spend a ton of money on things. We have some Ikea dressers and they are fine. I think the darker furniture looks better. My kids have the white and lighter colors. I am not a huge fan of them but they go well in their rooms for now. They have held up fine for the last 3 years with kids' slamming drawers occasionally!

My son has had Ikea furniture for 3 years and he's rough! It's all held up very well, in fact once our baby is ready for big furniture shes getting it. We also have a dresser that's held up through 3 moves.

Actually a lot of their furniture IS real wood and holds up well. Even some of the laminate stuff is pretty good, but it depends on how often and hard it gets used (bookcases and shelves will hold up better than coffee or kitchen tables for example.)
I avoid the upholstered stuff (couches, chairs, cushions) because both the material and filler is SO cheap, it really falls apart fast. But our desks (5) bookcases (3) nightstands (3) wood and steel bed frame (1) and toy organizer, now used in the garage, all have held up really well for many years. As a matter of fact all but one nightstand and one desk are still in excellent condition!
Just make sure you make your husband put the dresser together, if he's going to be aggressive with it then there's no reason for YOU to do all the work :(