Yeah, wasn't sure -where- to put this one.

[Ed_McCarron]

http://www.ikeahackers.net/2012/03/ikea-hol-arcade-machine.html

[leapinlew]

What a noob. No fans for good air ventilation.

[Dervacumen]

Man I'd hate to get a finger caught in one of those holes whilst mashing away at buttons.

[shmokes]

I think it's great as patio furniture. Not sure about putting it inside the house.

[Hoopz]

What's the big deal about Ikea?  I've never been in one so I have no idea.  My wife drove with friends to one.  90 minute drive for one store?

[shmokes]

A ton of stuff, much of it awesome, all of it far less expensive than it would be anywhere else. Think of it like Harbor Freight, except for the designer home instead of the garage.

[wp34]

What's the big deal about Ikea?  I've never been in one so I have no idea.  My wife drove with friends to one.  90 minute drive for one store?

We hit the one in MN once a year.  The best part is the cheap Swedish breakfast.

[Vigo]

What's the big deal about Ikea?  I've never been in one so I have no idea.  My wife drove with friends to one.  90 minute drive for one store?

I've been to MN one many times. I think I like getting food there more than anything as well. I still can't figure out why people go crazy for it though. It is mostly cheap prefab furniture and kitchen items and they label everything with Swedish writing. So if you go there to buy a ladle, what you really need to find is a Skanken.

I think maybe people like it because they have a showroom and tell you exactly what items to buy together, so all your cheap furniture matches and looks slightly less like a bunch of crap. I'll admit, the showroom is fun to look at, and it probably helps people who have no notion of design. I guess it is considered stylish furniture if all you like is nothing but right angles in your house, but as soon as you spend some time in an Ikea, you will be able to spot Ikea furnished houses from a mile away.

[knave]

The Harbor Freight analogy is pretty spot on. I've never been impressed with their bigger items, but alot of their smaller items are a good deal. Much of it almost disposable but good to have.

[Well Fed Games]

The Harbor Freight analogy is pretty spot on. I've never been impressed with their bigger items, but alot of their smaller items are a good deal. Much of it almost disposable but good to have.

That is pretty much it. Occasionally they will have a particularly good/clever design idea... the desk I am typing this on is a modular (discontinued) one they had a few years ago, and I love it, even after taking it apart 8+ times in various household moves.

but as soon as you spend some time in an Ikea, you will be able to spot Ikea furnished houses from a mile away.

My wife and I also enjoy spotting Ikea stuff in movies... apparently production designers like to hit them up for deals, too... 

[yotsuya]

So if you go there to buy a ladle, what you really need to find is a Skanken.

The best item was the computer desk called the "Jerker".

[Vigo]

So if you go there to buy a ladle, what you really need to find is a Skanken.

The best item was the computer desk called the "Jerker".

  I hope it is optimized for left hand use. 

The Harbor Freight analogy is pretty spot on.

If I loved cheap furniture as much as I love cheap tools, I would probably dig Ikea much more. Until Ikea tops that 2 ton aluminum racing jack I bought for $30, I don't think I will be going crazy for their products. I agree though, I like the smaller items at ikea are much more worth looking at.

[Donkey_Kong]

We took a trip to Ikea recently. I felt like a rat in a maze the whole time I was in that store. It's like one way traffic only and you go round and round and there is no getting out until you have reached 'the end'. The fricken' shopping cart wheels all swivel, so it's like a drunk cart pushing free for all.

Do not get the Sweedish 'mystery meatballs', unless you like the frozen food section microwave style dinner. They give you a lot of them, though.

The pillow selection is out of this world, hundreds to choose from! It's the only thing I bought other than the meatballs.  

[Le Chuck]

We have ikea furniture in the kid's playroom.  Lots of shelving and Lack tables.  Other than that it doesn't exist elsewhere in our home but for the kids it's great because if they destroy the whole room we're out like 200 bucks for all the furniture combined.  Not too shabby.

When we go I'm always taken aback by the food prices, when I only pay $7 to feed a family of four I become very concerned with what kind of garbage I just fed my family.   

As we just moved from Germany this last year my wife and all her friends are always talking about how much the US ikeas are better than the Europe ones because they don't feel as trapped because the aisles (paths) are wider in the US ones... to accomodate our giant American asses I'm sure. 

As for the cab in the link I'm not a fan.  I think Tom_G got a much better look and feel in a similar design vein with his execution of a Coffee Table.  If you're going to ikea-ize a cab his is the golden standard. 

[wp34]

I think the trick with the breakfast (I've never wanted to try dinner) is that the portions are really rather small.  They just give you a little of everything so you feel like you are eating a lot.

[yotsuya]

So the food is terrible and the portions too small, eh?

 

I got violently ill at Ikea once after eating the Swedish meatballs. My nine-year-old daughter was with me, so I had to take her in the family bathroom and told her to stand outside the door while I threw up. She still remembers that episode every time we go back, but I haven't eaten there since then.

[Vigo]

   I'm glad I have only tried their desserts...

[shmokes]

I never eat in the cafeteria. The food is just awful. But the cinnamon rolls after checkout are pretty great.

Honestly, Ikea has a lot of great stuff with good quality. Cabinet hardware, light fixtures, kitchen utensils. I bought a magnetic knife holder (a rectangle strip mounted to the wall) for $6 there like 6 or 7 years ago. And it still works great, looks great. I couldn't be more pleased. And the same thing would have been $30 anywhere else. And I have various pieces of furniture that are far nicer looking and equal quality to anything I could get from Target, but they're substantially less expensive than Target.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm talking about Target here, not a high end furniture store. There's absolutely no question that you can get much nicer stuff than Ikea furniture. But you generally can't get anything close in quality or design for the prices that Ikea charges. On top of that, Ikea is a leader in clever design. A lot of their products are actually space utilization solutions that you can only get at Ikea.

[wp34]

I think the breakfast is good.  The meatballs made me violently ill just looking at them.

[hyiu]

I get batteries from there.
10 AAA batteries for $2,
10 AA batteries for $2.
and they are alkaline batteries and lasts reasonably long.
can't beat that.

[Ed_McCarron]

The list of Swedish culinary contributions to the world is rather short, I'd skip the pickled herring and meatballs myself.

Yum.  Meatballs with gravy and lingonberry dressing.  Mmm, mmm, mmm.

The only reason I'll go to IKEA with my wife.  Well, that and to carry ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

EDit:  Also good for furniture hacking.  I wanted a kotatsu type table for the living room, and didn't feel like making one or spending a million bucks to get one shipped here.  Found a cheap IKEA coffee table, cut the legs down, and removed the bottom shelf.  The kids love it.

[TopJimmyCooks]

Used to go there in Northern Va.  still got everything we ever got from there.  Most of the stuff I'm ok with but I'm kind of tired looking at the "Lameski" coffee table  we've had for 16 years.  Gave it a coat of black paint last summer, still looks beat down.  won't die. "jerkov" bookshelf and "clitoris" plywood storage boxes going strong, surprisingly.  be careful buying cheap furniture, people.  it sticks with you like white on rice.

mm vorrk vorrk mmm vork vork!