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Hacking IKEA Furniture

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Re: Hacking IKEA Furniture

#221

Post by selfhoster1312 »

hattmall wrote: post #201
MomsAVoxell wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>IKEA had done more to evolve the public taste than any other manufacturer. I have lived and worked around a fair chunk of the western world, establishing my local headquarters each time, building myself a home. Long, long ago, I gave up on IKEA for everything except cookware and meatballs. The reason? I grew rapidly tired with seeing my living room everywhere. Move across the US, get invited over for dinner with new…

A lot of people have the exact opposite desires. There are millions of people who have the exact same things because they saw some influencer recommend it and they thought it was cool. I think it's probably the majority that want to have the same things as everyone else, very few people strive for uniqueness.

I don't think it's just a question of uniqueness. There's still distinct cultures across the planet, which affects architecture, furniture, kitchen equipment (and many other things).

Some people might reasonably expect when traveling thousands of km to find different kitchen styles/utensils/recipes. Not everyone wants to be assimilated in a global tasteless culture. (see also, memes about how late-stage capitalism made everything bland and colorless, from cars to electronics)

Re: Hacking IKEA Furniture

#222

Post by nedt »

nunez wrote: post #38
Beijinger wrote: post #27

There are tons of websites like this: https://ikeahackers.net/ I read, IKEA first wanted to have them closed down, but then they realized, it does not matter why someone buys their stuff, as long as they buy it. I like Ikea. I lived in so many countries, and it is an excellent place to buy furniture if you have to. But I consider it "throw away" furniture. Quality is okay or soso and it is unlikely to survive several…

IKEA furniture can hold up very well if you follow the instructions precisely and don't disassemble them (in most cases). We have furniture from IKEA that we bought at least five years ago that still functions great. A mattress we got from them is absolutely stellar with a memory foam topper; all of our guests love it. I think our coffee table is ten years old now. However, everything goes to hell once you try to tak…

Moved a pax twice and my kitchen once. You can disassemble them easily. Just reverse the instructions.

Re: Hacking IKEA Furniture

#223

Post by modo_mario »

bborud wrote: post #69

An architect friend of mine once said that he admired IKEA above all other furniture manufacturers because it made a modern range of aesthetics available to the masses. IKEA had done more to evolve the public taste than any other manufacturer. And I do have to agree. I can remember what ghastly furniture most shops used to have around here. There was a lot of what we call "cabin furniture" - which isn't made to look…

>And who buys furniture to pass it on to your kids? Your kids will be unburdening themselves of your old furniture before you are in the ground.

My great grandparents and grandparents did and I appreciate it a ton. I think modern consumerist culture that has even started to affect buildings with throwaway architecture (because long term thinking doesn't properly fit into the profit motive) is absolutely ghoulish.

Re: Hacking IKEA Furniture

#224

Post by DominikPeters »

nunez wrote: post #38
Beijinger wrote: post #27

There are tons of websites like this: https://ikeahackers.net/ I read, IKEA first wanted to have them closed down, but then they realized, it does not matter why someone buys their stuff, as long as they buy it. I like Ikea. I lived in so many countries, and it is an excellent place to buy furniture if you have to. But I consider it "throw away" furniture. Quality is okay or soso and it is unlikely to survive several…

IKEA furniture can hold up very well if you follow the instructions precisely and don't disassemble them (in most cases). We have furniture from IKEA that we bought at least five years ago that still functions great. A mattress we got from them is absolutely stellar with a memory foam topper; all of our guests love it. I think our coffee table is ten years old now. However, everything goes to hell once you try to tak…

IKEA now publishes disassembly instructions for some of their products. https://www.ikea.com/ie/en/product-guides/sustainable-produc...

Re: Hacking IKEA Furniture

#225

Post by greatgib »

aBioGuy wrote: post #4
greatgib wrote: post #3

The low cost makes it perfect for diy as for an amateur you know that you have the safety to be able to easily buy a new unit if you screw up. Looking into ideas, I was a little bit disappointed to not find community website of people sharing ideas, experiences and results around such hacking.

https://ikeahackers.net/

Very nice, I don't know why in my memory the website was not reachable/online anymore but it is working well in fact.

Re: Hacking IKEA Furniture

#226

Post by greatgib »

teddyh wrote: post #6
greatgib wrote: post #3

The low cost makes it perfect for diy as for an amateur you know that you have the safety to be able to easily buy a new unit if you screw up. Looking into ideas, I was a little bit disappointed to not find community website of people sharing ideas, experiences and results around such hacking.

There’s https://wiki.eth0.nl/index.php/LackRack >

This one is a jewel but sadly mono-maniac :-p

Re: Hacking IKEA Furniture

#227

Post by gbear605 »

selfhoster1312 wrote: post #220
llljk wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ikea has solid wood furniture that'll last 10+ years no problem

Yes, the problem is durability before Ikea was counted in centuries. Sure, this or that furniture may need to refit the hinges or refill the cushions every few decades, but your local handyman/handywoman would do it for cheap and the furniture would be well for some more decades. That, and apart from the tiny unfortunate period during which everything had to be leaded or mixed with uranium, your traditional furniture…

You’re unfortunately vastly overrating the world before Ikea. I have the furniture passed down from the 70s and 80s and it’s all falling apart and made from plywood.

You have to go back to the 30s and earlier before you get furniture that will stand up like that, and making that furniture new today would cost more than almost anyone could afford.

Re: Hacking IKEA Furniture

#228

Post by fwn »

jitbit wrote: post #219
MomsAVoxell wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>IKEA had done more to evolve the public taste than any other manufacturer. I have lived and worked around a fair chunk of the western world, establishing my local headquarters each time, building myself a home. Long, long ago, I gave up on IKEA for everything except cookware and meatballs. The reason? I grew rapidly tired with seeing my living room everywhere. Move across the US, get invited over for dinner with new…

This comment is (mostly) AI generated. Which is funny because it complains about the lack of originality

I see my style of thinking and writing everywhere in the world now. What happened?

On a more serious note, and to tie the fun AI comment into the actual discussion: I suppose the types of medium through which people try to express themselves are just very diverse. One person makes a statement through their dinner table, another through their iPhone wallpaper, etc..

Re: Hacking IKEA Furniture

#230

Post by selfhoster1312 »

gbear605 wrote: post #227
selfhoster1312 wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, the problem is durability before Ikea was counted in centuries. Sure, this or that furniture may need to refit the hinges or refill the cushions every few decades, but your local handyman/handywoman would do it for cheap and the furniture would be well for some more decades. That, and apart from the tiny unfortunate period during which everything had to be leaded or mixed with uranium, your traditional furniture…

You’re unfortunately vastly overrating the world before Ikea. I have the furniture passed down from the 70s and 80s and it’s all falling apart and made from plywood. You have to go back to the 30s and earlier before you get furniture that will stand up like that, and making that furniture new today would cost more than almost anyone could afford.

You are correct, I used Ikea as a generic name for cheap plywood stuff. But there was still strong furniture being built in that era, it didn't all stop in the 1930s, if anything, because a portion of the population even in the global north had not converted to a "modern" post-WWII lifestyle as we see in the movies.
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