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Hacking IKEA Furniture

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Re: Hacking IKEA Furniture

#281

Post by MomsAVoxell »

soco wrote: post #236
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…

I'm not sure building their own furniture is an option for most of the people. I definitely won't do it, ew. Heck, even you aren't doing it, why even recommending it? Yes, flea markets are a budget friendly option, provided you can wait until something passable shows up, and you can arrange transport and putting it up.

I have indeed built my own desk, my own shelving system, my own kitchen layout.

You'd be surprised how easy it is to use a rotary or jig saw once you actually use one.

Of course, one would not have to be so antiseptic about, you know, doing stuff...

Oh, and, just for reference - middle Europe has tons of great second hand furniture opportunities, even still today, in all the major cities. Personal experience helps.

Re: Hacking IKEA Furniture

#282

Post by nunez »

rustyminnow wrote: post #115
nunez wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I've started wood-gluing together my IKEA and other flat-pack furniture to try and increase its usable life since - as you said - it's counterproductive to dis/re-assemble most of it anyways. I've not been at it long enough to claim effectiveness, but so far nothing has started to wobble.

Honestly...not mad at it lol

Re: Hacking IKEA Furniture

#283

Post by xnx »

MomsAVoxell wrote: post #123
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…

>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 is like getting tired of bouquets because everyone has the same flowers.

Re: Hacking IKEA Furniture

#284

Post by account42 »

hvb2 wrote: post #119
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…

> If I pay $5000 for a chair I have reason to expect a lot from it. And more often than not, pricey furniture doesn't actually deliver sufficient quality to be able to defend the price. That's not the point. A large chunk of the price is the name on it and the marketing/image you associate yourself with. I thin, as engineers, that's hard to relate to. But that is how it works. The price is not a reflection of quality…

Yet you keep seeing people that tell someone off for complaining that a cheap thing broke and that they should have paid more to get quality. Problem is that unless you're an expert with enough time you don't know if your paying for quality or bullshit.

Re: Hacking IKEA Furniture

#285

Post by account42 »

leni536 wrote: post #164
ludicrousdispla wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The one criticism I can offer on IKEA furniture is that some of it doesn't move well, specifically the particle board stuff which will fall apart at the joints if it's not carefully handled. Having said that, I also tend to not buy the particle board stuff. I'd prefer it if IKEA offered more options (dimensionally) on their durable furnishings.

They move OK if you dismantle them.

Nah, the cheaper particle board stuff barely survives the initial delivery.

Re: Hacking IKEA Furniture

#286

Post by [deleted] »

peterpost2 wrote: post #64
IncreasePosts wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as you can easily slide it out of the way and it isn't fixed to the wall, it wouldn't be a problem for anyone who needs to service it. Therefore, it would not be against regulations, because all regulations in Germany are logical

You need a vent there as well so gas can't build up.

[deleted]

Re: Hacking IKEA Furniture

#287

Post by account42 »

culebron21 wrote: post #209
wccrawford wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have an example of these "furniture panels" that are higher quality and require less effort than a mod to a fully-realized piece of furniture with easy instructions? I left off "as cheap" because you didn't say it, but it's a huge part of the puzzle that you deliberately ignored, too. But I'm really interested in seeing these "furniture panels" that you're recommending.

Leroy Merlin cuts particle boards and laminates the end faces for you, at any arbitrary dimensions (rectangular though). You pick the boards, make the order for cutting with the staff, leave the carriage with the boards, and in 15 minutes they're ready. All you have to do at home is drill and screw the boards together, add hinges etc. (You'll need a drill director for precision.) So this is doable without any home wo…

> One example where IKEA hacking wouldn't have helped: I needed a thin (20cm) and short (80cm) locker for the bathroom. Ikea had nothing close to this -- at least 30cm thick and 1.5m tall.

Not sure what IKEA offers here, but I ended up with putting "hanging" cabinets on the floor in my bathroom because thy are thinner and shorter than what is available as actual standing cabinets.

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