[ErrantX]

I'm honestly not sure it makes furniture cheaper, either.

Here in the UK at least I found IKEA to be about 10-15% more expensive to local furniture stores. And about on par (about 2-5% more expensive) with national chains.

I'm in the process of kitting out my new house and, to take an example of a book case; this is the sort of think I am after: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S99823013

- IKEA: £160

- Homebase: (2 or 3 units together to make that design) £140

- Local Furniture Store: £130 - £150

- Second Hand: £100 ish

- Self Build: about £85 plus my labour (plus; leaps and bounds better quality)

Off topic note; it's currently half built :D because it's a no brainer really to have built it myself once I sorted out the costings. Highly recommend building custom furniture if you have a bit of practical skill - next up is a decent desk (cost of £200 down to under £100 with self build)

[loewenskind]

I don't find IKEA cheap at all. If you get their cheap offerings (where the so called "savings" are) it's garbage that will barely last a year. If you get something decent it costs at least as much as any other store or more.

[fshaun]

Could you elaborate on the fixed costs of the self-build option? I'm curious what tools and experience you have. If I tried to build that I imagine I'd end up paying more in medical bills from banging my head in frustration. It does sound fun though.

[ErrantX]

I'd be pleased to!

So, basic requirements for a bookshelf are:

- Decent power drill/screwdriver (the battery type)

- Tenon Saw (the sort that is fixed with a metal bar to the top for straight cuts)

- Set square

Upfront you're looking at £40-£55, probably, for adequate tools. However I consider it reasonable that anyone practically minded will have some of these anyway (I bought myself a set when I bought my house last year and they have already proved their worth :)).

The main part of the project is careful design, figuring out the exact dimensions of the pieces you need (sketchup is good for this, or graph paper). Then you can go to the nearest hardware store (I live in a medium sized town and we have at least 5 places I can go to) who will provide the wood cut to length for you.

The only real sawing you need to do is fiddly bits - for example I have to fit mine around skirting board at one point, so need a notch.

In terms of construction, that's fair easy. Wood is really forgiving to work with as long as you are sensible about it :) my design is very simple. I have a piece of wood for the base, with the sides going up to the roof - they are secured top and bottom for rigidity. On both sides I have batons secured horizontally at the intervals I want my shelves, then each shelf just sits on that.

If you get nice thick wood (18mm or more) and don't make the shelf length too long (i.e. about about 80cm) that will work great!

Pre-drill holes first - make sure you use a wood bit substantially smaller than your screw - and make sure you have decent wood screws of the right length.

Bookshelves are pretty simple once you have pieces of wood the right length. Cutting yourself will make it harder, but not impossible :)

EDIT: everything is 90 degree angles, which simplifies things a lot. I'm currently working on a plan for my desk which involves Z shaped legs :) cutting the angles on that will be fun!

Making furniture is wildly rewarding; particularly for me as my dad is pretty practical in terms of DIY so it's some common ground for us!

[jasonlotito]

Are all those examples of "flat-pack furniture"? Self build is the cost plus labor plus the cost of the material to build, etc.

Simply looking at the final product and comparing the price ignores a lot of what makes IKEA what it is, and what they provide.

[ErrantX]

Well true, but the end result is the same. First two (IKEA & Homebase) are flatpack. The local shop & second hand are pre-assembled (the second hand is real wood construction so was never flat pack), but it makes little difference.

Self build, sure, there is a labour "cost" - but you're looking at a couple of weekends max construction, so if you have the interest it's no biggie :) I only included it because I thought it would be interesting to encourage people to consider it as an option.

[jasonlotito]

What I mean is pricing isn't always the same on the pure product for an individual. Not everyone can load up a huge dresser into the trunk of their mini and get it to their flat. And if those places have delivery charges... =)

IKEA was founded on solving that exact problem.

That being said, I wish I had the room to do my own wood work. One day, one day. =)

[ErrantX]

Fair point. FWIW none of those places charge delivery in this case.

You are right; IKEA sell cheap. And they also sell convenience - and market economics means that cheaply convenient is more expensive than cheaply awkward.