[bityard]

Some IKEA furniture is great, some of it is terrible. 10-15 years ago, it was where you'd go when you needed a great-looking nightstand or coffee table for a fair price and didn't overly care how long it would last. These days, you can expect to pay a premium for the "IKEA aesthetic" and shopping experience.

Personally, the main thing I can't stand is that you have only limited ability to "choose your own adventure" and just go straight to the thing you're there to buy. I don't want to spend 25 minutes wandering through their corporate-curated displays to get to the kitchen faucets.

I think they still have a good price on AA NiMH batteries, though.

Edit: I am speaking to the US stores, I have no idea what IKEA is like closer to their homeland.

[Suppafly]

>Personally, the main thing I can't stand is that you have only limited ability to "choose your own adventure" and just go straight to the thing you're there to buy.

Sure you can, just go down to the basement area where you pick up all the boxes anyway. You only need to browse if you don't know what you want.