[lurking_swe]

ikea is where you shop if you want new furniture but can’t afford real furniture. In this context, “real” means made of real wood.

And im not judging, i too was a broke college kid at one point. And many people just don’t have the money. But ikea is ANYTHING but fancy. Its super cheap.

[dingnuts]

Lots of IKEA furniture is real wood, and lots of "expensive" brands are still flat packed particleboard. Ever bought anything from West Elm?

I'm curious where people are buying "real" furniture, even even they spend "real" money. I've had the best luck with the Amish and at estate sales, but that's not super repeatable.

All the major furniture stores like Ashley or whatever are similar in quality and construction to IKEA -- I don't really think the "cheap" reputation is deserved just because IKEA has $10 LACK side tables available.

[lurking_swe]

west elm pretends to be high end but it’s not. As you said it’s hit and miss, some gems and a lot of junk. As consumers in 2025 we are awash in a sea of cheap junk. It’s frustrating sometimes.

I personally recommend people go to a real furniture store (a large one), where the salesperson is actually knowledgeable and where they offer many brands. Ask for what you want. Specific materials, finishes, price range, etc. Make a note of the brands and manufacturers. Then dig deeper. Often times these brands are featured in a niche catalog or magazine, where you can find similar brands offering similar products.

There are many high quality buy it for life items to be found! But rarely at the convenience of a button click from westelm’s website.

[seanmcdirmid]

Real furniture stores lay somewhere between being useful and being like a mattress sales money laundering operation. I just find most of them full of gaudy furniture that I’m not sure anyone would really buy (hence my guess that money laundering is involved).

In the Seattle area, the best I could find is Dania, which is a chain that is basically a higher end IKEA that focuses more on furniture (Scandinavian style).

[lurking_swe]

I’ll be in seattle in a few months, maybe i’ll swing by Dania for an hour just to see what they have. Thanks for the recommendation!

Some brands that you might like if you are looking for buy it for life. Some sell direct, some only sell via wholesale to other furniture stores. This is a list from a note i created 3 years ago when i was shopping for a new dining table.

* MS&Wood. Bosnian company, 100% wood products. https://www.adakezic.com/images/Zastupstva/mswood/2018_MS&WO...

* Ethnicraft - 100% wood (oak, teak, walnut). made in belgium.

https://ethnicraft.com/us/en/

* Cattelan Italia. Italian company, very high end and also very high quality. Styles are a mix of gaudy and timeless - wood, glass, and metal.

https://www.cattelanitalia.com/en/products/index?c=new

On the lower price range, some good choices might be “Article”, “Blu Dot” and “HAY”.

[seanmcdirmid]

I think Dania and Scandinavian design have stores in many states, not just Seattle. It’s just the best solution we found here that matched our furniture preferences. Online retailers are hard to deal with since it’s not clear what you are getting without showrooms.

[seszett]

Ikea has every grade of quality from cardboard to solid wood to metal furniture.

I will never understand why there are always such comments saying Ikea furniture is bad quality, or in your case not even "real" furniture, come on, it's like you have never even been in an Ikea store.

[lurking_swe]

We can agree to disagree. yes Ikea offers _some_ products that are made of solid wood. But i’d say maybe 75% of their selection is particle board mixed with _some_ wood elements. That was what i saw during my last trip in ikea in 2020, in NY. Their selection of office furniture is similarly sad. Office chairs that might last 10 years with gentle use MAX. A lot of the ikea stuff is what i’d consider “buy it for life if you treat it gently and don’t have kids”.

I think Ikea is wonderful on a budget. But i personally wouldn’t waste my time there, except for rarely used pieces of furniture. im blessed to have more discretionary income these days. The one product i really like from ikea is their PAX closets. I think they are a very good value, despite feeling a bit cheap. I like how customizable it is, and it’s very functional.

—-

For example the Amish make very high quality wood furniture in the U.S., at a fair price. If that’s not your thing, there are companies that focus strictly on buy it for life high quality wood furniture. My dining room table was made by MS&Wood (based somewhere in bosnia i believe…they sell direct and wholesale to furniture companies).

https://www.adakezic.com/images/Zastupstva/mswood/2018_MS&WO...

[orwin]

It must depend on the country then, because IKEA near me propose at least 50% pine wood (except slim pannels which are often chip/particle boards, but sometimes plywood). Since I dislike pine for multiple reasons I don't go there often, but honestly if you don't have any woodwork tools and don't do your appliances yourself, IKEA is good enough.