[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.