Architect's TOP 10 IKEA Products to Buy/Avoid in 2023

throughout my journey as an architect and  designer and someone who likes to make the   very most out of the budget that's available to  me I've made countless errors in the past when   it comes to picking Ikea furniture and you might  be shocked to hear this but oh Ikea furniture is   equal so to potentially save you from making the  same mistakes and to help you make sure that you   get the most bang for your buck I made this video  explaining my top 10 Ikea products to buy or avoid   for a well thought out and curated home sofas are  arguably the most important item when it comes to   any living area but Ikea's clip hand sofas have to  be probably some of the most uncomfortable sofas   that I have ever rested my butt cheeks on and  of course maybe this is to be expected because   of their incredibly low price point despite some  of us being on a budget when it comes to picking   large items like a sofa if you do plan to buy  new I would highly recommend putting off a large   purchase like this one until you find a sofa that  you truly love and can afford as sofas are not   only ours to maneuver in and out of your home once  you've bought one but budget-friendly sofas rarely   fetch a very good price on the used Market too  instead if your budget can stretch Ikea's soda   ham sofa looks incredible compared to the price  that you actually pay for it providing a deep and   contemporary designer look without the designer  price tag or you may want to consider their brand   New jatamo Sofa which honestly looks pretty much  identical to R flex's macchiaro sofa at a fraction   of the cost whilst providing abundant  hidden storage underneath the seats and   the incredible flexibility and maneuverability  that comes with a modular system like this one   and although yes these sofas aren't cheap  when compares to Ikea's other sofas like   their clip-and or parap I believe that at  this price point these products actually   provide the most value and bang for your buck  in terms of comfort longevity and desirability now concealed storage is an essential part of any  home in order to hide all of the Clutter that we   all inevitably struggle with and because it's not  likely that this is something that's going to be   a prominent feature in your home for most people  Ikea seems to be the obvious choice however from   experience one product that I really dislike  is the iket system as because of this albeit   convenient tallest mitered design it provides  way too much Flex to remain 100 perpendicular   to any doors and drawers that you actually add to  it leaving unsightly and uneven gaps around all of   the openings and at closer inspection even at the  joints themselves and my recommendation instead   would be to go for the larger and in my opinion  far superior best units as these have a thicker   sturdier frame and simpler construction and as the  door placement covers the cabinet frame itself it   ensures that any misalignment goes unnoticed and  because they're so sturdy and configurable in   so many sizes it's still possible to get really  creative with how you use them in your home too   you may have noticed this but recently Ikea  have started leaning really hard into the   world of desk setups and organization and  as so many of us now work from home this   actually makes a lot of sense however items like  their lannis spilare mug holder are absolutely   ridiculous as really you have to ask yourself  how much less likely are you to knock a drink   that's sitting in a clamp that's precariously  jutting out of your desk rather than a drink   that was just on your desk itself and I think  the only guarantee a product like this provides   you with is that your drink is going to end  up on the floor instead of on your keyboard   however one mind-blowing Epiphany that I had quite  recently is that you can really easily whip up an   incredible desk shelf using just Ikea products  simply by screwing or gluing the aquette cabinet   Timber legs to the bergshalt wall shelf which  totaling at just fifty dollars would provide you   with a pretty Sleek desk solution at a fraction  of the cost of more premium Brands and I think   this may potentially be more useful than Ikea's  smaller monitor stands for a not too dissimilar   cost and considering that you can configure this  in really any size that you want it makes it a   really effective solution to create more space  on your desk itself now again with so many of us   working from home it's also become very important  to find a suitable desk chair however it can be a   huge mistake to just go out and buy the cheapest  and softest one that you can find now two chairs   from Ikea which I would highly recommend that  you avoid are the mill baguette and Flint hand   chairs as it's hard to imagine a setting where  it's possible to actually make these two chairs   look good as the mill baguette looks a bit like  it's trying to pose as a luxury product with   its spacious high back and synthetic leather  upholstery and the flintan kind of does the   same thing by mimicking the appearance of an  ergonomic chair through its mesh back despite   not having any of the crucial adjustability so if  you can hold out and stretch your budget I really   believe that the best bang for your buck at Ikea  is with their slightly more expensive Alternatives   and at this point I feel like I'm just talking  your ear off about how good the langfield chair   is so go and check out one of my previous videos  if you want to hear about how much I love that   chair however if you're interested in getting an  ergonomic chair Ikea have just released a brand   new office chair called the style spell and  from what I can see online it actually looks   to be rather good when you ignore the horrendously  garish gaming colorways and I actually quite like   this structural looking lightweight cross-braced  frame which provides the chair with an adjustable   headrest lumbar support arm rests and adjustment  for both seat height and seat depth making it   really a not too offensive alternative to their  already highly popular Marcus and jar for jalette   chairs I have no idea if I'm saying any of these  names right so forgive me if you're Swedish rugs are without a doubt one of the best ways  to make your home look more cozy and inviting   which can stop it from looking like you just  moved in and now three rugs or types of rugs   that I'm going to recommend that you avoid from  Ikea are the vidding Rihanna's and hilister rugs   as these all bear one striking similarity in the  sense that they are all very bold now this goes   for mostly all Ikea colored or patterned  rugs as despite Ikea being renowned for   stocking incredible value pieces Ikea branding  isn't something that you really want to show   off and unfortunately statement Ikea pieces with  memorable bold patterns tends to do exactly this   as the in your face designs are really hard  to forget I'll also add that bright colored   and patterned rugs are incredibly difficult  to get right even for experienced interior   designers so if you're going to be buying  something as a feature that you actually want   to draw people's attention to you should really  be getting something with a true design Merit   or Prestige as you're going to be drawing so  much attention to it because it's so bold but I   will say that if you're content with a simpler  or more modest interior Ikea undoubtedly make   the most bang for your buck rugs out there  with items such as their mottled high-piled   stangerum rug or their speckled vendum rug  which we have for our living room as well as   incredible solid color options like their  Stones rug which we've got in our bedroom now two mirrors that I have a little bit of a  beef with at Ikea is the Stockholm and rotts   and mirrors as although I love how elegant these  large round mirrors can look for some reason Ikea   thought that it would be a good idea to integrate  a shelf into the lower lip of the frame and I can   only imagine that this is nothing but a magnet for  dust and a magnet for fingerprints on the mirror   itself while not actually doing that great of a  job at keeping your items from falling onto the   floor so instead I'd recommend going for their  far simpler lindbin and sanding mirrors which   come in various rounded shapes and sizes and at  a much lower price point too with their simpler   design not falling victim to that obvious  Ikea feature product effect too with their   inconspicuous and elegant design looking at  home even in the most expensive of Interiors   foreign now when it comes to table lamps two  that I would recommend that you avoid from   Ikea are the heart and Miller rear lamps as with  the heart it's one of those classic and obvious   Ikea feature product items where everyone knows  exactly where it's from and how much it costs   and for a table lamp that I think falls under  the functional decoration category I honestly   don't think it looks all that great either  then with lamps like the Miller rear I find   these simple cylindrical Shades really boring  and uninspiring especially when you consider   how much they can cost for an Ikea products  too personally I would much rather consider   options like their brand new loveman ad lamp as  well as their sculptural Dexter lamp as these   both have a much more contemporary and high-end  aesthetic because they simply have more character   and because of this I think they both look  a lot more expensive than they actually cost now dining chairs are an item that I know people  often underestimate in their Furniture budgets   as these often solid Timber items can quickly  add up to a very pretty penny which makes Ikea   a really obvious choice in this category however  I would recommend that you avoid going for their   very popular Pine Stefan chair as for a solid  wood chair like this the pine really lacks the   weight that you'd expect from a hard-wearing  traditionally styled item like this one which   makes the Stefan chair feel really cheap and  wobbly up close and when you pair this with the   fact that it's perfectly flat seat can be pretty  hard on your bum it's very likely that you'll   only end up spending more on seat pads to remedy  this and on top of that it's probably likely that   you're going to end up looking to replace them  with something more high quality in the future   now at a higher price point another dining chair  that I recommend you avoid from Ikea is their   odga lineup as to me they look a bit like they  belong in a kindergarten which honestly might   realistically be the target audience considering  the price for the money I think you're far better   off with chairs such as the lizabo or raninge  as their solid Birch construction provides a   timeless style at a fraction of the price of  designer look-alikes and if you can afford   it the Stockholm is probably my favorite  dining chair that they sell as it's simply   so similar in appearance to the absolutely  gorgeous cover armchair by Pluto foreign chairs are a fantastic way to create a more social  and varied living space however at Ikea two lounge   chairs that I'd have to recommend that you avoid  are the toolster and om tank Sam chairs as these   both have a really strong retirement home Vibe  for me and really all I can think of when I see   these chairs is that they're just lacking a  water resistant finish so unless you happen   to be a retirement age with someone who's happy to  assemble this flat pack furniture for you I think   you'd be far better off with options like the  echena set which has zero visible fixings solid   wood armrests and a really elegant and Timeless  mid-century modern design making it personally   one of my favorite items that they sell at Ikea  however if you happen to want something a little   more lightweight Sleek or modern their linaback  chair is also a great and really affordable Choice   as I can really see this chair's understated  design looking right at home in a a minimalist   styled living space now coffee tables are  a distinct Furniture item because they're   usually one of the most prominent features in any  living area as they tend to be smack bang in the   middle of the room located centrally in between  all of your other carefully curated furniture   so because of this I simply can't recommend going  for items like Ikea's Lac coffee table as despite   them being ridiculously cheap they're only really  destined for the landfill as they're little more   than a few pieces of coated cardboard that are  stuck together so that you can have somewhere   to rest your coffee on with absolutely next  to no resale value or appeal and this is why   I would highly recommend sticking it out by  reappropriating some other surface for your   coffee until you know exactly what kind of table  that you really want instead of purchasing cheap   and simple items like this as a temporary solution  and another table that really frustrates me at   Ikea is their list to be table and this time  at this higher price point despite it having a   really rather nice Oak frame the table top itself  is way too thick meaning that it's incredibly   obvious that it's veneered as The prominent  wood grain around the edges of the table doesn't   line with the grain on the table top itself which  I think is a real shame as this is something that   you wouldn't really notice so much if it was  simply just a bit thinner and I think Ikea would   have been far better off if they had just raised  the price and made it entirely from solid wood   now as it seems that this furniture category out  here is a real sticky point for me at this moment   another one that I simply couldn't resist adding  to this list is the Jacob's fours table as this   table also isn't cheap but it has these glaringly  obvious exposed fixings right in the middle of the   kinked feature legs which makes absolutely no  sense to me as it would only look at home in a   space where exposed fixings are celebrated as  part of the overall aesthetic which seems very   unlikely in a home environment however of course  at Ikea there are some far better Alternatives   like their metal Vitz Joe and gladum side tables  which are really affordable with a sleek black   metal aesthetic and you also probably won't go  wrong with their solid Pine hemnes or havesta   tables which are great if you're a fan of more  traditional or rustic styling and of course   for small spaces tables with storage like their  brand new tolkiening ottoman are great for hiding   clutter in plain sight like kids toys cushions  and blankets and their trollstorp table is a   fantastic option if you don't have space for a  dining table in your home as it allows you to   more comfortably eat or work from the comfort of  your sofa but really when it comes to all of this   Ikea furniture the real takeaway is that buying  durable versatile and Timeless Furniture is what   should be driving your decisions and despite there  being quite a few poor quality items over at Ikea   there are also quite a few hidden gems if you  know what you're looking for thank you so much   for watching I wish you all a wonderful start  to 2023 and I'll see you all in the next one

Channel: Daniel Titchener

Views: 1,181,948

Keywords: vancouver, tiny house, micro apartment, small home, studio, space saving

Id: M7CUdkxHGv0

Length: 15min 53sec (953 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 14 2023