IKEA stuff is also relatively easy to "harden" with some extra strategically placed metal brackets from Home Depot. For instance you can make a particle board bookshelf very sturdy by screwing some L-brackets on the back corners. Corner braces screwed under the shelves will likewise keep them from bowing under the weight of books.

It's a few extra dollars and will make the pieces survive a move and just generally feel sturdier. It's not a replacement for "good" furniture but will make the cheap stuff much better.

Agreed, there's a big gap between Ikea and the next step up.

And most people can't differentiate between quality (nor should we expect them to!).

"Proper" furniture stores you find in malls and outlets are generally high margin crap. There's lots of soft scams out there.

There's a reason many people go back towards antiques and similar.

When I was shopping for a TV console, I went to a "proper" furniture shop and checked out console in the 150 to 200 euro range. Zero consideration for cable management and doors slammed hard when you closed them. Then I went to IKEA and bought a BESTÅ system that totalled like 130€ or something. Soft-closing doors, cable management holes and the lot. Was very happy with my BESTÅ after seeing what other stores had in a similar price range.

>Also the assembly for ikea stuff is usually perfect.. everything aligns to the last millimeter... which again, I can't say for much more expensive furniture pieces.

Probably because the ikea stuff you bought tend to be particleboard and the "expensive furniture pieces" are solid wood. Solid wood tend to wrap/deform more due to moisture than particleboard, which means even if they're drilled with millimeter precision at the factory they end up not aligning when it reaches your house. From personal experience the solid wood furniture I got ikea were definitely not aligned "to the last millimeter".

> the assembly for ikea stuff is usually perfect.. everything aligns to the last millimeter...

What? How?

I’ve moved a lot in the last 15 years and always defaulting to ikea for convenience. “Fits together well” isn’t what I’d use to describe their furniture.