ИКЕА – за и против. архитектурната гледна точка
We have always thought that good design is not necessarily expensive, that architecture and the services of an architect should not be a privilege.
Good design should be good design - cunning, relevant, doing something out of nothing. To a large extent the embodiment of this point of view is IKEA with a good design, fitting into a relatively small budget, affordable and in many cases just enough, which is clever.
Therefore, when our client asked us very quickly and for an extremely low budget to furnish a small apartment that will be rented to a young couple, we clapped our hands and our eyes lit up.
I must note that on paper and in appearance, things look very promising - simple, gray-white, fresh and youthful. Here is the result of our efforts in several shots:
For those of you who are about to do something like this, the following lines are:
- nearly 40% of the budget are electrical appliances (they have nothing to do with IKEA, you can not avoid them)
- about 10% of the budget is textiles - curtains, carpets, mattresses, etc. and not necessarily from IKEA (dare I say there are more budget friendly solutions)
- 15% of the budget is upholstered furniture, you can buy it elsewhere at a similar value
- the kitchen is impossible to order in IKEA without compromising the space you have, and even if you do, the modules in IKEA are not cheaper (we ordered the kitchen separately. Behind some of the cabinets are hidden washing machine and boiler, which is impossible with IKEA modules, the mini-bar is also not one of the strengths of the Swedes).
In the end, the remaining about 25% of the total budget is what you could possibly save on furnishing your future home. With an alternative value about 15-20% higher, no more. And this, provided that you can assemble the furniture yourself. Assembling the furniture in this apartment took 2 days of work by three professional furniture makers. If you add to the prices of IKEA fees for transport and installation, the budget will be very close to that of any furniture company in Bulgaria.
At the same time, we and our client are satisfied with the result, because it was realized within only 10 days from the first call to the finished product, which is difficult to achieve with any furniture company.
but…
We can't help but share our slight disappointment with the quality.
Yes, from the quality of IKEA.
If in the picture and photo things look indistinguishable, in reality it turned out that most of the modules are made of the lowest possible quality material, in some places it seemed to me that the packaging and instructions in the packages are of higher value and quality than what they contain. Low quality means fast depreciation, and fast depreciation means that you will have to buy new furniture twice in advance and they will actually cost you twice as much. When the solution you are looking for is a budget solution, this is hardly the best.
In conclusion, another product of the Swedish company, operated only for a year by another of our customers:
During installation
And only a few days ago, there is no way to show that the joints of the chair had almost fallen apart, but the quality of the coating is visible:
Good design and sustainable development must also go hand in hand. And sustainable development means saving resources. The replacement of furniture every year definitely does not fit our understanding.
We wonder only since when has Sweden bordered India to the west and Mongolia and Russia to the north?
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