This is the rise, where I learned to love IKEA, when I learned about it in Fight Club:
I know that this clip was supposed to be set up as emasculating and the opposite of manliness (hence the theme of fight club), but honestly, I thought their design looked great. And what did I know? I had never even thought about design before. To me they were fresh, foreign, and friendly. I loved them and touted their wonderfüülness to all those that would listen. That is until I started buying from them regularly. Since the start of my love affair, I’ve purchased 6 broken chairs (LITERALLY!), one broken dresser, and now finally this broken lamp (which I thought I had fixed with a manly dose of lock-tite). And so this is the fall, where I learn to hate it, when I actually use the stuff thats in that beautiful catalog.
I will never buy anything serious for my home from IKEA again. I will go there for the meatballs and the free babysitting but I will not shop there for anything other than cups and kitchen timers and fabric. They are the Wal-Mart for urbanites. Low prices and crappy faux modern design stolen from people who make real furniture. They actually have a sign up in their store that says something like, “we don’t sacrifice quality in order to achieve low prices”. Shah. As if. Tell that to my six broken chairs, the broken dresser, and my sad little lamp.
I’ve found the balance with them. Don’t buy anything with moving parts, or anything that if you accidentally hit with a hardback book would shatter into dozens of pieces.