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I’ve read a lot of reviews and there have been many that mentioned that the place was furnished with IKEA furniture, as a negative.
I personally think IKEA furniture is perfectly serviceable and fine for some uses. I don’t love their mattresses but otherwise it’s fine.
I don’t get why people would complain. These were all mid-range rentals, not top of the line luxury palaces.
Also, if the guests can recognize that the furniture is IKEA, that would indicate that they are familiar with it themselves and have possibly owned it. So why is it good enough for their own homes but not good enough for an Airbnb?
I have read those reviews as well, and always chalked it up to, it is JUST ikea furniture meaning there is nothing personalized about the spaces. I absolutely have IKEA furniture in my three room suite, but there is also a hand made cherry futon with a nice calm fabric cover, built-in maple butcher block desk, vanities from Canada with marble, so the personality of the room is not IKEA showroom. Now that I think of it, all the lighting is from IKEA as well, but some of it was installed 6 years ago, and those styles don’t exist anymore!
I have Ikea furniture and haven’t had any complaints, but my furniture is so old (hand-me-down Ikea furniture!) they may not recognize it. I have old furniture because guests leave their wet towels on it. I do advertise that the mattress is a firm from Ikea, purchased last year. People either say the mattress is comfortable or don’t comment.
Maybe that is why my guests don’t complain: I have a lot of art and personal touches and a groovy table cloth. I also don’t have the poster of the world’s fair or the map of the neighborhood names that I see in SO many listings in my city.
Good Grief. In the guest room I’m using two unfinished super cheap pine double cubes as night stands and plastic Sterite stacking drawers in the closet. At least IDEA furniture is actual furniture, LOL!
I’ve stayed in a place that was exclusively furnished with Ikea stuff, right down to the ornaments,pictures on the wall and the bedding. It was like being in one of their showrooms. We joked that in the morning the bedroom wall would have been slid open and there’d be customers walking past with their trolleys! It was fine but very soul-less. Yes, I’m an Ikea snob. Hate the place.
I am an Ikea snob too - not because of their products but the few times I have had to step foot into the store I find that I cannot easily find an exit to get out of the store once I have found what I want Instead I am led through all the departments just to get to a cashier desk where I can pay.
Apparently, the store is designed like this as when Ikea stores were opened in the past they were the victims of much theft.
Hate the place. I do have an Ikea day bed which I ordered on line (so I didn’t have to go near the place) but i purchased custom made mattresses. I figured if someone is paying to sleep on the bed the mattresses needed to be comfortable and decent quality.
I love Ikea and have lots of Ikea furniture in my Airbnb but indeed you must mix it with personal touches to avoid the showroom effect.
Regarding “quality”, they have all the levels of quality in their assortment, but you would have to pay much more anywhere else to get the same quality. For instance they have all kinds of duvets from polyester to 90% down/10% feather and you would have to pay at least double to have a down duvet elsewhere. Same for mattresses. Their Metod/Sektion kitchens and Pax wardrobes are very good too.
But if you buy their lowest price indeed you get their lowest quality.
There are some items which are obviously IKEA, like the Poang chair. That I would recognize. But they have so many different lines and products that I don’t know how guests could tell unless they had the exact same thing in their own home.
WISH we had IKEA in Hawaii! My dining table and outdoor tables is from Kmart, and before you laugh, they have great outdoor furniture. Some of the best selections in Kona.
Good point! I only recognised all the stuff in the place I stayed because I’d recently visited Ikea (and yes, it took me nearly all day to find the exit). Plus the labels were on everything. I’m not a total snob, honest! But there is definitely a certain Ikea look that is unmistakeable if you don’t mix it up with some personal things like Barthelemy says.
Like the old “Swedish Modern” style, IKEA furniture has come to epitomize bland, blah, sterile appearing interior decoration. The wooden equivalent of chrome and glass.
Me too, since they first opened in the UK in the eighties (?)
Their design is brilliant. especially for small spaces. We have no Ikea furniture in the rental (but an Ikea chopping board, teapot, etc.) but plenty in my own home.
I have a traditional style to my home meaning if it’s not old heavy wood it doesn’t fit, I love IKEA for textiles though. My bath mat, pillows, duvet/covers, pillow cases, curtains etc… All IKEA.
The short cuts are key visit nº2 and beyond. I find the place exhausting, but utilizing their web shopping list feature really helps to make it manageable. You arrive knowing exactly where you need to go, and which bins hold your desired items. And you get cured salmon with rye bread and salad for about $4.
And the oat crisps? Why are they so darn good? Only commercially baked cookie Mr. SMT would ever consider eating.
I am a multi listing host and if it wasn’t for Ikea I’d go broke furnishing places. Having said that, I try and put one great non-Ikea furniture piece in every place as kind of an anchor. One apartment has a good quality Barcelona chair copy, another place has a gorgeous sectional from ABC Home in New York (high end furniture store), etc. I also customize Ikea stuff and my favorite pinterest board is all about Ikea hacks.
I agree with the comment below that guests noting “all ikea” in a review means that the host went to Ikea, furnished the entire apartment in an afternoon and didn’t provide any personality or warmth. I love looking at random listings and I always thinks it looks so awful when there is not one actual design element in the room. Not a vase on a table, not a picture on the wall, not even a rug on the floor.
Well my kitchen cabinets, table and bathroom cabinets are Ikea because they make great furniture for tiny places. But I mixed it up with Kirkland seaside pictures, Ashley Furniture and other small personal pieces that I have seen at home goods. So overall not expensive but a mix so it is not just a idea showroom.
As much as people love show rooms, they don’t actually want to live/stay in one. It really makes most people uncomfortable in my limited opinion. I think it reminds people of the plastic covered couch at their grammas house that you don’t dare sit on.
big fan of it.