Caveat emptor .... and baleful promises !

When I first walked into the IKEA (eeek-ayyy-aaah for the snobs*) store I was blown away. First, by the designs, then by the prices. IKEA being a Scandinavian company features European designs for people on a budget. Comparing an IKEA design with a clunky American design, there i(wa)s never any doubt in my mind which one I would pick up.

Until recently, all our shopping at IKEA was from the kitchen and bathroom sections, we never bought any big furniture. The kitchen stuff is amazing, I've been using frying pans, plates and bowls, cutlery, bar and stemware, candles, shower curtains, tablecloths for a few years now with no problems. And the prices and designs just CANNOT be beat.

Recently we decided to buy some beds. We're renting, and I'm one of those who buy something and regret it almost instantly, so buying $1000+ beds for a house we didnt even have yet was really out of the question. Of course we decided to go IKEA! Mostly because the beds were cheap, were in designs that were modern, came in black so they would match our overall decor and were just very elegant to look at.

So, we chose the IKEA Hemnes (~$299) bed frame for the master bedroom and the cheaper MALM (~$129) bed frame for the guest bedroom. Assembly was pretty easy, in fact BigB and I were awed by it, the design seemed so clean cut. The bed was held together with some slightly flexible metal rods (so that when we were done, the metal rods looked like a diamond within the rectangle of the frame). Marvelling that this was all that was needed to hold the bed together, we put the rest of the stuff in place. Duh!!

That was 3 months ago. Last night, as I sat on the side of the bed I heard a hideous crack followed by a vision of my papaya legs waving in the air. The darned thing had fallen apart!!!! And, it WASNT because of me ... I'm NOT overweight. Besides the embarassment, I think I'm angrier at myself, since when did something cheap ever mean good quality and how many times have I drummed that into my head these past couple of years.

So there! New resolution made, no more furniture buying at IKEA and no more browsing thru the showroom section at the store in case I severely test my new-found resolve. Oh, and if you are ever a guest at my house, you know what's in store for you, right ??? You cant say I never warned you .....

* how you can be a snob about a store for cheap furniture beats me, but live and learn ...

10 comments:

Smita said...

Aiyoo!!! U have scared me, few months back we too have bought a complete bedroom set from Big Bazaat (whose qulaity i have always doubted) but then what to do now??

BTW BigB???

Anonymous said...

Hey I have been to IKEA in Dubai and liked their show pieces and kitchen items as you mentioned. Was impressed with their furnitures but cant carry them to India ;) .... and now I am glad I didnt try it either!
LOL. But your creeking bed reminded me of the same incident at my place. I need to buy one soon!

Mama - Mia said...

awwwww! :(

thats horrid!! hope your resolutions lasts! but happens to me too! am tempted by cheap stuff, but it almost fails in the long run!

cheers!

abha

Bouncing-Bubble said...

oh noooooo!!

bought a new bed (cheap priced :(:() from e-bay.... no creaks heard so far... but looks like God is trying to tell me something thru ur post??

POA for the evening : thorough check of the bed.

Anonymous said...

P,
I love ikea stuff too - usually the prices in India are higher but come down significantly during sales.

Beds cracking while you're on them??!
Sounds nightmarish!
:D

love,
Sonika

couchpapaya said...

S - i'm sure it will be fine. i keep hearing good things abt big bazaar.
that's BH. when i started the blog i didnt want to just name ppl with their initials so i thot i'd add an adj. to every person mentioned here. make of the name what u will :D

WIAN - their showrooms are just so amazing right! can never wal through without buying something :(

abha - sometimes the designs are just too cute, so v. tempting! hope the resoultion lasts too :(

/p

couchpapaya said...

bubbles - hehe how did the check go? never wld have thought of ebay for a bed, will keep in mind next time!

sonika - welcome here!! sorry, had to edit ur comment a bit, didnt want my name on here! nightmare is correct, tho severe-ego-deflater is more accurate :D and thanks for checking the blog out .....

/p

Ava said...

ahhh to be in India and to be able to choose between handloom furnitures of different states that are lightweight and not to heavy on the pocket either. I got a cane diwan, a little stool for my TV and two chairs .. :) It goes with the rest of my handloom furniture :) N bright curtains :)

Angel's Flight said...

Hmm

My Ikea bed(s) lasted really long atleast for the price.....2 yrs almost

I say almost coz they couldnt take a 18 yr old boy jumping on them for too long...lol

couchpapaya said...

avdi - ya ya i know .... i'll taunt u with my shoes one day :P

angel - hiii :) as for ikea, my guest bed seems fine and has been in use for as long. maybe someone shld have told us abt not jumping on them before :P good to see u here angel, adding u to my blog list now !!

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