Interior designer: 6 things you should never buy from Ikea + What to get instead

The plant section was great.

Plants are something I always struggle with as a designer. I love bringing a sense of nature indoors, but I have the opposite of a green thumb – I feel like I’m looking at plants and they’re starting to wilt.

But Ikea surprised me with its selection of easy-to-handle plants that required little sunlight and minimal watering.

I liked the Ikea selection because each plant had an easy-to-read sticker with pictures showing how much light and water they need. I saw a range of small and large plants and lots of cute planters to throw them into.

This story was originally published on August 1, 2023 and last updated on September 12, 2024.

Ikea has an impressive selection of frames.

Good frames are hard to find and usually overpriced when you do find them. But Ikea offers colorful frames in a multitude of sizes.

Using frames in the same colors is a plus as you can incorporate them throughout the house and keep a sense of continuity. Ikea has a wide variety, from polished frames to matte black frames.

You can also scatter the frames throughout the house to marry different rooms and provide a flow to the design of your space.

I’m a fan of Ikea’s basic dressers.

There are so many TikTok and YouTube videos about modernizing your dresser, and luckily Ikea has the perfect starting point for these inspirational tutorials.

The natural wood dressers I saw at Ikea were super affordable and seemed very easy to customize with paint, stain, new knobs, or even wallpaper.

I’ve even seen several of the same dresser painted and arranged in different ways, and most people probably wouldn’t even recognize that they were the same piece of furniture.

I really liked the closet systems at the store.

The Pax wardrobe system from Ikea really impressed me. It was essentially customizable and came in so many different finish options.

If I saw this closet system in someone’s home, I would think it was a custom case. In reality, all the pieces were in the $3,000 range, which is impressive for a closet system of this size.

I also liked the doors on this collection because they could minimize the look of clutter and keep the whole space clean.

The chandeliers I saw at Ikea were amazing.

I’m pretty skeptical about the quality of a $30 lampshade. But the more I looked at it, the more the Älvstarr lamp attracted and surprised me.

The light in the showroom was stunningly arranged in a tiered style, but could also be displayed as floating bedside lights or hung freestanding. This light could suit a variety of design styles and create an artistic statement at a very reasonable price.

The outdoor patios were attractive and affordable.

It looks like many patios, porches and front steps could use a quick facelift, especially in the summer. Fortunately, Ikea’s selection of outdoor patios looked extremely affordable and appealing.

I especially liked the tone of the natural wood option, which looked like treated teak. It came in a variety of colors that could elevate your outdoor space by adding some texture and warmth.

On the other hand, the quality of the mirrors seemed off from a distance.

Although many of the Ikea mirrors looked beautiful, the closer I looked, the more negatives I noticed. It seemed that regardless of price or size, the reflection was distorted from a distance.

As a designer, distortion always irritates me. And my biggest personal issue is that this can distort a selfie taken in the mirror.

The outdoor lanterns did not seem very durable to me.

While I love the idea of ​​outdoor lanterns, the ones from Ikea didn’t seem to last a Midwestern weekend outside, let alone an entire season. The lanterns looked nice, but seemed to be constructed of thin paper, which is not very desirable for outdoor lighting.

I could see these lights on a covered porch or covered patio, but honestly, I’d suggest going a completely different route. Paper lanterns can give a unique look when done right, but I would save time and money and go for different ones.

I think an Ikea poster or canvas lacks personality.

The Ikea canvases and printed posters were better quality than I expected them to be, but that wasn’t my problem with them. Ikea is known for mass-produced pieces at an affordable price, and I think art should be more personal than just hanging up reprinted stock photos.

I did however purchase some clearance canvases from Ikea to paint and give them a new lease of life as it was cheaper than buying new ones from an art store.

Unless you have a similar plan, I’d recommend staying away from the Ikea canvases and consider more personal art for your home.

The bamboo shelving units look good, but I wouldn’t trust them to hold anything breakable.

I really like the look and idea of ​​bamboo shelves, especially in small spaces like a bathroom. The ones I saw at Ikea looked nice, but I wasn’t as impressed once I took a closer look.

In my opinion, they didn’t look super sturdy or like they could hold a lot of weight. I would like a shelf that looks more sturdy for a bathroom where canisters or liquids are placed.

I didn’t find the Ikea bedding so desirable.

I wouldn’t always generalize an entire department of a store as something I would pass over, but in my opinion, the bedding at Ikea is not very desirable.

I found that the sheets, comforters, pillows and blankets I encountered were not the quality I look for in bedding. Some of the looks were super current and nice, but once I got my hands on the fabric, it was a no-no.

Bedding should be a high-quality investment—something you should look forward to touching. Carefully consider such purchases, because you can spend about a quarter of the day in bed.