IKEA furniture is a great addition to any home. It is not only affordable, but the products also come in a variety of colors and options. One catch is that assembling the purchased items will take some elbow grease and determination.
There is no need to be too intimidated, though, as you will have handy instructions to guide you. But could you purchase something that doesn’t require assembling? Keep scrolling to find out precisely when you do and when you don’t need to build IKEA furniture yourself.
The vast majority of IKEA furniture needs to be assembled. Only used and returned products that are sold at a discounted price through IKEA’s Circular Hub come preassembled. Occasionally, an assembled floor demo piece could be sold by the store. The extent of assembly required varies between products.
Most IKEA Furniture Needs Assembly
It is no secret that IKEA products come in flatpacks. Thus, you are required to put in the time and effort in order to construct your new bookcase or bedframe. Sometimes, you even need an extra pair of hands. This is the very essence of IKEA furniture.
You would think that its customers would be turned off by the prospect of hammering dowels or tightening screws. But people know that they are getting affordable furniture they will love in exchange for just a little bit of hard work (and sometimes, frustrated tears).
IKEA is able to keep its prices down for this very reason – it has eliminated the middle man that would be required to construct the endless lines of chairs, desks, or dining tables. Instead, it is leaving the job up to you, the buyer.
But IKEA won’t leave you completely in the dark. Each furniture piece that requires assembly comes with an instruction manual that should get you through the whole process.
However, maybe you’re not one for pictographs (the standard instructional style for IKEA products). In that case, a quick search on YouTube will often provide you with an instructional video from another person who bought the same product as you.
Some Pieces Are Much Easier to Assemble
Not every piece of IKEA furniture will take you numerous hours (or days) to assemble. Some items are a lot easier to assemble than others. Thus, you will be able to complete the job relatively quickly and with minimal assistance.
One product that is quite easy to assemble is the TINGBY side table. It comes with only two pages of instructions. You can build this classy item in only 3 simple steps. Just add the legs, the tabletop, and then each wheel, and you are good to go!
Another item that will take you less than half an hour to assemble is IKEA’s top-selling and crazy affordable GLADOM tray table. This table is even easier to build than the TINGBY as it only requires adding a couple of screws to the already assembled legs and then securing on the tabletop.
IKEA Does Sell Assembled Pieces
In some rare cases, you may be able to find a piece of IKEA furniture that is already assembled. All you need to do is pay for it and take it home. No mess, no fuss.
Even though this is not common, there are still some ways to buy assembled pieces.
These pieces are sold on IKEA’s Circular Hub, which is its initiative to reduce product waste and become more environmentally friendly. IKEA offers to buy back used furniture, originally sold at its stores. The items must be in good condition to be accepted and later resold at a reduced cost.
These products come already assembled, as IKEA will not go through the hassle of deconstructing every piece that comes in. Some of the products can also be customer returns.
All this sounds great, but you need to keep in mind that you are buying second-hand furniture. Therefore, the quality won’t be as high as a brand new piece of furniture.
If you are lucky, your IKEA store might be selling a few new, already assembled items. These are usually floor demos. If there is no stock available for a certain product, the store might sell you the demo piece.
IKEA Offer Assembly Services
If you don’t like the idea of spending an afternoon trying to figure out how to assemble your dining table and chairs, you can always opt to use IKEA’s assembly services.
For an added hourly fee paid when you purchase your item, IKEA technicians will come to your home and assemble the product for you at a selected time and date.
You will be amazed at how quickly they get the job done. Something that would take you an hour (and many tears) to do may only take them 15 minutes—and they won’t even break a sweat.
You might end up paying slightly more for your product than you intended, but you will save yourself some time and sanity.