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An interior designer shared 3 mistakes everyone makes when shopping at Ikea

Sep 4, 2022, 16:54 IST
Insider
An interior designer shared the biggest mistakes people make when shopping at Ikea.Visual China Group via Getty Images
  • Interior designer Jordan Samson shared the biggest mistakes people make at Ikea.
  • Samson said some people go overboard, while others don't know how products are priced.
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There's no doubt about the fact that Ikea is an international treasure.

As of 2022, the furniture brand has 474 stores in 64 markets across the world, according to its website. One person who knows the company well is interior designer Jordan Samson, who has shared videos about his Ikea must-haves with his 40,600 followers on TikTok.

The most recent video, published on August 17, has more than 115,000 views at the time of writing.

Samson told Insider that while he personally enjoys shopping at Ikea, he has a "love-hate relationship with the brand" as an interior designer. He said there are three major mistakes most people make when shopping there.

Too many Ikea products in your home could create a 'showroom effect'

Samson said the biggest mistake he sees people make is when they don't consider any other decor or furniture options besides Ikea.

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"You just go and furnish your apartment with Ikea because it's easy, it's affordable," Samson said.

"But what happens with that is you kind of get the showroom effect where your home looks like a page was ripped out of an Ikea catalog and that doesn't have personality or charm that you're really looking for with a home," he added.

An Ikea store in Foshan, Guangdong Province of China.Visual China Group via Getty Images

Instead, Samson suggests shopping at Ikea for versatile and affordable basics and purchasing more unique products from less well-known brands.

He also suggested changing up the Ikea furniture you may already have. For example, he said if you have a cabinet from Ikea, you could swap out the door with one ordered from an online store to give it a more custom look.

Samson says you shouldn't expect the same level of quality for every item

Samson said Ikea customers should keep in mind that the company decides the price of its products before they are designed. The price determines the quality of materials used to create the product, which Samson said some people aren't aware of.

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"So they'll say, 'I want to create a $100 coffee table.' And they'll build it to be $100," Samson said.

"So you're really paying for what you are getting. I would just keep that in mind when shopping at Ikea. The lesser price-point items are going to be lesser quality, but if you find something a little pricier it's going to be really good quality," he added.

Be selective with Ikea's artwork if you want your home to be unique

Samson said he likes Ikea's artwork because it's affordable. However, he said you shouldn't fill your home with it if you want your space to look unique.

"The biggest thing to avoid at Ikea is their art and small decor pieces, which might be shocking," Samson said. "It's so mass-produced, so you're not getting that personality with the mass-produced Eiffel Tower art that everyone sees."

Samson suggests purchasing one or two of Ikea's decorative items, and then using other affordable sellers such as Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, or a second-hand store for additional items that are more original.

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Representatives for Ikea did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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