It’s no exaggeration to say I have literally spent weeks in IKEA.  4 ish hours per visit, 6 visits is equal to 24hrs/1 day. Have I been to IKEA at least 84 times, easily.  As a kid I remember hoarding the IKEA catalog, it was the only thing I could afford, and dreamily thumbing through images of what aesthetic life could be.  

Fast forward to now and i'm still gushing over the same IKEA catalogues only my IKEA time is entirely virtual now.  Thanks to Archive.org (not a sponsor), I can relive my teenage angst, pawing (scrolling) through the now vintage catalogues, with a renewed disappointment at how impossible the items are to get, now paralleling the disappointment of a broke teenager.

No longer broke or teen, the issue is finding IKEA furniture, that in some cases is 50 years old, in a condition that can be salvaged, repaired or renovated and rebirthed.  Estate sales, auction houses, charity shops, flea markets, car boot sales and word of mouth if you're wondering.  

Quality is the reason vintage IKEA is even a thing, quality of materials, quality of design.  I challenge anyone to find objects with equivalent standards in 2023.  Chairs, decor, rugs, that 50 years from now have withstood people, pets and landfills… Those products are out there but at today's costs?

Now take a vintage item from Habitat or IKEA, it's already lasted 50/40/30 years, its quality of materials and design is a testament to its ability to last at least another.  How long before that contemporary sofa design is obsolete, will it physically last that long?  On the other hand a Tord Bjorklund Sofa or Niells Gammelgaard desk will never relinquish its ‘Trendiness’, good design is timeless and more importantly sustainable.