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Comment by shaqbert | Hacker News Reader

Berliner here.... the sad truth is that most living rooms are dominated by Ikea furniture and are nowhere near like the stylish and classical ensembles presented in the article.

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Yeah, when I think of Berlin apartments, I think of cramped-and-lovingly-dilapidated altbau rooms, resigned attempts to enliven a ubiquitous WWII reconstruction, and probably a balcony :) Damn, I can't wait to move back in a couple months!!!

It's just a different style. Some prefer rococo style (late Baroque) and some more modern minimalism presented by e.g. Ikea.

I prefer the later, and most of my generation also. Our parents prefer the former.

Some also prefer living in a large city, and cannot afford a living room you can park a hobby aircraft in.

My problem with Ikea isn't the design--their products are pretty good in that regard. My problem is with their awful construction quality. Particleboard does not belong in furniture. Fiberboard and plywood sure, oriented strand board maybe, but particleboard? Hell no.

How long does IKEA furniture last? My parent's home IKEA furniture has been fine for 10-15 years. I realize "real" furniture would probably last hundreds, but so far neither them nor us have had any problems.

Anyway, IKEA is a god-send for just out of college people like me :-) One day I'll be able to afford more high quality stuff.

Varies, IKEA sells a range of products with a range of materials. I'd be surprised if the stuff that still is in good shape 10-15 years later is made of particleboard. But they have lots of more solidly built pieces.

that's another way to look at furniture. in the old days furniture could be passed down generations, and fashion did not change much. today I gladly accept the drop in quality because it comes with a serious drop in price, and I can change stuff around home rather often.

and I thought you were just being a snob.

Yeah, and that Barcelona chair can't be an inexpensive yet faithful reproduction due to the dreadful European laws on furniture designs. It's a 5k piece on its own.

Wait, please tell me more about these inexpensive yet faithful reproductions. Is there good place in Germany to find these?

The UK used to allow inexpensive replicas. e.g.

https://iconicinteriors.com/

As seen in 10 Downing Street:

http://www.redonline.co.uk/red-women/blogs/samcam-s-italian-...

(Forgive me for the Daily Heil link): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2926668/A-real-pow...

A law change is coming into effect now so all the UK retailers of this kind of stuff need to dump stock and go out of business. Otherwise, you can get them in the US but shipping will be eye watering.

Are they so dreadful?

It's copyright of a design, and ultra-fancy furniture is hardly a necessity.

Why sad truth? I just looked at my Ikea sofa (in a Berliner Wohnzimmer, for the record) and noticed, that it lived longer with me than any of my partners. That may be sad, but it's not the sofa's fault.

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