
Why You Love That Ikea Table, Even If It's Crooked (2013) - pykello
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/06/171177695/why-you-love-that-ikea-table-even-if-its-crooked
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cconcepts
If assembling a piece of furniture makes people attached to it, imagine how
attached they would be to a piece of furniture they perceive that they have
had a part in actually designing?

1) Have a set of standard template furniture items

2) Allow user to view the item through a WebGL viewer (or however its done
these days).

3) Allow the user to adjust certain aspects of that piece of furniture within
the viewer. IE desk surface height, depth, space between legs etc.

4) Use parametric algorithms to adjust the componentry accordingly within
existing load bearing parameters. For example, "desktop needs attachment
screws every 200mm". This kind of formula is already commonplace in many CAD
packages [1].

5) Have the backend software export the parts as CNC cut files and create a
bill of materials.

6) Package the cut parts and additional components (screws etc) and ship
direct to client.

7)(optional depending on level of unscrupulousness) Have the parametric
algorithms incorporate a fatigue based breaking point so they can justify
throwing the crumbling desk away in five years and you can sell them more
furniture "they" designed that is more in line with current trends.

[1][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GClGn1Y7bNA#t=3m58s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GClGn1Y7bNA#t=3m58s)

EDIT: formatting

~~~
vincentkriek
Ikea has done that for quite a while now and is ramping it up this year. The
PAX wardrobe system [1] has been an IKEA staple for many years and people are
very happy with it (what I hear around me). They starting to take this concept
into the living room with the BESTA storage system [2] which allows people to
create their own entertainment unit or cupboard. Not to mention their kitchen
systems because kitchens are always a "design your own" purchase.

[1]
[http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/bed...](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/bedroom/19086/)
[2]
[http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/liv...](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/living_room/11794/)

~~~
kalleboo
They even have an 3D planner for BESTÅ, but in Flash
[http://www.ikea.com/us/en/rooms_ideas/planner_bestauppleva/i...](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/rooms_ideas/planner_bestauppleva/index.html)

~~~
cconcepts
Wow, I'm surprised how functional the 3D planner is. Totally didn't realize
they had taken things to this level.

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deerpig
I never understood this before reading this post, that the Real secret behind
IKEA is the same as Betty Crocker. For those of you from outside of the States
or those inside and too young, or have never baked a cake; Betty Crocker was a
company that started after WWII and invented (or at least perfected) a mixture
of dry ingredients that could be mixed with water, thrown into an oven and get
a very nice quality cake.

The original product just required water but failed in the market, because
American housewives believed that just adding water and sticking something in
the oven was not 'cooking'. It was a shortcut that made them look bad. So
Betty Crocker came up with the idea of providing a dry mix that required the
cook to add an egg to the dry mix. That was the secret, by adding one
ingredient people could save face and believe that they were 'cooking'.

IKEA is leveraging the same principle -- inserting and tightening a few screws
and bolts here and there and you feel like you've 'built' something.

Very powerful stuff....

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devereaux
What I like the most about Ikea furniture is that it is of high quality, high
enough to survive moving multiple times, while being so cheap.

I tried other self assembled furniture before - the quality was just not
there. I did not love them, and threw them away as soon as they became too
obviously crooked.

Using the Ikea brand in the title is incorrect if the specific effect
described should extend to Walmart furniture, but doesn't.

~~~
2bluesc
One of the tricks to Ikea furniture is to use wood glue in all the dowel pins.
With this trick it survives multiple moves for me.

Other people have the same stuff and after 1 move it's loose/wobbly without
glue.

~~~
kazinator
Applying glue to a pure dowel pin joint isn't a trick; it's how you complete
the joint. Some IKEA pieces in fact come with little plastic pockets of glue
for this purpose. You should be able to get that free from the store.

The trick is that with IKEA ware, even joints that _in theory_ shouldn't need
glue benefit from it. In some pieces, there is some fastener holding parts
together, often that silly cam screw which locks onto the head of a pin. Then
there are secondary dowel pins that, in theory, reduce a degree of freedom and
prevent parts from rotating.

Problem is, those cam lock things are poorly designed. So in fact the joint
benefits from glue.

That is not a trick; that's how you complete dowel pin joints in woodworking.
If the only thing holding a joint together is dowels, you must glue.

Here is the thing. In some IKEA units, the dowel pins only prevent the
rotation of a part, which is held by a metal fastener (e.g. those shit cam
screw and lock things). Glue isn't going to do much there, in theory!

In practice, those fasteners are poorly designed garbage, so the glue will
help there.

~~~
PhasmaFelis
Well, it depends. I have an Ikea shelf that is roughly 7' x 7'. If I'd glued
the dowels, it probably would be sturdier, but it would also still be stuck in
my living room from two apartments back. Without glue, it holds together well
enough, and still comes apart when I need it to.

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shostack
As much as Ikea served me well for a period of my life (with some pieces
continuing to do so), I wonder what has prevented designers of different
styles from copying Ikea's model, which clearly works and scales. I know it
isn't that easy, but I feel like there's a gap in the market between
say...Ikea, and what I typically consider "mid to high end" Crate &
Barrel/West Elm/Pottery Barn/Ethan Allen.

Ikea gets a lot of things right, but if you don't like their aesthetic, you're
pretty much out of luck finding something of similar quality for that price
point.

~~~
MacsHeadroom
>I wonder what has prevented designers of different styles from copying Ikea's
model, which clearly works and scales.

"Works and scales" may have everything to do with Ikea's shady tax
structure[1], not its flat-pack furniture.

[1][https://www.fastcodesign.com/3035734/infographic-of-the-
day/...](https://www.fastcodesign.com/3035734/infographic-of-the-day/ikea-is-
a-nonprofit-and-yes-thats-every-bit-as-fishy-as-it-sounds)

~~~
kalleboo
Would you say the same thing about Apple's phones?

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stefanix
Meh. This is just such a small part of it. Where else can you get a decent
piece of furniture immediately (3h round trip), be able to transport the thing
single-handedly, easily fit it through doors, elevators, stair cases, car
hatches and have a good idea what you are getting. I would argue it's ease of
sourcing that makes people happy just as much. It goes with the provider
instinct.

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ZoeZoeBee
I hate Ikea and everything it represents.

When I make something and look at it I notice every little flaw. When I look
at something from IKEA I notice its made of painted compressed particle board
and held together with pegs and plastic cam screws.

Maybe people should care about the quality of what they make and how it looks.

~~~
kalleboo
Why should I care? Its strong enough to hold together, and I get to spend my
money on something that matters more to me (such as travel)

~~~
ollie87
I agreed.

Funny, it's almost as though not everyone is the same.

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wodenokoto
I like the theory: labor leads to love.

Would be interesting to see it applied to relationships.

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teddyh
This also explains Gentoo users. And, to a lesser extent, *BSD users. The more
work you put into compiling, installing and configuring a system, the more
attached to it you become.

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escherize
This is a similar phenomenon to the not-invented-here myth.

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nsxwolf
I've had an IKEA Jerker (lol) for almost 15 years and it's an absolute tank.

Some of their stuff is just junk, though.

