Have you been to an IKEA recently? Yes – it’s still a little scary in there. There is part of me that is always just a little worried that I won’t make it out. But I do, then I reward myself with a 99 cent ice cream cone at the end. Hmmm, I just realized how rat in a maze like that is. Oh well.
Anyway, if you are looking for some man cave furniture, especially while sticking to a budget, Ikea might just be the right place for you. I admit that I was a little skeptical of finding something nice there when I first went back as a furniture buying adult 7 or 8 years ago, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality of the options available. I’ve been able to find select items – dressers, book shelves, couches and chairs over the years that have been affordable and suited my needs.
The caveat? Assembly required. I remember putting together my first peace of Ikea furniture. It was an office desk with a hutch. It took me what seemed like an entire day to build. I messed up a number of times and had to take things apart and start over. I used the wrong screws and installed shelves backwards. It was painful, and I was sure glad once it was over.
Not wanting to repeat the mistakes of the past, the next time I built an Ikea peace I made sure I took my time and really thought through each step. I improved on that strategy with every piece that followed and now I have 3 really simple steps to share to help show you how to build IKEA furniture right on the first try.
STEP 1:
Unpack and Inventory the Parts.
By unpacking and laying out all of the pieces and hardware, you not only ensure that you have each part, but also that you are able to distinguish between two similar pieces that might be hard to tell apart in the black and white basic instruction book that comes in the box.
I like to quickly take a look at each piece as I am pulling it out of the box, arranging them in order of size or just with other similar pieces. I don’t always go so far as to count each bolt or screw, but that is certainly something you could do as well.
Short on a part? Don’t worry – you have some options. If it is a major part that you won’t be able to proceed without, you may want to take the item back to the store and exchange it. If the part is minor, and something that you can temporarily live without like a drawer pull handle, you can contact IKEA and have them send you a replacement. You can do this on the IKEA replacement hardware page. You just need to provide your receipt number and the part number, which is located in the instruction manual.
STEP 2:
Pay Attention to the Pictures
The instruction book that comes with your IKEA furniture piece can sometimes be frustrating to follow. First, there are no words, just pictures. I get it, IKEA is an international company and pictures work in all languages. The problem? The pictures are small and sometimes not entirely clear on which part they are showing.
Avoid furniture building mishaps by really paying attention to the details of the pictures. Make sure that what you are doing matches the picture exactly by confirming the count and orientation of holes on each piece. Pay special attention to any exclamation points or little hands (like the one shown below) pointing to a particular detail on a piece. These are often used in situations where it could be easy to make a mistake and use the wrong piece.
STEP 3:
Construct First, Tighten Last
IKEA furniture requires a number of screws and twist locks in order to hold the pieces together, often with multiple connections in each step. Save yourself the hassle and headache of making trying to undo a mistake or not being able to line parts up correctly by only partially inserting screws during a step until all hardware is lined up. Once all screws or bolts are partially tightened and you confirm that it looks correct and that all parts match up, then go back and tighten all hardware before proceeding to the next step.
Trust me on this one, there is nothing more frustrating then having to completely unscrew a piece that you have put the effort into tightening only to realize that you used the wrong part or the wrong screws to do so. Following the first two steps will help you avoid this situation, but this last step will be a lifesaving in recovery if you need it.
What has your experience been with “assembly required” furniture purchases? Success, horror, confusion? Share your story in the comments below!
