Decent looking furniture that can move when I move?

September 9, 2016 12:42 PM

I'm looking for furniture options (ready-to-assemble, flat-pack, or other) for a small apartment (small living room, dining nook, bedroom, computer desk, etc) that are "easily" repack-able so I won't have to toss or donate them when I eventually move again.

I've been looking around on-line and am getting bogged down with failed Kickstarter campaigns and senior design projects. (i.e. not actually purchasable products)

What I've found on-line that I've liked:

Floyd Detroit
I like: That I could take the legs and ditch the panels if needed for both their bed frame and table.
Greycork
I like: The overall style of the pieces.
Open Desk
I like: That this desk actually looks functional and looks nice.

I've bought Ikea furniture in the past, but it seems to just disintegrate after about two reassemblies. I also don't particularly like Ikea's MDF look (although I do like some of their Ikea PS pieces).

Where should I be looking?
Does anyone have pieces or suggestions that they've liked?
Thanks everyone :)

A few notes:

-My décor tastes tend to run simple/functional, semi-modern, and sometimes industrial. I'd really prefer my apartment not look like it came completely from the same store, so matching sets aren't a requirement. :)
-I'm decent with tools (I could easily assemble the Opendesk furniture if the wood pieces came pre-cut), so DIY plans or solutions would be welcome, although I won't have a very large space to work in/cut boards.
-I'm good at staining and wood finishing, so unfinished pieces would be fine and I don't mind putting in work to make a piece how I'd like.

posted by Chicoreus to Home & Garden (6 answers total)

Best answer: I'm not answering the question here, but I have almost all IKEA furniture and I've moved it all five times in seven years. I only disassemble things (like legs on a dining room table, and my bedframe) that clearly are meant for it, and basically nothing has disintegrated.

I have two Billy bookcases, a Hemnes dresser (middle support piece is zip tied together at the bottom, and I've had to fix the drawer screws a bunch of time, which isn't move-related), two Hemnes nightstands, a Hemnes bedframe (which I do disassemble), two Bjursta tables, an Expedit bookcase and attached table (the table piece is a little wonky on its second move specifically because the movers weren't careful enough with it, but it's also literally made of cardboard), a lack coffee table, four Henriskdal dining room chairs, a Jappling chair and ottoman, some little triangular side tables I use as a TV stand, and the world's cheapest, $300, piece of crap 30 pound IKEA microfiber couch that's somehow still standing, after replacing the cushion foam. The couch is the only thing I'm likely to replace in the next year.

If you want nicer furniture, have at it. If you want your IKEA furniture to last longer, I submit to you that you can solve your problem with the use of a moving truck in place of disassembly.
posted by cnc at 12:55 PM on September 9, 2016 [2 favorites]

I've found Home Reserve to be fairly portable. I recommend sticking to a chair, or chair-and-a-half.
posted by invisible ink at 1:15 PM on September 9, 2016

I have moved my ikea couches 8 times in 10 years including 1 cross-country move and they're still functional and presentable. They're the Tylosand, which are no longer available (and should never have been discontinued because they come completely apart in a jiffy and are just as easy to reassemble and are completely magical) but ikea may have something comparable.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 7:18 PM on September 9, 2016

Alot of my furniture is IKEA or Target flat pack stuff, some of which has been moved 4 or 5 times, and the stuff that's real wood instead of particleboard will last awhile. One tip I heard was to use wood glue when assembling (if you don't plan to disassemble) which makes the joints stronger. My Hemnes dresser got kind of messed up during the last move, so I found the loose joints, glued them, and it's all good now.

Obviously you should get the quality you can afford, but I just wanted to nth the above that not all IKEA stuff is necessarily throwaway.
posted by cabingirl at 6:34 AM on September 10, 2016

Oh, forgot to add that using movers to move your stuff is the best, and eliminates the need to disassemble much. I'm pretty sure the last movers disassembled and reassembled the Hemnes bed frame for us.
posted by cabingirl at 6:39 AM on September 10, 2016

I've got some folding bookshelves from Container Store that are decent and can be stacked, and Pier One has some pretty neat folding or easy-to-reassemble pieces like this tool-free reversible desk or these shelves.

Memory foam mattresses are generally a good thing for moving in that they'll bend around corners, but they're not as easy to carry as traditional mattresses since they're floppier.

Not all my furniture folds up neatly, but knowing that at least some of it does is a great comfort to me when thinking about future moves.
posted by asperity at 3:02 PM on September 10, 2016