Has Ikea come to Argentina or anything like it?

[Marche exile]

Hi there.
Am looking at houses to rent for two years and I either like the house and not the furniture or the furniture and not the house. So I think Im looking for an IKEA or such like to maybe buy a few bits of furniture to make a vacation house in to comfortable 2 year home......................Any ideas?

 

[tangobob]

If you go up Salguero, between Humajuaca and Corrientes, there is a guy there, almost blind, who will make whatever you want, in pine.
OK it is not Ikea but he is very cheap and the stuff is very well made.
It all comes in plain pine colour, but he will wax it for you in almost any colour you want (even silver).

 

[Marche exile]

If you go up Salguero, between Humajuaca and Corrientes, there is a guy there, almost blind, who will make whatever you want, in pine.
OK it is not Ikea but he is very cheap and the stuff is very well made.
It all comes in plain pine colour, but he will wax it for you in almost any colour you want (even silver).

Wow thats brilliant, thanks.

 

[allcraz]

If you're looking for "cheap" furniture and such that will last you a few years, you'll find things at Easy/Jumbo. Although I've never found anything there to be particularly cheap when comparing price and quality. (Over the years, this no longer surprises you.) In the past I have often opted to buy used but better quality. You can hunt around on MercadoLibre. I've found lots of things on CraigsList from people who are in the same boat. They came, they bought, they left. As far as all the cheap kitchen items to fill up the cabinets, you can find tons of stuff at the "bazars." A popular one is Moderno Bazar: http://www.modernobazar.com/

 

[mariposa]

there is no IKEA and nothing remotely like it. all the stuff at EASY is a) very expensive for what it is and b) of such an abominable quality that you have to make sure with every items that the table is not missing a leg (i saw that there!), the seat of the chair is not wharped (happened to a patio chair we bought there) ,the lamp is not missing its stand (happened to 2 out of 4 bedside lamps we had bought there), etc. i kid you not. while they do exchange items with the proper receipt, you spend all our life doing that. stay away from that place unless you go to their hardware/lumber department.

better have things made by one of those guys mentioned above who made furniture to order and stain it any color of shade you want, buy from other people who are leaving, go to the mercado de las pulgas, or to stores like "diaz de mario" on oro y soler in palermo soho where they recycle old country furniture at very reasonable prices. it is also worh looking at the mercado de frutos in tigre, there are some hidden gems among all that fake rustic junk.

that's how we furnished our entire house, very cool look, and not much money at all.

 

[surfing]

I agree---- stay away from EASY; it's nothing but Chinese junk.

 

[mariposa]

I agree---- stay away from EASY; it's nothing but Chinese junk.

it's actually worse than that. argentina has a different level of quality control (approx. zero) than many other countries importing chinese goods. hence chinese products rejected by other countries with stricter controls are being sold in argentina for MORE money than they would cost elsewhere. and they don't work or have parts missing or both. there is "made in china" and and then there is "made in china for argentina". no joke.

 

[Crema Americana]

Good furniture is not cheap in BA. I always get a little sad when I check out US furniture sales or flyers... it'd be nice to have the same quality and prices here.

 

[Marche exile]

Nope same here in Italy re furniture, very expensive rubbish but we do have an Ikea!!! Thank the lord. Its an hour and a half away but I would crawl over hot coles to get there if I had too.
Mmmmm looks like I will be upholstering, stripping and covering old stuff like I do here.

 

[Ries]

I sure am not impressed with Ikea. (although I do like the meatballs)
I have had to buy it for kids rooms, and I find it to be disposable furniture at best. Most Ikea furniture will not survive one move- it just isnt built to be assembled twice. I have Ikea bookshelves, drawers, and cabinets in the USA that are crumbling heaps of sawdust after a few years with kids around.
While my departmento was being rebuilt, I stayed in probably a dozen different short term rental apartments in Buenos Aires, and almost every one of them was furnished in what I would consider Ikea grade particle board with glued on wood grain plastic furniture, much of it, I suspect, from EASY.
Its crap, and it doesnt last.

In Buenos Aires, for not a lot of money, there is a HUGE amount of solid wood antique furniture, in many different styles, ranging from french provinical to midcentury modern. I furnished my place almost exclusively in used furniture, and its sturdier, better built, and much better looking than the cheap particle board and formica stuff they sell at Ikea.

I haunt the Pulgas, at Dorrego y Niceto so much that many of them know me on sight, and I have gotten gifts from vendors there just because they are amused by me and my wife, and our persistent visits. I have found amazing deals there- not every day, you need to go back multiple times, but there is great stuff there. Some is very cheap, it goes fast. Herman Miller tables, for example, that are worth 4 times the price in the USA, but you gotta be quick at the Pulgas.
Then, around the pulgas, there are a lot of slightly more expensive antique and furniture stores that have preselected good stuff.
Up Rivadavia there are a couple of antique megastores that are multiple floors of antiques stacked to the ceiling- this is one- the other one is across the street and much funkier and cheaper.
http://www.larueda.com/
dozens and dozens of other antique stores around town- the most expensive, with the best stuff, are in San Telmo and Recoleta, but there are tons of less pricey ones all over. I get good deals (not dirt cheap, but reasonable for what it is, from Casa Honduras, on Honduras and Acuna. He does rewiring, reupholstery, refinishing, and buys a lot from the provinces.

there are also good flea markets at Parque Centenario, Parque de los Andes, and other places around town on weekends that sometimes have smaller pieces.

And dont forget mercado libre.

Buying real furniture, that has already had a life, and has soul, is much more satisfying to me than buying mass produced 3 dimensional sawdust and glue objects. It takes longer, but the results are worth it in my book.