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.
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.
