IKEA Furniture or Bespoke – which is best?

This is a collaborative post

Sick off shoes blocking your hallway? Bookbags blocking the stairs? Are there clothes literally hanging out of your wardrobes or overflowing from draws? As well as being time for a well needed clear out, it could also be time to invest in some decent storage in your home. There are two main approaches to hallway storage and at the moment we’re having this very dillema. Do we buy some cheap IKEA furniture and create some of the many IKEA furniture hacks we’ve seen on Instagram, or do we pay more to get bespoke furniture made specifically for our space? There are pros and cons of each approach.

Here are the main things to consider when deciding between IKEA furniture or bespoke.

How much are you willing to spend?

FIrst up is the obvious question – How much money are you willing to invest in your hallway furniture?

If you’re limited on funds (cost of living crisis anyone) buying furniture from IKEA can be a practical and affordable choice. Using options such as Kallax with perhaps the additional storage baskets and off cuts, you can probably create a plesant looking piece of storage for under £200.

That said, you often get what you pay for. With IKEA flat packed furniture the finish quality can vary and with self assembly, you risk some of the joins, cupboards or draws not alighning perfectly once complete.

Bespoke builds don’t come cheap and are a big investment, but if you’re staying in your home for a while, they are money well spent, making a unique piece of furntiure entirely tailored to your space.

Finding a trusted joiner is crucial. As well as looking on review sites, look out for personal recommendations from friends, family or trusted contacts and check out their socials where they have hopefully shared examples of their previous work. Instagram is great for this, with more and more joiners and carpenters sharing before and after style reels and stories to showcase what they can offer. You may even get some inspiration for the exact design you want to create.

How well will it fill the space?

IKEA’s modular system is a great way to combine several pieces together to fill your space – with the ability to personalise with rails, handles and baskets as required. However, unless you’re extremely lucky, you’re going to have space above or around the sides that you can’t fill with pre-determined dimensions.

If you really want to maximise your storage space, getting a bespoke build with a joiner or carpenter can provide floor-to-ceiling storage space, making the most of the entire height without being limited to the size of pre-measured pieces. They can also be joined around the existing skirting board and navigate around challenging shaped walls, sloping ceilings or windowsills to provide the perfect fit for your hallway.

How stylish will it be?

Your hallway is the first thing people see when they enter your home and as such, you want it to make a good impression. Whilst you absolutely can make IKEA modular furniture look stylish through painting, adding premium storage baskets and upholstery, a painted wooden bespoke build can create a truly modern feel which integrates seamlessly into your hallway space.

By maximising the storage space, you can also ensure that the hall remains tidy, with plenty of space for your kid’s shoes, school bags and coats to be stashed away out of sight. (We can’t guarantee they’ll do that without being nagged, however)

What is the quality like?

Most IKEA furntiure is made from engineered wood, mdf or laminate, and while its durable and cheap, it isn’t always the highest qualty and is less hardwaring than other solid wood designs. As a do it yourself design, you’re also relying on your own assembly skills. Having had some pieces from IKEA in the past, I know all too well how easy it is to tighten the screws too much and damage the front of the laminate. It can also take a lot of time to ensure draws and cupboards are correctly aligned, with the instructions sometimes being challenging to follow.

When you opt for a bespoke build, you can choose to invest in premium materials and with the craftmanship or a joiner or carpenter, your can expect a higher quality of assembly and longer lifespan. WIth precise measurements (literally to the mm) you’ll get an entirely tailored fit,

Our Decision

Whilst we know it’ll be a significant price tag; we’ve decided to invest in a bespoke piece for our hallway. We’ve found a joiner we trust, we’ve seen the quality of his work and we’ve agreed to an order later in the year. Check back to see our finished piece. I cannot wait!