I go to these show houses at those housing launches quite a lot. You know, every time a developer launches a new housing project, they build a nice, swanky show house fitted out with nice, clean furniture like those you see in interior decoration magazines.
Nine out of ten show houses will be fitted out in [tag]Ikea[/tag] furniture.
I still can’t get Malaysians’ fascination with Ikea. Especially urban, upper-middle class, Malaysians of Chinese origin, and their fascination with Ikea. According to my friends who studied in London, there the Swedish furniture store is perceived more as an affordable market furniture. Over here, it ranks a little lower than those pseudo-Italian slash Malaysian designer stores like [tag]Fella Design[/tag] and [tag]Lorenzo[/tag] and Jojo Mamami.
(Side note: Has anyone noticed that series Alfa Romeo advertisements on local radio? It goes something like: “Learning Italian, lesson 10…†Very cute. Unfortunately, they don’t give a telephone number or website for me to look up when I want to buy my next Alfa Romeo Sunday car. I guess I’ll have to settle for a Ferrari, then… end of a really pointless side note.)
Ikea is nice. They have this attractive pine wood theme going on there, but its hardly affordable. Maybe it’s the exchange rate, or the perception of the owning of threadbare timber dining set designed by some Swedish dude with an unpronounceable name (“Schlossbirk� “Bjorn Borg� “Bjork�) or the prestige of setting out your living room exactly like they did in the Ikea showroom (where they’ve neatly arranged everything to fit a 169sq.ft. small apartment living space, but your living room is nearer to 300sq.ft…), I dunno.
Maybe it’s because our local furniture dealers are not trying hard enough to compete with Ikea. Heck, sometimes I think they aren’t even trying at all. Look at those hundreds of ‘furniture malls’ or ‘kedai perabot Lian Soon’ sprouting out everywhere. It used to be Old Klang Road is the furniture centre of KL, but now there are even more in Puchong, Petaling Jaya and Sri Petaling (have you seen that Malaysia’s biggest chair thing next to the highway? Guess who sits there? Malaysia’s biggest bum? Okay, okay, back to the topic.)
Almost all of them are the same. The same catalogues, same suppliers, same look, samey samey same. Only like one out a dozen offers different choices from the rest, usually some garish golden dining set with half naked Greek goddesses and nymphs holding up globes or lightning bolts that poke you in the eye when you unknowingly bump into them.
Oh, well, maybe I’ll drop by Ikea instead. But just like everyone else, end up buying those ‘cheap’ stuff like the colourful plastic cups, doormats, sofa pillows, ice trays, placemats, etc.
(Regards to my pal Lina, who works for Ikea somewhere in the forests of [tag]Stockholm[/tag]. I wonder if she still reads this blog from that third world country…)
22 Comments
anjali*
That’s why I buy my furniture from GungHo Warehouse in Subang Jaya. They also share same manufacturer as HomeLife, except they are priced like 50% cheaper.
The only stuff I buy from Ikea are their lights coz I lazy to go elsewhere.
The best way to decorate, akin to smart dressing, is to mix and match. Be individual. Be You. Hee.
P/S Can give a ride in your new Ferrari, ah? We friend friend isn’t it? 😛
win
likey likey Ikea. have their catalog in the bathroom and without fail will flip through it when doing business… even when it’s the 475th time : )…
lilian
..because for a Penangite like me, it is on the way home along the wateva highway, a place with cheap food we can’t find here, free refill of coffee to last me till Penang, free balls jungle for the toddler to burn himself out so that he napped all the way from Ikea to Penang…Arggh….Penangites are so jakun!
simon
anjali – for you, ferrari joyride ANYTIME!
win – we have those too. they send it to us even though we stay like half the world away…
lilian – if can go weekday better, weekend the place is madness.
Sashi
Yeah, I love that Alfa Romeo radio ad. Simple yet memorable. And they mention Auto Italia as the place to go to check out the car. Can’t remember whether they give out tel nos though..
8555
i find it very funny too. but their parking lots are spacious and nice. so i wouldn’t mind going there. but master doesn’t even have a house yet so he goes to sg wang more often for his monthly DVD stock replenishment.
egghead
if you go to Sweden… 90% of all household furniture are from IKEA… LOL!
mama23beas
Love everything about IKEA, does not matter if we can afford it or not, and even the screws on the beds need to be tighten every now and then;). Kids love it too, great family outing, great indoor play area…I can go on and on!
inevitable
I like Ikea for because of the way the ‘decorate’ and ‘design’ to ‘fit’. Then I scout for the same thing in other ‘alcheapo’ furniture shops…
ponytales
I like Ikea also, I think they are reasonable and you can just browse around for hours, nobody will disturb you. Unlike the usual furniture shop, they will tail me everywhere and try to sell me that set of sofa that they want to get rid from their store. Moreover, their price is not standard, for the same bedroom set, you might get it cheaper in Puchong as compared to Old Klang Road…so I prefer Ikea, simple and no frills
Ken
A cousin of mine (here in Kuching) has his house furnished with Ikea furnitures from top to bottom. He’d even go to the lengths of having them shipped from KL!! Even though we have Lorenzo here… -_-“”
lucia
there’s no ikea in penang. ikea should consider setting up one in penang… then let’s see if it will be as popular with penangites as it is with KLites.
though i had been to KL number of times but i never step foot in ikea. i had been to that place… er… what it is call eh… opposite ikea (1 utama?) but not ikea. it’s no point for a person not staying in ikea to go shopping in ikea since those stuffs are not practical to bring all the way home to penang from KL!
Adam
Its not just the quality of the furniture but the whole ambiance. Where else in Malaysia do they ask to try out their beds by sleeping on them.
Alex
yeah.. shud definitely omit the AFFORDABLE part. hell ikea in melbourne is more exp than ikea in msia i reckon.
P/s cheers for Arsenal.. wahaha. Just hope they do as well in the finals.
simon
sashi – i dun think they do. but i think i know where their showroom is.
8555 – eh, tell master not to spend so much on DVD la… save some money for a decent TRD bodykit for you la…
egghead – wah! that’s amazing.
mama23beas – i also love the free refill coffee. both my wife and i can drink up to 6 cups each!
inevitable – hahaha. i always see all these kiasu walking around the local furniture stores holding the ikea catalogue.
ponytales – the sales staff won’t disturb will, but the half crazy crowd will. Especially those that love to squeeze in to touch every single thing on display.
ken – wah, so fanatic ah. why don’t he just move here? won’t it be cheaper?
lucia – you should try it. and dun forget to try their cheap cheap curry puff. Everyone eats them.
Adam – true. every other shop has that ‘do not sit’ signs everywhere. Sheesh.
Alex – maybe its becoz aussie love ikea even more than m’sia. i dunno.
Jason
Are you sure penang doesnt have ikea? what is that shop’s name in gurney.. sellin all kinds of rojak.. i think its ikea or mekio thingy…
Fashionasia
the thing is, ive been to almost all the furniture shops u can find in klang valley and ALL the designs are similar(all frm same factory). and 90% are made of wooden finishes = read OLD FASHION.
I like funky, non Wooden designs lo…
cyber-red
i like IKEA’s catalogue smell…. hehe
keene
Great job guys… Thank for you work…
Giggs
Why I like IKEA so much?
It’s affordable, although some of it’s appliances/furnitures are way overpriced.
It’s practical–just have a look at their series of PAX wardrobe.Peep inside the wardrobe, and u’ll know why IKEA is so special.
The pricing is accurate, means that when they having a discount, it really means a discount. Whereas if u go to the non-IKEA furniture shop(except the reputable one such as Lorenzo), we never know what exactly the price are! We’ve been cheated? Perhaps. Try to do few surveys at the same shop(by different people of course), and u’ll be suprised to hear how vastly different the salesman qoute the price of the said furniture.
Patrick
Hi, IKEA in Malaysia has captivated Malaysians and expatriates alike. Personally, whenever I could, I would visit it to browse the furniture and fittings items there. I think these items have that Western charm which the Malaysian furniture manufacturers don’t seem to emulate. Probably, the latter are more focused on capturing foreign market looking into tropical-styled furniture. Anyway, how I wished IKEA would consider locating their superstore in Penang (on mainland side) to cater to an increasing mix of middle-to-affluent as well as expatriates market of Penang, Kedah, Northern Perak. Location near the North-South highway is very strategic. Anyway, besides the innovative furniture and fittings designs, whenever I am IKEA, the scent and aromas of Europe are unmistakable and would bring nostalgic feelings back to my family. That’s why it’s visits to IKEA for us are pleasurable!
RC
Ikea = Cheap style oversea, but high style in Malaysia.
In general, Ikea design and products are not too bad. But quality and originality are not the best.
They are for young families who wants some style and don’t want the furniture their parents have
at Kampong.