Loving IKEA

I have always loved IKEA. In the past, I used to just visit IKEA to browse through their displays and let my imagination run wild. It is like a candy store for adults. I’ve discovered that I still feel the same way about IKEA today.

I went to IKEA a few days ago and bought some stuff including a decent office chair and a lap top laptop table. While shopping for the chair, I’ve noticed something about expensive ergonomic chairs. I hate them.

When we moved into the new lab building at Cambridge several years ago, each of us was given a new table and expensive ergonomic chair. However, I have always found these ergonomic chairs very uncomfortable.

They are typically expensive because they are fully adjustable. The theory is that they would fit almost every possible body frame and table height. However, they were uncomfortable because I tended to feel like I was falling off them all the time.

While I was at IKEA, I tested a few ergonomic chairs that cost more than RM1,500 each and found them to be of the same variety. They were fully adjustable and were obviously very well built but I felt like I was falling off them all the time.

So, I ended up getting one of their new mid-range standard office chairs with a high back rest. I’ve brought it home, assembled it and have been using it for the last few hours. It feels very comfortable so far – more so than my previous office chair.

The reason that I’m talking about this is because I like IKEA. I like the type of creative ideas that go into each and every piece of furniture. Their furniture is of good build quality and at an affordable price. With some personal creativity, there is so much potential in a piece of IKEA furniture.