Not everyone has the good fortune of two young daughters and a cat to help them with their furniture assembly. For all those less fortunate there is always Simple Assembly Me Hole!

It appears that you might not be the only one who has met with difficulty and frustration when trying to put together that new wardrobe or table. But don’t let it go to far. There are experts who take the death out of Ikea. And if it is death you seek, I imagine death by chocolate is a more preferable way to go.

No don’t worry, I’m not going to mention the word. Although I’m sure you’re not immune to the point of sales and merchandising in the shops.

Shortbread and sherry is all well and good, but I think many of us would prefer something a little more permanent.

• Say a new bookcase for when you spend the tenner book token Auntie Kitty sends you every year since you where five!
• Or indeed a new kitchen in which to entertain the aforementioned dotty relative….sherry and shortbread being the order of the day.
• Prehaps you’re fed up with the halfbuilt ruin at the bottom of the garden, “Yes dear I know it was supposed to be a shed but….”
• Or when you settle down to Tubridy on Friday night and that broken spring in the sofa, makes it more turgid than Tubridy!

You know its the time of year when you have a perfect excuse to dump the old. Or, just to go out and get some new furniture.

And while you roast chestnuts on an open fire, we’ll put all your new stuff together, just leave out some biccies and a glass of milk for us……ahem!

That’s why we’re here.  We help you get the best out of your IKEA furniture.  Non-rickety assembly guaranteed!

Disappointment is one way of putting it.  Distressed is another – if you’ve arranged for a babysitter, booked in delivery, and braved the rain.  I can only say that you have our sympathies.  And, once you let us know that you’re not going to be fulfilling your order, we can postpone everything until IKEA has your stock.

It seems that the IKEA online system and phone systems are not matching the reality of the system.

A case in point: a customer today viewed 18 items in stock online.  She telephoned to confirm that and was told 5 items were in stock.  When she went to the store, she was told that they were out of stock of that particular item for the past few days.

Shocking re. stocking.

I’ve not been able to come up with a solution yet.  For now, just know that once you inform us in time, we can postpone your order until another day.

The good news is that we do.  And we’re pretty great at it.

But there’s something I need to clarify.   It’s in relation to what is a wardrobe and what is a series of pieces that make up a wardrobe.

These are wardrobes. They have 4 sides, and 2 doors:

This is a wardrobe system. Swankier than your bog standard traditional wardrobe, but oh such a stylish addition to any room.  See how this one has a chest of drawers inside it?  And interesting sliding doors and shelving too:

The wardrobe above is from IKEA. We recently assembled this for a happy customer. But because it is made up of 5 separately assembled pieces,  we charged for 5 items and not 1.  The customer understood and was happy with that.

So when you’re placing your order for a wardrobe assembly, please consider your wardrobe’s component parts. If it’s a super swanky 5 piece number, please put it down as such. That way there’ll be no embarrassment on anyone’s part when it comes to the job.

Today I met with Sadhbh Fitzgibbon, Interior Designer Dublin and she had remarkable insights that you can use to really get the most out of your IKEA buy.

• Make your sofa look its best by steaming or ironing the covers before you put them on.  If you put them on straight out of the box, they look shabby already – even before use.
• Same applies to curtains and cushion covers.  Steaming or ironing will ensure that even the cheapest drapes hang well and add a touch of class to your room.
• Make sure you buy rubber matting for under rugs to avoid slippage.  You can pick this up for €3.99
• Wear your rug the wrong way around for the first 24 hours.  This smoothes out all corners to avoid unwanted tripping!

We’ll have more from Sadhbh in the coming weeks.  If you would like to find out more about how you can use IKEA wisely to customise your home, get in touch with Sky Interiors.

• Busiest day: Mondays. Lots of you start projects over the weekend and can’t finish them.  So we’ve had a fair few dining room suites, bedroom suites, and children’s bedrooms that needed completion.
• Most popular item: Wardrobes. IKEA must be selling a stack of them.  We are certainly assembling a load of them.  Double wardrobes with slidey drawers are the most popular.
• Most relieved: when we come and erect your shelves.  IKEA are great at giving you the shelving, but they don’t really go into detail about how you can get them on the wall!

Design your own space.  Drag & drop furniture.  Change background, colour, accessories.
Well cool: Space Maker

Now that’s service!

We have some slots left for assembly on Saturday, so why not book your assembly too?  Who knows, your bedroom could be sporting a new wardrobe and chest of drawers by tomorrow night! Or your sitting room could be given a lift with a new couch, coffee table and chairs.

• Surtido Project – the premise is that IKEA is actually a supplier of raw materials, rather than of finished products. They challenged 35 designers to go to IKEA and to come up with new products that used existing IKEA parts. Everything used in their products had to come from IKEA, including screws, seats, screens, etc.  You can read about one of the entrants here  (I love this one, but then I’m a sucker for lighting)

• IKEA hackers – what these guys do with IKEA furniture is amazing.  But sometimes quite simple.  For example – why not use some of the amazing print fabric that IKEA sells to cover some of the more neutral chairs?  View it here.

Right now, we’re offering assembly of IKEA flatpack furniture.  The hacks are up to you!

Note: thanks to @bohoe for bringing the Surtido project to my attention.  And photo credit is @yonoh.

We charge €40 per item.
So next time you visit Ikea you can shop til you drop knowing that you don’t have to put it together.

Our team of experienced carpenters and kitchen fitters will assemble your flatpack furniture in no time.
Don’t waste time trying to decipher instructions, contact the Ikea Furniture Assembly Experts today!

Got questions?  Email us.

And if you’re buying a wardrobe, read this first.