No matter what disadvantages there are to RTA, the benefits of flat pack furniture, functionally designed and affordable units will always outweigh most downsides. Let’s learn what’s flat-pack furniture and how it took over people’s homes.
So, if you:
Then this article is for you!
“Ready-to-assemble units”, “Knock-down fittings”, “Self-assembly” and “Kit furniture” stand for popular furniture that needs to be assembled.
A few words from us:
“The popularity of flat pack furniture in London has skyrocketed. Nowadays most people know what is flat pack furniture. It’s not a rarity to come across ready-to-assemble pieces but some people still find it hard to see the difference between flat pack assembly and a solid piece of furniture.”
Flatpack designers aim to build popular and successful furniture that is as efficient and aesthetical as possible. There are both positives and negative of flat packed furniture and what it’s made from. The interior and exterior design markets are becoming ever more demanding and that’s why knockdown assembly companies deliver montage-friendly improvements in order to ease putting flatpack pieces together:
Benefits of flat pack furniture assemblers:
Ready-to-assemble furniture is purchased and used for a wide range of uses:
Ready-to-assemble is built from:
There quite a few positives and negatives of flat packed furniture. Some manufacturers put high-end materials in furnishing which are durable and last. Such retailers deliver competitive and quality products. Unfortunately, others aim at building cheap furniture which still does the job, but has a short lifespan and often looks terrible.
“When it comes to the quality of construction, flat pack furniture sturdiness is a virtue (but not always a must).”Dmitri Kara / Flatpack builder
Knockdown interior & exterior pieces have revolutionised the home furnishing niche. All popular companies now are bound to invest in research and development with customer satisfaction as a prime priority.
The simple and yet extremely efficient packing allows manufacturers, retailers and clients to cut various costs and restrictions that come with volume. This is among the greatest knock-down advantages, that make these units such a success.
Arguably, the primary among the advantages of flat pack furniture is cost.
Flatpacks are really flexible when customising.
Without the shadow of a doubt, it is IKEA that made RTA pieces so popular.
The worldwide fever over flatpacks is due to the combined effect of a company founded back in the 1940s along with creative marketing and forward-thinking design.
IKEA flatpacks benefit from loyal fans and magazines worldwide and that is not due to their wonderful designs alone. The swish company puts the extra effort so the best interior designers can come up with aesthetic units that do stand out. Most knockdowns come in a variety of colours because colours make IKEA products look bright and modern. All IKEA flatpacks are minimalistic, affordable and offer good looks.
Pros of flat pack furniture allow modern designers to put out furniture out of eco-friendly and sustainable solid wood. Plus, it is really fun to put together two or more pieces and make your own flat pack hack.
One of the biggest setbacks of ready-to-assemble furniture is the lack of uniqueness. Critics will argue that all flat pack furniture looks the same as the design has been simplified and therefore limits style and originality despite its modern feel.
Although companies like IKEA provide great design and a mid to high range of flat pack assembly rates, smaller flat pack assembly retailers and even IKEA furniture, don’t really stand out of the pack. On the other hand, since the IKEA furniture assembly is made with likeableness in mind, chances are, you won’t find a single person not to appreciate the looks. Do you think this is really a downside? Make sure to leave us a comment.
Do you think this is really a downside? Let us know with a comment.
Another minor downside of flat pack furniture is durability. Not as in how long knockdowns will last you – flatpacks could last for ages.
Ready-to-assemble furniture is generally referred to as fragile when not assembled properly. Exterior surfaces can be easily damaged due to low-quality materials. Although it’s cheaper, flat pack assembly is usually made from MDF, therefore lasting long is not its strongest of sides, although it’s not impossible. There is always the possibility that if handled without the necessary attention it can scratch or break, especially if it’s been dismantled and put together a number of times.
Do you have a story about flatpacks lasting only for a while? Leave us a comment.
The obvious disadvantage, people would argue, is the difficulty of putting furniture together. Problematic instructions and leftover screws are the most common complaints customers seem to have, not to mention endless hours (and arguments!) spent trying to assemble furniture (especially for couples). Once you have finally managed to screw all the bits together, you may find that drawers don’t shut properly or cupboard doors are wonky. If this happens, there’s nothing else for you but to start all over again.
You might end up paying extra cash for a professional assembler to come and montage flat pack furniture for you! This might add a bit extra to your final bill, unforeseen at the moment of purchase.
What was your worst Ikea assembly ever? Leave us a comment.
Unsuspecting clients have to walk all the way through an IKEA store in order to reach a checkout register. Watching at home furnishing products for too long is meant to boost the urge to buy some. A great trick is to actually use the exit as an entrance and thus avoid being sucked in.
What was your fastest Ikea walk-through? Leave us a comment.
Sometimes flatpacks are damaged due to manufacturing defects or transport inattention. This could happen when units sit in a warehouse for long enough. The main reason for that is mass-production. Accidents happen when flat pack furniture is moved in and out. In general, it is not an issue to replace broken parts, but it is an inconvenience, to say the least. Not to mention how dirty flat-packing boxes usually are.
Another one among the many disadvantages of knockdown fittings is when parts are missing. Flatpack companies used to provide extra for this reason. For what it seems this was back in the days when manufacturing had more of a human touch. It seems that robots can’t count. There are often screws missing from the flatpack kit – a problem that could have been avoided if companies were not dealing on strict budgets. Quite an irritation when you have just spent £200 on a flat pack wardrobe!
Did you ever experienced missing knockdown fittings?
Credits for the invention of flatpack go to Gillis Lundgren – an IKEA store employee back in the ’50s. He is now known as the designer of many popular IKEA flat packs.
The story goes that Gillis had to handle the home delivery of his own lack table, but it simply didn’t fit in the car (IKEA delivery was a thing of the future back then). That’s why in order to bring the piece of furniture home, he dismantled legs off and later on re-assembled them.
That’s where it all started! The evolution of knockdown fittings began. Gillis realized that flat pack furniture is a unique innovation, so he presented the idea to IKEA management. As soon as competition hoped along, ready-to-assemble units became an omnipresent piece of furnishing for the average home, office and even beyond.
The first piece of flat-packed knockdown was sold in the 1950s.
No matter what disadvantages there are to RTA, the benefits of flat pack furniture, functionally designed and affordable units will always outweigh most downsides.
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Did you find this information helpful? Do you have anything to add about flat pack furniture? Let us know in the comments below!
Image source: Anna Andersson Fotografi/shutterstock.com
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