How the easy-to-assemble Ikea furniture you bought in your 20s might possibly be worth a fortune someday.
According to The Sun, an online UK news source, some of the inexpensive furniture you purchase at Ikea today could be worth up to 40 times what you paid for it 10 to 20 years from now.
In fact, art and antique auction site Barnebys reports that "flat-pack" pieces like the ones sold at Ikea (the largest furniture retailer in the country) are not only making a comeback but will be worth a lot of money in the antique trade market in the years to come.
"Flat-pack furniture" requires no tools to assemble and can easily fold or come apart for packing and storing. The most famous of the flat-pack furniture comes from Ikea, the Swedish furniture retailer with hundreds of stores across our country and several in the DMV area, including in Woodbridge, Virginia, and College Park, Maryland.
Ikea flat-pack furniture, courtesy of The Sun
Even if you don't personally own any Ikea pieces, you probably know someone who does -- or did at one time. It’s inexpensive, easy to assemble, and marketed to the 20-something crowd. And even if you had Ikea furniture back in your 20s, do you still have it now? Probably not. But the good news is that some of that vintage furniture like the Lövbacken side table or the Strandmon armchair is making a comeback. To celebrate their 75th anniversary, Ikea has brought back several of their vintage pieces this year.
I have nothing against Ikea furniture. It’s pretty cool, actually, for what it is. But, will it really be worth money some day?
Well, Barnebys has predicted that the $249 Stradmond armchair could be worth $1,900 in 20 years, and the $59 Lövbacken may go for $1,200 in 2030, and possibly $2,300 by 2040, The Sun reports.
This isn’t good news for everyone, though. According to the DailyMail, Ikea has single-handedly ruined the antique trade. Judith Miller from the BBC series, Antique Roadshow, predicts that people are no longer buying or keeping antique-quality furniture in favor of cheaper brands like Ikea. She also says that trading for antiques has gone down, lowering their value, while other types of furniture are gaining popularity in the trading market. Another culprit is auction sites like E-Bay, where collectibles are being sold for a fraction of what they were worth a few decades ago.
It seems that many people, especially younger buyers, are going for lower cost and style, rather than filling their homes with heirlooms and antiques passed down from generations.
Who knows if the Ikea furniture you bought in your 20s will actually be worth a small fortune in the future? I guess that’s something we’ll just have to wait and see.
Are you a fan of flat-pack furniture? Or do you prefer the actual antiques that will last a lifetime and that you can pass down to future generations? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Looking for a good fall breakfast recipe? Check out our pumpkin French toast! Hunt: It's delicious.
