Ikea IVAR Chair Review

Metal dining chairs used to be a thing in my house -- and in most of the restaurants we went to when I was a kid. They are probably still a thing all over the place, but I am not a fan of them. I just don't care for the weight and much prefer the feel of wood.

The two remaining metal dining chairs in my house were once part of a set of five. They fell apart a long time ago and were tossed, replaced with Ikea STEFAN chairs. The survivors were repaired with various parts over the years but continued to breakdown. One of those metal chairs had lost its rear feet and enjoyed scraping the floor for a while before I got the idea to get a replacement. The other sat in a corner more as a spare, so I decided to let it be.

It would have been ideal to get another STEFAN chair to match the existing ones, but the wood stain on them was starting to get worn away. Trying to avoid the same issue this time around at twice the price? Yes, I was aware paint or stains could be redone.

Ikea IVAR Chair Unboxed

Configuration
Ikea IVAR Chair: CAD$ 39.99 (US$ 25.00)

Video
Ikea IVAR Chair Time-Lapse Assembly

Assembly
This was somewhat enjoyable to put together due to its light weight, relatively small size, and few parts. The hardest part was getting the wood dowels to go into the holes by using the floor as a hammer -- four layers of cardboard somehow cushioned the impact enough to not cause any damage. Probably should have just spent more time pounding the furniture parts together. Once the dowels went in, I put on the cross pieces on the back and under the seat, screwed them in, and put the seat on. Not sure if I got a dud, but my seat didn't come with predrilled holes for screwing the seat into the mounts. The pine was soft enough that pushing the screws to make indentations and then driving the screws in by hand wasn't too hard.

One funny thing I noticed when I first opened the package and touched the wood was that I felt an almost sticky texture. It was winter and my hands were dry so maybe the wood sapped the moisture out of my skin and made it feel weird. Or was it sap? Don't know, couldn't really feel it with dirty hands, but fresh after washing my hands, it was obvious.

Didn't bother to stain or paint this item. Would rather replace or repair the chair than have to deal with a worn out coating. Only stuck some FIXA floor protectors on the feet.


Ikea IVAR Chair Finished

Stability
Haven't had any problems with it yet. It felt solid to sit on and didn't feel flimsy.

Expandability / Customizability
It's supposed to be solid pine and wood treatments can be applied (Ikea website). Get other IVAR stuff?

Everyday Use
The chair worked. I sat in it, it didn't break. Compared to the metal chair the IVAR replaced, it was an absolute pleasure to lift and carry around. According to the product's webpage, 11 lb was the weight of the entire package. It was noted on the ikea.ca product page that the chair was tested for 220 lb. Luckily, I shouldn't ever need anything close to that weight. Not sure about guests. The wood didn't feel like it was too hard on the floors, even before floor protectors were put on.

I very much liked the simplistic design. There were only a few plastic pieces and some metal screws. The rest of the chair was, as far as I could tell, solid wood. It felt pretty easy to wipe down the chair with a damp paper towel, no excessive resistance or the paper towel catching on things and being destroyed.

Conclusion
Simple for me to put together, relatively light weight, good looking, seemingly easy to clean, and mostly solid wood. I liked it. Price wasn't bad, especially in the United States.


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IKEA IVAR Shelf Review