Ikea ASKVOLL Wardrobe Impressions: ANEBODA alternative #1?

An Ikea ANEBODA wardrobe was CA$ 99.00 in Canada when I wrote this -- it was closer to CA$ 150 when I got mine in a wood-like color years ago. What is one to do if one does not like an ANEBODA? Not buy it or get something else similar? One item I found that was "something else similar" was the ASKVOLL wardrobe for CA$ 149.00 (US$ 99.99).

An Ikea ANEBODA Wardrobe

Disclaimer: I had not had any firsthand experience with any ASKVOLL products when I wrote this piece. Details were quoted from the Ikea United States website or Canada website in mid April 2016. Details on this page are NOT guaranteed for accuracy.

First Impressions: The Ikea ASKVOLL Wardrobe
When the "Wardrobes" section on the Ikea.ca website was ordered by price, the ASKVOLL showed up a few spots past the ANEBODA and was listed for CA$ 149.00 (US$ 99.99). Dimensions noted on the product page: 80 cm x 52 cm x 189 cm (width x depth x height). The term that stood out to me under "Product description" was "Particleboard."

From the product photos of the ASKVOLL, I noticed a rectangular box with two front doors. This box appeared to sit close to the floor with only a bit of floor clearance, and the doors were opaque in a solid color. Photos of the interior showed a patterned rear panel that looked similar in color and design to the exterior walls. I also saw one shelf above what looked like a single clothes rail. Under "Good to know", there was a note about "1 stationary shelf included."

How did all of this compare to the ANEBODA? According to the ANEBODA's product page at the time, not the one I bought years prior, the wardrobe stood at 81 cm x 50 cm x 180 cm (width x depth x height) and there was supposedly "1 adjustable shelf included."

Okay, so the ANEBODA and ASKVOLL appeared to be pretty similar in terms of dimensions. There were an extra 9 cm of height found on the ASKVOLL though. Combine that with the lack of feet/legs and it looked like the storage compartment of the ASKVOLL was slightly taller. The feet or legs of the ANEBODA made a big difference to me since it allowed some cords to be routed underneath. Also, it felt more hygienic to store folded clothes on the bottom since it was clearly off the floor. I don't think I'd have done the same thing with an ASKVOLL -- totally psychological?

Another major difference appeared to be with the shelf in each wardrobe: one was adjustable, one was not. I set the shelf on my ANEBODA at a particular height and never touched it again. It didn't really make a difference to me because I put it near the bottom to store folded clothes.

And the ASKVOLL wardrobe didn't look like it had "windows" on the doors. To be fair, the "windows" on my old ANEBODA were a translucent plastic as you can see in the photo above -- I doubt that changed with the version available on the website I saw more recently. They weren't that appealing to me.

Final Thoughts
The ASKVOLL wardrobe was priced about CA$ 50 higher than the ANEBODA in Canada but at the same price in the United States. In terms of functionality, I didn't see anything that made the case for getting an ASKVOLL over an ANEBODA. Aesthetics appeared to be the main attraction as I wasn't the greatest fan of translucent plastic windows on the ANEBODA or completely white pieces of furniture. What I did like about the ANEBODA were the feet and how they picked the storage compartment of the wardrobe off the floor. The CA$ 50 spread didn't seem like a big difference considering the fact that I used my ANEBODA for probably close to a decade -- not an issue for Americans since they were the same price.