this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2025
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I am confused... What is different with the size of IKEA furniture?
When I go to Ikea with my bf, I always feel like we're walking through a dollhouse.
By now really want to see what a American (you are from the U.S.?) furniture store looks like. Wonder if there is something on youtube, must have a look...
A lot of it is designed to fit in college dorms. So some are on the small side...
But this guy also didn't understand that beds came in standard sizes, and was worried a swedish store (in the US) would be selling bedframes sized based on swedish standards and wouldn't fit his mattress... It was a dumb conversation
Ok, so might be different product offering in the US then. Which makes what he said even doubly stupid.
College dorms are not as much of a thing here in Europe and Ikea stuff here is normal sized, just standardized, mostly with that minimalistic Ikea look and easy to assemble by oneself.
... How does that make it doubly stupid? He wouldn't know what ikea stores sell in Europe. His only exposure was a week known European brand stores offerings.
You before said it was based on the stuff that is used for college dorms, so I gathered he was looking at similar offerings as in other stores but just assumed it to be smaller because of some Ikea-specific reasons instead, so he then had to make up a suitable reason.
But on the other hand, perhaps he knew that College dorms are not a thing in Europe and had to find a reason the Ikea sold small furniture regardless of this.
In that case his remark wouldn't have been stupid at all but a valid speculative thought process based on deeper cultural knowledge.
Who knows...
I think IKEA furniture does read as a little small to Americans because it is European designed and European furniture on average seems a little smaller than American furniture, to my eye at least.
Source: have owned a few IKEA pieces and have also am an American who has travelled to Europe a few times where I often stayed in airbnbs
That sounds plausible and might be true.
Also I have to say that I am a rather tall guy and the only height-adjustable desk that had a usable maximum height for me e.g. was the one from Ikea.
I think it is definitely not a specific Ikea or Swedish thing or has anything to do with the people being smaller (If anything, I think to remember that typical US citizens are actually smaller on average than most of the people in the northern parts of Europe...)
Yeah danes seemed taller than most Americans to me too, so I can believe it. And yeah the furniture size comments I made are definitely not true across the board
No no, I think now they might well mostly be true.
Even the extra high desk I mentioned doesn't cover much groundspace and is about as high as it is wide when fully extended...