How Flat Packs aren’t as Bad as You Think We’ve all been there. We buy some new IKEA piece and we get home. We open the boxes and we begin to assemble it. And we realise this will take more time than expected. Not just that, but somewhere in the middle of the process we find out we’ve put something at the wrong place or just too early, so we have to do disassembly as well. This is one of the reasons why people hate flat packs. The other one is their reputation. Many people still believe flat packs are horrible, when it comes to durability. And so, they tell their friends not to buy flat packs, because they’ll fall apart several years later. Well, this isn’t true.

The increased quality control has made flat packs far more reliable. That is, of course, if they’re assembled correctly. Which brings us back to point one – the assembly process. First thing you should know is that there are many companies for furniture assembly in London and every other major city in the country. Which means that you can spare yourself the trouble and let the professionals handle it for you. Not only you’ll save time and effort, but you’ll also make sure the piece is solid. There’s nothing more dangerous for a flat pack than the assembly. First, if it’s done poorly, the joints will soon begin to loosen, which damages the whole item. Second, if you have to disassemble it several times, it will get worn out pretty fast. Dismantling flat packs makes their joints age with several years for several seconds. They become loose next time you put it together and you can’t really avoid that. Especially if your knock-down pieces are of some cheap material like MDF.

But, what about those friends that tell you flat packs aren’t reliable? Well, they obviously live in the past. Big companies like IKEA have invested huge amounts of money and time to improve the quality of ready-to-assemble pieces. They have moved on to sturdier materials and better manufacturing process, which improves the durability of the whole piece. In fact, a high quality flat pack can last just as long as its conventional equivalent, but it will cost you a lot less. Sometimes even 50% of the price of the traditional piece.

So, there you have it. Flat packs aren’t as bad as you (or your friends) believe. In fact, they have improved significantly in the past 20 years or so and they keep improving with each passing day. So, next time you need some moveables, consider buying them flat packed.