Living Spaces offers a wide selection of stylish, customizable contemporary furniture at a mid-range price point, often delivered and assembled for you. In contrast, IKEA is the global leader in affordable, flat-pack furniture with a distinct Scandinavian minimalist aesthetic that you assemble yourself. The key difference lies in Living Spaces' focus on a showroom experience with broader style variety versus IKEA's emphasis on ultimate affordability and DIY-friendly solutions.
Let's break down everything you need to know to choose the right home decor retailer for your space.
Living Spaces: The Stylish & Customizable Choice
Living Spaces is a furniture retailer known for an extensive selection of contemporary furniture that balances style with accessibility. They cater to first-time homeowners and young families who want trendy, functional pieces without a luxury price tag. With both large physical showrooms and a comprehensive online store, Living Spaces makes it easy to find and customize furniture to fit modern homes.
- Product mix: A complete assortment for the home, including sofas, sectionals, beds, dining sets, outdoor furniture, and decor. They have a strong focus on statement living room and bedroom pieces.
- Style/vibe: Modern, transitional, and eclectic. They offer plush fabrics, bold colors, and designs that align with current interior design trends.
- Price point: Mid-range. Sofas typically cost between $500 and $2,000, while bedroom sets range from $1,000 to $3,000.
- Quality: Materials generally include solid wood, durable engineered wood, and high-resilience foam cushions. Product warranties can range from one to ten years, indicating a focus on more durable construction compared to budget alternatives.
- Customization: A major selling point. Many sofas and chairs can be customized with a variety of fabrics and finishes, and some collections offer configurable elements to fit your space perfectly.
- Delivery & Assembly: Offers full-service delivery options that include in-home setup and assembly, providing a convenient, hands-off experience for shoppers.
- Sales: Holds frequent promotions and sales, particularly around major holidays, offering significant discounts on many items.
- Dimensions/Scale: Provides a wide range of furniture sizes, from apartment-friendly sofas to large-scale sectionals, making it suitable for various room layouts.
Living Spaces is ideal for those who want on-trend furniture, appreciate customization, and want the convenience of professional delivery and assembly service.
Shop Living Spaces: livingspaces.com
IKEA: The Affordable & Functional Solution
IKEA is a Swedish furniture giant famous for its affordable, ready-to-assemble products and Scandinavian design. Its business model is built on efficiency, allowing it to offer functional, minimalist furniture at exceptionally low prices. Shopping at IKEA is a self-service experience, appealing to budget-conscious students, renters, and anyone prioritizing practicality and value.
- Product mix: Offers everything needed to furnish an entire home, from large furniture items like kitchens and wardrobes to small home accessories, lighting, and textiles.
- Style/vibe: Uniformly Scandinavian and minimalist. The aesthetic emphasizes clean lines, neutral color palettes, functionality, and simplicity.
- Price point: Low to budget-friendly. Sofas can start as low as $200–$400, beds sometimes under $200, and dining tables can be found for under $300.
- Quality: Engineered for affordability. Most pieces are made from particleboard, fiberboard, and laminates. While functional, the materials are not designed for heirloom quality, though some of their higher-end collections feature more robust materials like solid wood.
- Delivery & Assembly: The core of the IKEA model is flat-pack, self-assembly. While delivery services are available for a fee, customers are expected to build the furniture themselves.
- Dimensions/Scale: Specializes in space-saving, modular designs perfect for small apartments and multi-functional rooms. Furniture sizing is typically standardized and more compact than traditional furniture.
- Sustainability: A leader in the retail industry for sustainability. IKEA has strong commitments to using renewable and recycled materials, reducing waste, and has many products with FSC and GREENGUARD certifications.
IKEA is the go-to for shoppers who need functional, space-efficient furniture on a strict budget and are happy to handle the assembly themselves.
Shop IKEA: ikea.com
Living Spaces vs. IKEA Comparison
Price Comparison
There is a clear price difference between the two brands. IKEA is the undisputed winner on affordability. With sofas starting in the $200-$400 range and bed frames under $300, it's one of the most accessible furniture retailers on the market.
Living Spaces operates in a mid-range category. Their sofas typically start around $500, offering a step up in materials and construction for those with a slightly larger budget. While Living Spaces holds frequent sales that make their pieces more competitive, their baseline pricing is higher than IKEA’s.
Style & Aesthetic
Living Spaces offers a comparatively broad and eclectic range of styles. Their collections follow current trends, spanning modern, transitional, and classic tones. You'll find more plush fabrics, bolder colors, and more decorative, statement pieces in their showrooms.
IKEA's aesthetic is tightly focused and instantly recognizable. Centered on Scandinavian minimalism, their designs are simple, functional, and feature clean lines with a predominantly neutral color palette. This uniformity makes their pieces easy to mix and match but offers less stylistic variety than Living Spaces.
Quality & Construction
Living Spaces generally uses higher-quality materials, such as solid wood frames, more durable fabrics, and higher-density foam cushions in its upholstered furniture. The longer warranties on many of their products suggest a construction designed for greater durability and longevity.
IKEA’s furniture is engineered for cost-efficiency. The extensive use of particleboard and laminates keeps prices low but often means a shorter lifespan compared to solid wood furniture. While many IKEA pieces are surprisingly sturdy for the price, they generally can't match the long-term durability of the materials used by Living Spaces.
Product Selection
Both retailers offer comprehensive selections for furnishing an entire home. However, Living Spaces puts a heavier emphasis on large furnishing items like customizable couches and bedroom and dining room sets.
IKEA excels in providing complete, integrated solutions, especially for kitchens and storage systems like their PAX wardrobes. They also have an enormous collection of smaller home decor, textiles, and kitchenware, making it more of a one-stop-shop for setting up an entire home from scratch.
Shopping Experience
The experience couldn't be more different. Living Spaces provides a traditional furniture showroom experience where you can sit on sofas, open dresser drawers, and get assistance from sales associates. Their website also allows for a high degree of customization and room planning.
IKEA is a self-service powerhouse. You navigate their massive warehouse stores, note down product numbers, retrieve the flat-pack boxes yourself, and check yourself out. It's an efficient but highly impersonal process geared toward shoppers who know what they want.
Delivery & Assembly
Living Spaces offers a more convenient service, with delivery options that include moving the furniture into the correct room, full assembly, and removal of packaging. It is a hands-off service designed to save you time and effort.
IKEA's core offering is flat-pack furniture designed for self-assembly. While you can pay extra for delivery and tasking services like TaskRabbit to assemble items for you, the brand's primary model relies on the customer to do the work.
Sustainability & Ethics
IKEA has a clear advantage here. They are a global leader in sustainability, with serious commitments to environmental responsibility, transparent supply chains, and a focus on circular economy principles. Many of their products feature certifications like FSC, which verifies responsible forest management.
Living Spaces has started incorporating some eco-friendly materials but does not place sustainability at the core of its brand identity in the same way IKEA does. Consumers who prioritize environmental and ethical considerations will find IKEA’s commitment far more comprehensive.
Which One Should You Choose?
The right choice depends on your budget, style, and how much work you’re willing to put in. Both brands excel at what they do, but they serve vastly different needs.
Choose Living Spaces if:
- You prefer contemporary, on-trend furniture that makes a statement.
- You want a traditional retail experience where you can see, touch, and test furniture in a showroom.
- Customization is important, you want to choose your own fabrics, finishes, and configurations.
- You’d rather pay for professional delivery and assembly than build furniture yourself.
Choose IKEA if:
- You’re on a tight budget and need the most affordable options available.
- Furnishing a small space is your priority, and you need compact, modular furniture.
- You are comfortable with, and perhaps enjoy, the DIY process of assembling your own furniture.
- Sustainability and eco-conscious practices are some of the most important factors in your purchasing decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Living Spaces or IKEA cheaper?
IKEA is significantly more affordable than Living Spaces across all categories. Its more budget-friendly pricing is a cornerstone of its brand identity.
Which has better quality furniture?
Living Spaces generally offers higher-quality furniture made with more durable materials like solid wood and high-resilience foam. IKEA’s furniture is designed for affordability and may not be as long-lasting.
Do I have to assemble the furniture myself at IKEA?
At IKEA, self-assembly is standard. Most furniture comes flat-packed and requires you to put it together yourself. IKEA offers optional delivery and assembly services for an extra cost.
Which brand is better for small apartments?
IKEA excels at furnishing small spaces. Its space-saving designs are perfect for maximizing limited space. While Living Spaces also offers small-space options, it is generally geared towards larger rooms.
Can I customize furniture at Living Spaces?
Living Spaces has extensive options for customization, with hundreds of fabric and finish choices available on many products. IKEA's customization is typically based on its modular furniture and configuring pieces like shelves or seating to fit your space.
Which is more sustainable?
IKEA is a clear leader in sustainability. The company has established deep, long-term commitments to sourcing sustainable materials, reducing waste, and engaging in renewable energy practices.
What is the shopping experience like at these stores?
Shopping at Living Spaces is a traditional retail showroom experience, where you can get personalized service. IKEA's experience is more self-service, where you browse a large warehouse and pick up your items.
What is the return policy?
Both brands offer return policies, but the terms vary. IKEA’s policy allows returns within 365 days for most new, unopened products. Living Spaces’ policies are generally flexible but may have shorter windows for certain large furniture items. Always check for specific product details before purchasing.
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