Tylko is a premium online brand offering highly customizable, modern storage solutions built from high-quality materials to fit your exact dimensions. In contrast, IKEA is a global retail giant known for its incredibly affordable, mass-produced, flat-pack furniture that serves a huge range of functional needs across the entire home.
Let's break down everything you need to know to choose the right furniture brand for your space.
Tylko: The Customizable Storage Specialist
Tylko is a modern furniture company focused on creating bespoke storage furniture that is perfectly tailored to your space. The brand’s identity is built on personalization, using an online configurator and augmented reality tools to let you design a piece to your exact specifications. This makes them a top choice for design-conscious consumers in urban apartments or homes with unique architectural challenges who are willing to invest in a perfect fit.
- Product mix: Specializes in a highly focused range of customizable modular storage, including shelving units, bookshelves, wardrobes, TV stands, and sideboards.
- Style/vibe: Clean, minimalist, and Scandinavian-inspired. Their pieces feature sleek lines, handleless doors, and a refined aesthetic that blends seamlessly into contemporary interiors.
- Price point: Mid-range to premium. Custom shelving units typically start around $300 and can go up to $1,500+ depending on the size, features, and finish.
- Quality: Emphasizes high-quality, durable materials. Products are made from sustainably sourced engineered wood (FSC-certified) with scratch-resistant finishes and precise construction.
- Customization: This is Tylko’s defining feature. Customers can modify the height, width, depth, color, and internal layout of their furniture using simple online tools.
- Delivery & Assembly: Products are delivered with a straightforward, click-together assembly system that is color-coded and requires no tools, making the process much simpler than traditional flat-pack furniture.
- Shopping Experience: Entirely online, featuring an interactive 3D room planner and AR tools to help you visualize furniture in your room before you buy.
Tylko is an ideal solution for anyone who needs a stylish, high-quality storage piece that fits a specific nook, wall, or room without compromise.
Shop Tylko: tylko.com
IKEA: The Affordable Flat-Pack Giant
IKEA is a worldwide household name, famous for its massive selection of affordable, self-assembly furniture. Their business model is built on low prices, functional design, and a vast product catalog that furnishes every single room in the home, from the kitchen to the bedroom. It's the go-to brand for students, first-time homeowners, renters, and anyone looking for budget-friendly and practical home solutions.
- Product mix: A complete and extensive range of home furnishings. This includes sofas, beds, kitchen cabinets, dining sets, lighting, rugs, home decor, and iconic storage systems like the BILLY bookcase and KALLAX shelving unit.
- Style/vibe: Predominantly functional and minimalist with strong Scandinavian roots, but their catalog features a wide variety of styles to cater to different tastes, including traditional, rustic, and contemporary designs.
- Price point: Entry-level and extremely affordable. Many popular storage items fall between $20 and $300, making it an accessible choice for almost any budget.
- Quality: Varies by product line. Core products are typically made of particleboard or fiberboard to keep costs down and are designed for everyday function over lifetime durability. Higher-priced lines often use better materials.
- Customization: Limited to what the standard product line offers. While some systems like PAX wardrobes allow for internal configuration, you cannot adjust the external dimensions to fit your space precisely.
- Delivery & Assembly: Famous for self-service and flat-pack convenience. Customers can pick up items in-store or have them delivered. Assembly is DIY using Allen keys and pictorial instructions, though assembly services can be purchased.
- Shopping Experience: A combination of massive, warehouse-style physical stores that serve as showrooms and an extensive online website for browsing and purchasing.
IKEA provides unmatched value for shoppers who need functional, stylish, and remarkably low-cost furniture for their entire home.
Shop IKEA: ikea.com
Tylko vs. IKEA Comparison
Price Comparison
There is a significant price difference between the two brands. IKEA is built on affordability, with popular shelving units like the BILLY bookcase often priced under $100. Their vast scale and flat-pack model allow for rock-bottom prices that are very hard to beat.
Tylko operates in a premium price segment where customers pay for customization and superior materials. A similar-sized shelving unit could cost anywhere from $300 to over $1,500. The value for Tylko lies in getting a bespoke piece that looks and fits exactly how you want it to, whereas IKEA's value is in providing a functional solution at an extremely low cost.
Style & Aesthetic
Both brands share a minimalist, Scandinavian design DNA, but their execution differs. Tylko's aesthetic is more refined and contemporary, focusing on perfect clean lines, subtle details, and a high-end feel. The customization allows for a truly integrated, seamless look in a modern home.
IKEA's style is more accessible, functional, and varied. While still minimalist, their designs often have a more utilitarian feel. Because of their sheer volume, you can find a mix of styles that fit different decors, but the overall vibe is less bespoke and more mass-market than Tylko.
Quality & Materials
Tylko clearly has an edge in material quality. It uses FSC-certified engineered wood, which is dense and durable, paired with scratch-resistant finishes that are designed for longevity. The custom manufacturing ensures a high level of precise craftsmanship and fit, contributing to the furniture's premium feel.
IKEA primarily uses particleboard and fiberboard with laminates or veneers to maintain its low price points. While functional enough for everyday use, these materials are more susceptible to wear, scratches, and damage over time, especially when moved. IKEA's quality delivers exactly what you'd expect for the price, but it isn't intended to be heirloom furniture.
Customization & Sizing
This is the most important distinction between the two. Tylko's business is entirely built on customization. You can control the height, width, depth, color, and internal compartments of your furniture down to the centimeter, ensuring it fits unique spaces like alcoves, stairwells, or specific wall lengths perfectly.
IKEA offers fixed, standard sizes for all its furniture. While systems like PAX or KALLAX are modular and can be combined to fill a space, you cannot change the core dimensions of the individual units. Your room must fit the furniture, not the other way around.
Shopping Experience
Shopping with Tylko is a sleek, digital-first experience. You design everything on their website using their intuitive configurator and can even use an AR app to visualize the final product in your room. It’s a guided, convenient process for a very specific purchase.
The IKEA experience is a mix of its giant physical showrooms and its comprehensive website. Many people enjoy wandering through the store for inspiration and inexpensive decor finds. The experience is more self-serve and less personalized, whether you're shopping in person or online.
Sustainability & Ethics
Both brands take sustainability seriously. Tylko approaches it by promoting longevity through quality materials (FSC-certified) and responsible sourcing. The idea is to buy one great piece that lasts, reducing waste.
IKEA leverages its massive scale to make a global impact. It focuses on using more renewable and recycled materials, investing in renewable energy, and establishing circular economy programs like furniture buy-back schemes.
Which One Should You Choose?
The right choice depends on your budget, your space, and what you value most in furniture.
Choose Tylko if:
- You have an awkward space, like an alcove or a slanted ceiling, that requires a precise, custom fit.
- You value high-quality materials and want a durable piece of furniture that will last for years.
- Your design style is modern and minimalist, and you want a premium, seamless look.
- Your budget is higher, and you're willing to invest in a perfect, tailored storage solution.
Choose IKEA if:
- You are furnishing a room or home on a tight budget.
- You need a quick, functional, and readily available furniture solution.
- You are happy with standard sizes and don't require bespoke dimensions.
- You enjoy the DIY assembly process and are looking for an affordable price solution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tylko or IKEA cheaper?
IKEA is significantly cheaper than Tylko. IKEA’s business model is centered on mass production and affordability, making its furniture accessible to nearly everyone. Tylko's prices reflect its custom manufacturing, higher-quality materials, and premium design features.
Which has better quality furniture?
Tylko has better quality furniture. They use more robust and durable engineered wood and finishes than the particleboards IKEA uses. Tylko offers more precise fit and durability that justify the high cost.
Can I customize furniture from both brands?
Tylko's entire brand is built on deep customization - you can configure the height, width, depth, color, and layout. IKEA offers very limited customization, mostly involving choosing from available colors or configuring the interior components of systems like PAX wardrobes or BESTÅ cabinets using pre-made parts.
Which is better for small spaces?
Tylko is often better for utilizing every inch of a small or awkwardly shaped space because you can create furniture to exact dimensions. However, IKEA offers many product lines specifically designed for small-space living that are highly affordable, so it remains an excellent choice for general small apartments.
How does the assembly process compare?
Tylko offers a modern, tool-free click-in assembly system that is color-coded to make it easy and fast. IKEA is famous for its Allen key and pictorial instructions, which can be simple for small items but notoriously complex and time-consuming for large pieces like wardrobes or bed frames.
Does Tylko have physical stores?
No, Tylko is a primarily direct-to-consumer online brand. You design and order your furniture through their website. IKEA is famous for its large brick-and-mortar warehouse stores, though it also has a strong e-commerce presence.
What type of furniture is each brand's best known for?
Tylko is a specialist in modular storage: custom bookshelves, wardrobes, sideboards, and entertainment centers. IKEA is known for everything, but its BILLY bookcase, KALLAX shelving unit, and MALM series are iconic worldwide staples.
Which brand is more sustainable?
Both brands have strong sustainability commitments but approach it differently. Tylko focuses on producing long-lasting quality products with responsibly sourced materials to reduce waste. IKEA focuses on using recycled and renewable materials on a large scale in addition to recycling programs to reduce their impact.
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