Talk:Ready-to-assemble furniture

Main Brands in the USA
I have removed Main brands in the U.S. as it is a potential spam magnet and it is U.S.-centric (POV), perhaps some one in the future may want to recreate a similar type of list that is not just U.S.-focused. -- blue 520  13:47, 2 July 2006 (UTC)Although ready-to-assemble furniture is less expensive to produce, to sell, and to purchase, some criticize the furniture for being of lower quality. In order to save on cost, flat-pack furniture may be made with particle board that has been laminated with synthetic materials, rather than from solid timber.
 * I have restored the main brands in the USA. I think it is TOTALLY CORRECT to add main bAlthough ready-to-assemble furniture is less expensive to produce, to sell, and to purchase, some criticize the furniture for being of lower quality. In order to save on cost, flat-pack furniture may be made with particle board that has been laminated with synthetic materials, rather than from solid timber.rands in any article.  There are articles about the biggest companies in the US and in other countries and it is totally acceptable.  Furthermore, the argument of SPAM MAGNET is like stopping the sale of knives in the world because somebody could kill somebody else with a knive.  I say we remove the spam when there is spam, not remove something else because we think it will attract spam.  Finally, regarding the issue of being US Centric, I say...ADD main brands in other countries as well.--AAAAA 15:13, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

I believe that Hygena in the UK were selling flat pack furniture to a mass market long before IKEA. Here is an extract from Kitchens Past and Present compiled by Terence Conran in 1976.

Quick Assembly – Q A

Q A kitchens, designed by their Technical and Research Director George Robinson, were given an enthusiastic welcome when they were launched in July 1969. As the free spending sixties drew to a close, there was less and less money about for luxury goods. MoAlthough ready-to-assemble furniture is less expensive to produce, to sell, and to purchase, some criticize the furniture for being of lower quality. In order to save on cost, flat-pack furniture may be made with particle board that has been laminated with synthetic materials, rather than from solid timber.re and more people were taking an interest in Do-It-Yourself to cut unnecessary expenditure, and more and more people wanted the advantages of a fitted, luxury kitchen; but there had been no range of good quality self assembly kitchen furniture until Hygena’s Q A kitchen was launched. There were ranges of assemble-it-yourself kitchen units already available; but they were made specifically for the use of builders and contractors, and therefore presumed skills and specialised tools that were not available to the average Do-It-Yourselfer.

At one third of the cost of a factory assembled kitchen, Q A units mean an ‘instant’ kitchen. Units are packed in flat cartons so that dealers are able to hold substantial stocks, and customers can go shopping for their kitchens and take them home there and then in the boot of the car.

Q A units are genuinely easy to assemble – a child can do it – and to prove the point, a nine year old girl, Janet Kennedy, came to London for the Q A launch, where she assembled a 21in base unit in four minutes flat.

Commercial links
I have removed two commercial links to the discussion page because I question the value they add.
 * Although IKEA is mentioned in the article, a simple link to the business's homepage may not be useful. * IKEA
 * The 2nd link provides information on hiring an assembler - not the focus of the article. Fantastic Furniture Assembly —Preceding 21:24, 19 November 2015 (UTC)

Why does flat pack furniture use hex screws?
I was hoping to find that information in this article, but I have no idea where to find out. Does anyone know? Mander (talk) 12:56, 2 December 2008 (UTC)
 * The features can be found at Hex key. Its simple about production costs related to benefits/feature. But, such information better fits into the Hex key article. --Kslotte (talk) 08:46, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

Who really invented them?
According to Ikea's website, they were "Designing furniture for flat packs and self-assembly" in 1956, it doesn't say anything about inventing them. According to Sauder, Erie Sauder invented the "first 'knock-down' table" in 1951: "Packed flat in a box, the customer could easily carry the product home...and assemble in minutes"[sic]. They patented the idea in 1953.

I don't have access to the citation for Ikea's claim to invention in the article, nor do I see any definite dates anywhere else for when Lundgren invented the idea. But, since the entire article sounds like an advertisement for Ikea, the fact is suspect in my opinion. 63.87.189.17 (talk) 18:19, 10 April 2010 (UTC)


 * This is not correct. The first "Flat Pack" was a Thonet chair called "14" introduced in 1859. See for instance here: http://www.thonet.de/en/150years-bentwood-chair-214.html - I don't know how to work the standard way on wikipedia so hopefully someone who does know and is willing to correct this misinformation can edit my edit. 85.220.121.31 (moved text from mainpage)


 * I am removing the undocumented claim of IKEA's employee being the inventor, as verifiable references (patents) show clearly that Sauder patented the thing in the first years of the 50s, hence being whatsoever prior to IKEA's 1956. As for Thonet chair number 14, whereas iconic, is not a flatpack piece of furniture...--MarmotteiNoZ 05:46, 27 March 2013 (UTC)


 * Dear people who think the number 14 chair "is not a flatpack piece of furniture":
 * How can we make Wikipedia better?
 * This ready-to-assemble furniture article uses the definition "a form of furniture that is purchased in multiple pieces and requires assembly.".
 * The No. 14 chair article claims that "The chairs could be mass-produced by unskilled workers and disassembled to save space during transportation, an idea similar to flat pack Ikea furniture."
 * It sounds to me like the 14 chair fits the definition used in this article. So if it is "not a flatpack piece of furniture",
 * then do we need to fix the definition in this article, or do we need to fix the description on the No. 14 chair article, or is there something else I'm missing? --DavidCary (talk) 14:04, 3 June 2013 (UTC)