Someone Actually Did a Study About When You’re Too Old for IKEA
As if making your apartment look like an adult lives there wasn’t hard enough, a new study by Earnest just discovered the EXACT age you’re too old to shop at IKEA. *Cue the gasps.* We’re thinking it’s around the same age when you realize distinguishing your personal home decor style is super challenging when you and your friends ALL have the same KALLAX bookcase. Wait, do IKEA hacks count?
To determine the age you outgrow IKEA, Earnest looked at the spending habits of 43,000 people to determine where you’re most likely to shop for home goods at every age. The magic number? Apparently, 34 is the year shoppers officially grow out of their reliance on IKEA. Twenty-something — specifically age 24 — is prime IKEA time, for obvious reasons: You’re outfitting your college dorm room and first apartment, having to re-buy a ton of furniture whenever you move for great entry-level job opps — and you’re doing it all on minimal funds. So, for a decade, IKEA is the go-to place for inexpensive decor, and to live out that 500 Days of Summer dream date IRL.
When people’s tastes mature — and their paycheck likely grows — IKEA becomes less popular. Thirty-somethings are more likely to shop at places with higher-end housewares and accessories, like CB2 and West Elm. Shoppers in their 40s start hitting up Restoration Hardware (#luxelife home decor dreams right now) and Home Depot for those DIY projects.
Obviously, there’s nothing that’s going to stop us thirty-somethings from enjoying a good IKEA hack, but the study does provide a crystal ball into your home decor future. The one thing we’d disagree with here? Don’t wait until you turn 40 to hit up Home Depot and Lowe’s for those DIY home improvement projects! Seriously, have you seen Anj’s room-by-room guide to making your apartment look like a grown up lives there?
Whatever your favorite home decor store is, head over to our Pinterest page for more decor inspo and lots of IKEA hacks!
(h/t Earnest, graphs via Earnest)