½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

We rented a van (AmicoBlu) and went to Ikea; the furniture is quite 'servicable' but rather un-exciting....but then it's Ikea! The local stores are fine & all the product names are just as incomprehensible.

....why buy in the UK & ship it over?

If you go on [url]www.ikea.it[/url] you can access the ½ûÂþÌìÌà IKEA catalogue. It's identical to the UK catalogue but has the ½ûÂþÌìÌà prices in. Our experience was that whether it was better to buy in UK or Italy depended on each individual item. With kitchens, for example, some euro prices were virtually the same as sterling price (meaning buying in Italy was the better option) and some were almost twice the sterling price (meaning buying in the UK was the better option).

To be frank I wouldn't really go to Ikea... why not looking for local manufacturers?
My mum and dad live in turin but we went to veneto to buy their new kitchen as there are many manufacturers there, you can buy very good quality stuff for Ikea prices.

Ask around I am sure local people will send you to the right places!

Paola

[QUOTE=Christine J]We have bought a house just outside Ostuni and need a kitchen, a couple of sofas and a 5ft bed. We are trying to decide whether to rent a van and drive to Ikea in Naples or to buy in UK and get it all transported. Gatto had a special offer which finished last week, but was much more expensive than either of these options. My other half can fit it so that's no problem. I'm getting quotes from companies referred to in this forum - so thanks for that. Any advice anyone? This my first post by the way and I have gained a lot of info over the past month or two.

Thanks in advance

Christine J[/QUOTE]

Buy in Italy
Generally we have found everything costs a good third less than the UK
There are plently of places apart from IKEA though.
For instance in Lazio we have Mercarto Uno and Mondo Convenienza, both have websites but not sure if they cover your region.
Kitchens can be purchased from outlets such as these from a thousand Euros upwards, including appliances, not expensive!!

We have just had the same debate and bought in italy. Kitchen from IKEa (although by the time you add it all up and the hassle of fitting it would of worked out only slightly cheaper than buying it from a local kitchen shop - we have bought in Abruzzo and I think I have saved about 15o euro compared to the kitchen suppliers prices).

Other stuff like beds and settees also got from IKEA but

Mercatoneuno Uno is a good shop and reasonable as to Castorama (who sell kitchens, bathroom and garden stuff) with a shop in BAri.

[QUOTE=Christine J]We have bought a house just outside Ostuni and need a kitchen, a couple of sofas and a 5ft bed. We are trying to decide whether to rent a van and drive to Ikea in Naples or to buy in UK and get it all transported. Gatto had a special offer which finished last week, but was much more expensive than either of these options. My other half can fit it so that's no problem. I'm getting quotes from companies referred to in this forum - so thanks for that. Any advice anyone? This my first post by the way and I have gained a lot of info over the past month or two.

Thanks in advance

Christine J[/QUOTE]
Why would anyone even want IKEA STUFF ,we tried some things years ago,lousy quality,looks worse.As PAOLA says you can find well made furniture made locally to you at better prices,vat ,delivery,assembly included at less than ikea prices but not in the mercatone,castorama or all those other semi super stores...just go to people who make things..peoiple still do here..this is all part of the cultural change you go thru.....

i agree that it is better to buy from the local makers,but i can envisage turning up in italy needing furniture,in those circumstances knowing the whereabouts of a large furniture store would be invaluable.finding out where the small local outlets are would take longer.

If you arrive and desperately need furniture, either drop in on your local Fallimenti store to tide you over, or, use plastic garden furniture, anything other than Ikea, however, if you do go, remember to buy the "Must have" print of three pebbles............................................................

:o

Must confess, we have been having problems in Puglia with furniture...so far , we have found we have a choice of either 'cheap and cheerful' at places like 'Emmezetta' or top of the range 'designer' shops (way over our budget )

Being on a bit of a budget, this is causing problems..we have one shop in town ( san vito dei normanni) where we got a couple of bargains in the sales but their choice is limited....oh for Auction Rooms !!!!

If anyone knows anywhere worth a visit , we would be grateful.

For example, looking for a table for computer etc ( don't want a desk ) , Emmezetta permanently out of stock, local shop has a 'flat-pack 'cheapy' but want 90 Euros for it !!!!!!! Mind you the 'out of stock' stuff in emmezetta isn't much cheaper.

had visions of buying good second hand, traditional stuff but can't find it anywhere......any suggestions :confused:

Thanks to everyone for their advice, but as Alex and Lyn say in Puglia there does not seem to be as much choice as possibly in other parts of Italy. Hence the choice of Ikea. According to both Naples and UK Ikea websites, prices in UK seem to be cheaper and the kitchens are of ok quality for a holiday home. They also do 5ft double mattresses which will give us extra room in the bedroom and single sofas that would double as single beds in the lounge for extra guests. All this is the reason for trying to decide the better bet - pay a premium to get the stuff over to Italy or hiring a van in Ostuni and taking the chance of the goods being in stock in Naples!

We had a 'supermarket type' kitchen retailer do our new kitchen [in Northern Piemointe - so no use to you]

However - try;-

[url]http://negozi.webmobili.it/mobili_per_cucina_/napoli/mobili_per_cucina__napoli_me_.htm[/url]

You may find one who supplies and fits. I was amazed how little it cost to deliver and fit ours. The kitchen was priced [when we had chosen what we wanted] at Euro 10,000 - I said that was too much, so they halved the poice toi Euro 5.000

I know I should have haggled further, but was gob-smacked by the reduction, (and it included fridge freezer, dishwasher, sink and taps, gas hob and electric oven).

The best bit was they charged Euro 50 to deliver it - plus Euro 15 as they had to take it to the first floor, and anothe Euro 100 to fit it!

Good Luck

I agree with some of the threads, buy locally, we found a small company who makes his own wooden furniture and it looks just as good as the stuff we aquired in the US, old looking, tradditional farmhousey, and believe me I am fussy.
Our kitchen is Lube, which beats all the MFI and IKEA rubbish. You moved to Italy for a reason, so why not support the good local artisans. I showed a picture to our furniture guy of a book case and corner table I wanted, and hey presto two weeks later, two great pieces of furniture, and the best thing, not a piece of chipboard in site, all good local wood.
Buy locally, support local artisans, otherwise everything will be lost to the big conglomerates selling mass produced rubbish

Nice one Rosie, Well Done...

[QUOTE=Rosie]..........Buy locally, support local artisans, otherwise everything will be lost to the big conglomerates selling mass produced rubbish[/QUOTE]

Yay, Rosie for Mayor!!

:D

There was an interesting programme on the TV last night in the UK about folks buying property in Spain & probed the idea that there were some who stuck to the British shops/brands, only circulated in social circles containing British friends & stuck to the English language; the programme mentioned the phrase "cultural imperialism" & commented that the Brits only felt it necessary to learn enough of the local language to eat & shop .... I'm sure it's a feature that's not applicable to "us lot" but found it a fascinating insight.

Lyn,

Go into Ostuni and make your way up to the church at the top from the sqare. On boths sides there are a couple of shops there that look like they sell really good quality second hand wooden furniture (wardrobes, tables,chairs, chests), particulally one on the left. It all looks beautiful and our new found friend, Framco, was telling me last time we were there, that when we have the house finished he will take me to a furniture market for traditional furniture . He was showing me all the furniture in his resteraunt that he had bought at this market (Display cabinet, large chest, tables, chairs) and it all looks ok. I'll find out from Neal this week and will post details then everybody in our area knows too.

Paula

wow...that sounds brilliant !!! we will definately give it a try...seeing Neil today so will ask him about it.

:D

Completely agree, in theory, with the idea of buying localy, but this only really works if you're a resident. We're getting the keys to our villa near San Vito on Monday (yay!) and will have just 2 weeks to furnish it, as it's only a holiday home (sadly). So Ikea in Naples works for us as a quick fix measure. We can spend the next 10 years acquiring lovely individual pieces, but right now I just need a bed to sleep in and a chair to sit on!!!

We'll let you all know the joys of fitting to italian instructions a la Ikea, although I do just look at the pictures and hope for the best. Anyhow I'm sure when we get to Naples they will have sold out of everything except the most expensive and most ugly stuff. It will fall apart after 2 years (or a year) but by then we'll be locals. See you in Puglia, I'm sure Paula will be there in spirit, and we have a wee toast to you..speaching of which I think its time for a little red wine. See you in 2 weeks time, the web-site will be Puglian free. :eek:

We were in the same position as you, having bought a casale in Ostuni in July. We were going to buy the stuff in Naples, hire a van etc, until we went to Ikea in Lakeside and the beds etc we wanted were on special offer. We now need to hire a van to drive lot of stuff to Ostuni but think this will be a lot cheaper and more convenient in the long run. It is impossible to know whether they will have the items in stock at Naples and it is after all quite a long drive. Hope everything worked/works out for you.

Jason & Helen

Buy local its more fun!

Thanks Helen & Jason for your good wishes. We have bought the flat packed kitchen, sofas, etc at Ikea in London and they are being collected today by a man with a van for (hopefully) delivery early next week in Ostuni. Ikea UK was cheaper than Ikea Naples and we were not in the postion of hiring a van and driving to Naples only to find something was out of stock. If anyone is interested in details of the man with a van if it all goes well, let me know.

Yes, we'd definitely be interested. Although we're perhaps a long way off compared to you. We assume you're flying out there to meet him. Hope all goes well

I was amazed at just how cheap the Ikea in Naples was at least a third cheaper than London Ikea! Easy to find, same layout and about 4 hrs drive from Ostuni and a very tiring 5hrs buying, loading and carting round our complete house stuff. Although we bought our immediate essentials: beds, dining room table and chairs, crockery, lighting from Ikea you'll be pleased to hear we are buying extra beautiful furniture from Italy proper already we have a small Morroccan table (oh thats from Morrocco) and Rattan sofa and seats, otherwise our place would look a little bland. :rolleyes:

Check google.it

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