Since IVAR storage system is so good at what it does, it has faithfully served customers’ needs across the home for over 50 years. Attics, living rooms, pantries and bedrooms – they all love IVAR.
Article Number504.846.51
Product details
Untreated solid wood is a durable natural material which is even more hardwearing and easy to look after if you oil or wax the surface.
Solid pine is a natural material which ages beautifully and gains its own unique character over time.
Designer
IKEA of Sweden
Weight & measurements
- Height: 178.5 cm
- Depth: 30.0 cm
Reviews
Perfect return of an old faveAnonymous reviewerBit of a waste of time complaining that the side units have to be assembled, since that's in the description. I'm quite happy with that as they're easier to transport. Assembly, with some very basic DIY competence, is very quick. All the parts were there, the instructions are clear, and everything went together with no issues. Oh, and hammers make a noise. Fact.
SolidAnonymous reviewerThese are solid and easy to assemble as long as you have a mallet or a rubber hammer; a bigger wood block than the one supplied makes hammering the dowels a bit easier. Not good for my arthritic hands, sore afterwards.
Some dowels simply wouldn’t go right in, had to be left proud. Also once one side had been fixed and the other upright was being put into place, the dowels on the first side kept coming back out. Turns into a gale of whackamole!
Amazing product Anonymous reviewerHaving it flat packed made it easy to transport home. Needed to be put together in a small utility room, with limited space. The sides were 226cm high. The struts needed to be hammered in to have a sturdy product but who would want an unsecure shelving unit. I let my 13yr old put sides together, with no issues. A solid product that looks smart.
good product let down by some poor quality control.Anonymous reviewerWe are pleased with our units and found them straightforward to construct. One of the uprights was damaged - the dovetailing had split. We positioned the damaged part out of sight and hope it sill not affect the overall strength of the shelves.
Poorly madeAnonymous reviewerThese are extremely hard to put together due to the dowels not fitting (too big) in some holes and the smaller posts not fully going into the vertical post hole. This is a poorly made/designed self-assembly product. Warning: you need energy and it will take a toll on your body putting this together.
Why the change??Anonymous reviewerThese used to be amazing but now you have to assemble them which takes ages and they aren’t even well made so you need to force everything in. Won’t purchase again. What a let down IKEA has become.
Assembly is a nightmareAnonymous reviewerI'm pretty handy and have lots of experience assembling flatpack furniture, so I tend to ignore reviews that complain about difficulty of assembly. Really wish I had listened in this case. It took ages, probably an hour per unit (and we had 3). It helps to lightly sand anything that slots into another part, but even then it's really hard to get them in. The dowels are going to give me nightmares. I don't really think this product is fit to be sold as currently designed.
Solid and strongAnonymous reviewerAlthough I wondered if these would be flimsy, they absolutely are not. Great quality.
It was very hard to hammer in the wooden dowels with arthritic hands, and I didn't always completely succeed: some came out again when others were adjusted and it was very noisy for my neighbours (I built 6 sets). You really do need help when joining them together and fitting the brace/shelves. They are totally unstable until the shelves are fitted. Having said that, I did manage to do this mostly unaided with a bit of judicious propping.
Assembly is horribleAnonymous reviewerAssembly is impossible. Pieces don't fit properly so it requires a lot of brute force. One of the slats did not fit at all but I already had the other 3/4 in so having to do some hack job of sawing it off and gluing it back in.
self assembly is a jokeAnonymous reviewerruined an excellent product.
- hammering the bits in is very hard
- the protection-piece just makes it worse / impossible to get the pins in completely
- pins are visible on the front on one side.
- utter bleep now
Now very hard to assembleAnonymous reviewerWhen I order these for home delivery I didn’t know I would have to put them together. Like other views you need to do more than read the instructions. I live in a flat so to finish these I’m going to have to do these outside. I expect the finish result to be solid and sturdy but if they expect buyers to assemble the item I want the parts to be useable and not to be modified. This will be the last time I purchase this product if I need to assemble the sides again. Very disappointed in the new version.
Side units bought for shelving system, and one to customise.Anonymous reviewerI bought three of the Ivar shelf systems, two to build as instructed, and one to adapt. The two tall ones are each side of my Lagkapten/Alex desk, and definitely suit the purpose I wanted them for.
The third one I purchased was to cut down and make a three shelf tower, and it was quite easy to do, but the shelf support holes didn't line up the way I wanted them to, so I adapted those too, and it looks great.
Not easy to assemble Anonymous reviewerWith a lot of rage, I’ve managed to assembly it. Very difficult, wouldn’t buy it again
Issues with IVAR side units self buildAnonymous reviewerLike others have a lot of IVAR shelving in our house but this is the first time we have bought since they are now self build.
1) They take additional TIME to build
2) You MUST clear out DEBRIS from the cut recesses as tight, others already reported this but not in instructions
3) Also reccomend you lightly sand the support ends that go into the recesses again to clear debris, also to round off end edges as helps a lot with fitting in as very TIGHT. Again doesn't tell you in instructions.
4) Have to be mindful now when building as a lot of LOUD bangs while hammering in the wooden pegs
5) QUALITY CONTROL reduced, I guess as IKEA not building no one else now checking these. In one set we had a dent in the side support, a split in the main piece and a wonky recess. Nothing to structural affect function but not what paying for.
Assembly impossible due to poor constructionAnonymous reviewerThe holes for the cross beams and dowels are not uniform in size or position and no amount of hammering will make them fit. I bought IVAR again due the minimal assembly required and am very disappointed with the change to the way the uprights are manufactured. Don't buy these.
Ivar shelvingAnonymous reviewerBest thing since sliced bread, easy to put together, very useful, been using for years, love it! Bring back more of it
So hard to put together Anonymous reviewerThese frame use to come in as fully build and now I have to hammer the part into place which is very dangerous. I prefer screw which is much safer. But of coz, it will be better if it comes in already built like it use to be.
Appalling - impossible to assembleAnonymous reviewerDespite all attempts with a heavy hammer I could not get the cross pieces completely into the sides so I failed at the first installation step. All that happened is that the block provided became increasingly dented. I have arranged for all the shelving to be returned and a refund.
Excellent and versatileAnonymous reviewerThis is an excellent product with so many variations and has been available for years allowing me to adapt it to new situations as life changes
Self-assembly of side units spoils the product rangeAnonymous reviewerI’ve always found IKEA products straightforward to assemble if you follow the instructions properly. Sadly, the latest version of IVAR side unit is very disappointing. IKEA has decided to make these self-assembly and it is not easy. Assembling three units took over two hours when it should have been a matter of minutes.
The main problem seems to be poor quality control. The cross rails (5 in the 226cm units) don’t fit easily into the uprights, even with a hammer. And the pegs don’t hammer fully into place as the two sets of holes don’t line up properly. I resorted to sawing 3mm off each peg so that they didn’t stick out.
Fortunately I had plenty of woodworking tools to solve these problems but be warned that it probably won’t be the simple task shown in the video. One of the IVAR design team should try building one!
The IVAR system is brilliant. This new self-assembly completely spoils the experience. Please go back to factory assembly of these for the sake of your customers.
Customer reviews
3Average rating
28Reviews
Material
What is solid wood?
Solid wood is one of our favourite materials and is part of our Scandinavian heritage. It is also a timeless material with many uses. Regardless of the wood species, it is durable, beautiful and renewable. We strive to use this raw material as smartly and efficiently as possible to avoid waste – and we also invest in facilities and logistics so that we can increase the use of recycled wood.