How to Move IKEA Furniture to a New Home

Nowadays, IKEA furniture can be found in almost every home in the country. And that’s no wonder, considering how affordable, convenient, and fun IKEA items are. Assembling the pieces feels like a game (engaging, enjoyable, and rewarding, even if frustrating at times), the ready furniture is functional and modern-looking, and the reasonable price is quite an appealing factor.

When the time comes to move house, however, IKEA furniture may be more trouble than worth. It is both easier and more difficult to move than other types of furniture – IKEA pieces are light and not very bulky, but at the same time they’re not quite sturdy. Moving them from one home to another is risky and requires a lot of planning and hard work, not to mention that the cost to move the furniture may be about the same as the cost to buy new IKEA pieces.

So, is IKEA furniture worth moving? And if it is, then how to move the flat-pack pieces safely and efficiently? 

Here is everything you need to know about moving IKEA furniture.

Is It Worth Moving IKEA Furniture?

To figure out if moving your IKEA furniture will be worth it, you need to consider three important factors – the risk of damage to the pieces, the layout of your new home, and the cost-effectiveness of moving the furniture.

1) Assess the risk of damage to your furniture

As practical and fashionable as IKEA furniture may be, it is not high quality furniture – the pieces are made of particle board which is inexpensive (hence the lower cost of the furniture) but also quite fragile. When properly packed in their original packaging, the pieces are at little risk of damage.

However, when disassembled and reassembled several times, loaded and unloaded in a hurry, maneuvered around tight corners and confined spaces, etc., IKEA items may be badly damaged. And if the furniture is unlikely to survive the relocation, then there is no point in relocating it.

If you know how to properly pack your IKEA pieces for moving though, they will be well protected and will have a good chance to arrive at your new home intact and unscathed. (You can find some expert tips on how to pack IKEA furniture for moving in a safe and efficient manner later in the text.)

2) Measure your furniture and make a floor plan of your new home

It makes no sense to move your old furniture pieces – IKEA or another brand – to your new home only to find out that they don’t fit in.

So, when deciding what to relocate and what to leave behind, be sure to make a floor plan of your new house or apartment and measure the dimensions of your furniture to find out which of your old pieces will physically fit in.

Then, think about whether your old furniture will suit your new home design and make an informed decision about the fate of your items.

See also: What to do with furniture when moving

3) Compare the cost of moving your old furniture to the cost of buying new furnishings after the move

If you’re moving short distance, it will certainly be cheaper to relocate your old furniture than to buy new items for your new home.

If you’re moving cross country, though, it may be financially wiser to leave your old pieces behind and buy new ones after the relocation – the cost of your move will depend on the weight of your shipment and even though IKEA furniture is not particularly heavy, it will still add many pounds to the load. And if you can’t disassemble your IKEA pieces yourself, you’ll have to pay the professionals for the extra service, further increasing the final moving cost.

So, considering that

• IKEA furniture is easily affordable;
• Particleboard furniture is quite vulnerable to damage;
• Unlike prized antique furniture that’s been passed down in the family for generations, IKEA items, in most cases, don’t have any sentimental value;
• You will save yourself a lot of time, effort, and hassle if you decide not to move your chipboard furniture to your new home,

moving IKEA furniture cross country may not be worth it.

If, however, for one reason or another, you decide to take your IKEA units with you, you need to ensure that they make it to your new home safe and sound. Read on to find out how to move IKEA furniture in a safe and efficient manner.

How to Pack IKEA Furniture for Moving

Packing IKEA furniture for moving is similar to packing any other type of furniture, of course, but there are some specifics to keep in mind – and some special steps to take – in order to provide your flat-pack pieces with the best protection possible.

Step 1. Decide if you’re going to disassemble your IKEA furniture or move it as it is

Moving your furniture as it is (fully assembled) is your easiest option – provided that the space and layout of your old home and your new one allow it, of course.

If your IKEA pieces fit through the doors, hallways, and staircases and can be easily maneuvered around the corners, you can move the furniture without disassembling it first. All you need to do is wrap the pieces in moving blankets to protect them from damage and be extra careful when taking the items out of your property, loading them on the moving truck, securing them in the vehicle, unloading them, and taking them into your new home.

Keep in mind though that moving assembled IKEA furniture is quite risky – the screws, dowels, and other fastening elements holding the pieces together may easily become loose when the furniture is moved, the particle board can break or crack under the strain, etc. Besides, it will be quite difficult to load and unload large furniture pieces (as well as to take them out of your old home and into your new on) and they will take up a lot of space in the moving truck.

So, in answer to the bothersome question “Should I disassemble IKEA furniture when moving?”, you’re advised to disassemble larger pieces such as dressers, beds, bookcases, etc. before the move to make them safer and easier to relocate and move smaller items (like nightstands and drawers) in their entirety to save yourself some time and effort.

Step 2. Find the IKEA instructions

Disassembling IKEA furniture is not a difficult task, but you’re strongly advised to consult the manuals before you get down to work – IKEA items need to be assembled (and, therefore, disassembled) in a specific order and you need to be sure that you’re doing everything right.

What’s more, the IKEA assembly instructions include an itemized list of the pieces and parts required to build the furniture – referring to the list as you take your furniture apart will help ensure that every screw and dowel has been accounted for. Needless to say, the instructions will also be helpful when reassembling your furniture at your new home.

So, find the assembly instructions for your IKEA pieces (you’re unlikely to find IKEA disassembly instructions) and work your way backward to safely take apart your furniture. (If you’ve already thrown the manuals away, you can look up the guidelines online (visit the official IKEA website) and download them in PDF format.)

Step 3. Gather the necessary tools

To disassemble IKEA furniture, you’re going to need a number of essential hand tools, as well as some specific ones that fit the specific screws used to hold flat-pack pieces together. So, before you begin taking apart your IKEA units, make sure you have:

• Screwdrivers (not only a regular one, but also one with Phillip’s head bits and one with hex heads)
• A wrench and an Allen wrench set
• A hammer
• Pliers
• A small pry bar (for units with thin particleboard backing that is held on the furniture with small finishing nails – a pry bar will help you remove the nails without damaging the backing)
• Painter’s tape
• Permanent markers
• Ziploc bags – to store the screws and other small parts you remove from the furniture

Step 4. Take pictures of your assembled IKEA furniture

Before you start taking apart your IKEA pieces, be sure to take several photos of the fully assembled items.

Take pictures of both the interior and exterior of the furniture, from all sides and angles. Be careful to capture the way pieces are attached to one another – take detailed shots of how joints are assembled, how hinges have been installed, and how pieces are put together. Save the images in a folder on your smartphone or computer for easy reference.

Step 5. Label everything before you start disassembling your IKEA pieces

When taking apart IKEA furniture to move, it’s of primary importance to label each and every part before you begin disassembly – you need all the pieces to be clearly marked, so you can easily put them back together at your new home.

Use a roll of masking tape and a sharpie and label all the individual components of an item, from right to left and from top to bottom. Be as explicit as possible – draw arrows to remind yourself which sides should be facing up, specify which part is front and which is back, which board is top and which is bottom, which end is up and which is down, etc.

Step 6. Take your furniture apart

Once you’ve gathered everything necessary (instructions and tools) and prepared your furniture for disassembly (emptied it, cleaned it, labeled everything and took pictures), you can finally get down to work. So, how to take apart IKEA furniture for moving?

• Allow yourself plenty of time – if you try to disassemble IKEA furniture quickly, you can easily damage the engineered wood which is much more fragile than solid wood;
• Give yourself plenty of space – remove everything from around the furniture (or move the piece to an empty area of the room) and make sure you have easy access to all its components before you start disassembling the piece;
• Disassemble the furniture – remove doors, legs, and shelves first, then dismantle the furniture frame. You can find more specific tips on how to disassemble different kinds of furniture here;
• Place all screws, bolts, dowels, hinges, and other small hardware parts that you take out of a furniture piece in a sealable plastic bag and label the bag with the name of the furniture. Put the bag in the same cardboard box with other smaller parts of the furniture or attach it to a larger furniture part.

Step 7. Protect your IKEA furniture

Once you’ve disassembled your IKEA furniture, you need to protect the individual pieces so that they don’t get damaged during the moving process – wrap them in thick protective coverings, such as blankets or towels, to protect the delicate surfaces from scratches and dents and use packing tape to keep the wrapping in place.

Once all pieces are safely wrapped, place smaller furniture parts in large cardboard boxes with plenty of cushioning inside and seal the cartons tightly. Stack larger pieces neatly and put some extra padding between the layers (newspapers, moving blankets, old large towels, etc.) to cushion the panels and prevent them from sliding around and scuffing during transit.

Related: How to pack furniture for moving

How to Move IKEA Furniture

As already detailed above the best way to move IKEA furniture is to disassemble it and provide it with the best protection possible. Once that is done, all you need to do is carefully load the pieces on the moving truck, secure them well, and take them to your new home (be extra careful when unloading the furniture and taking it inside as well).  

If you’re moving IKEA furniture yourself, ask several reliable friends to come give you a hand – disassembling large furniture items requires at least two people and it will be much easier and much safer to take the pieces out of your home and into the rented moving truck when you have someone to help you. When loading your IKEA furniture into the moving vehicle, be sure to:

• Line the floor of the moving truck with moving blankets for extra protection;
• Put the wrapped particleboard panels along the long walls of the truck, stacked horizontally on their sides. Use blankets to pad out the pieces and keep them protected during transportation as mentioned above. Avoid placing any heavy items on top of them to prevent damage;
• If you’ve left any of your IKEA pieces assembled, use straps or strong ropes to secure the furniture in the truck;
• Make sure the moving vehicle is properly balanced – distribute the weight of your items evenly throughout the truck.

Related: How to load a moving truck the right way

If you’ve hired professional movers to help you relocate, you need to inform them in advance that you have IKEA furniture for moving and ask them if they will accept it as it is or if they require all the pieces to be disassembled.

Will movers move IKEA furniture at all? Yes, but you need to know that most professional moving companies have limited liability for damage when it comes to moving particle board furniture, such as IKEA pieces (since ready-to-assemble furniture doesn’t handle the strain of moving well). So, your movers will likely not agree to move your IKEA furniture unless it’s been properly disassembled and safely packed.

See also: What to expect from professional movers

Bonus tips for moving house with IKEA furniture

1. When re-assembling your IKEA furniture after the move, be sure to refer to the assembly instructions and the pictures you took during the disassembly process – so you can put your pieces back together correctly and quickly;
2. Be careful not to over-tighten the screws when rebuilding your IKEA pieces – if too much force is applied, the screws can easily shred the chipboard material. If that happens, the screws will have nothing to bite into and hold and won’t be able to keep your furniture stable;
3. Consider reversing the panels during the reassembly – put the faces that were previously facing the wall towards the front, so scratches and dents are not visible;
4. Keep in mind that taking a piece apart and putting it back together multiple times will cause the item to lose its integrity, so it’s unlikely that IKEA furniture will survive more than a couple of moves.

To put it in a nutshell: How to move with IKEA furniture? Plan ahead, keep things organized, and work with care. Your IKEA pieces will survive the move safe and sound and will help you make your new home comfortable and stylish in no time.