Relationship experts confirm that IKEA is bad for relationships
A trip to IKEA for furniture has long been blamed for many an argument among couples, so much so that clinical psychologist, Ramani Durvasula, started including furniture assembly as a communication exercise in therapy sessions.
“The store literally becomes a map of a relationship nightmare,” the Californian-based psychologist told The Wall Street Journal.
Durvasula confirms what many couples have suspected – choosing furniture from the Scandinavian chain or worse, assembling furniture together, can cause serious friction in a relationship.
But can we really blame IKEA for countless arguments? Well, probably not. It’s not IKEA itself that sparks arguments but rather shopping for furniture and homeware can bring up underlying relationship problems.
“Walking through the kitchens brings up touchy subjects, like who does most of the cooking. Then you get to the children’s section, which opens up another set of issues. And that’s before you've even tried assembling anything,” explained Durvasula.
Selecting furniture can also be fraught with issues.
Psychologist, Julie Hart, told Domain: “Furniture, of course, carries more weight than say food, restaurants and clothing, as it is with us in most cases for many years, so we are forced to look at the choices we have made together every day.”
“Because of this, shopping for and choosing furniture for a shared home can be symbolic of how maturely we can negotiate our individual needs and wants in a relationship,” she added.
So what’s the best course of action? Communicate with your partner. Discuss your issues and work together to problem solve. Or try shopping for furniture online.
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