IKEA Vrijdag: Vilmar Stoel/Chair Update

I recently received an e-mail from a reader with a question about an IKEA Vrijdag review I did last December for the Vilmar Stoel/Chair. Of course I'm happy to give more information, and then I realized that it would be a great way to give an update about this piece of furniture.

Vilmar Stoel/Chair 

 So without further ado, here is the question I received from Sherry K. about the Vilmar:

Hi,
I was reading your December 2012 post about the Ikea Vilmar chairs and I am wondering how your chairs have held up since then? I purchased four of them on the weekend and am a bit worried at how the legs seem to splay when someone sits in them. I am worried this will only get worse with time and am wondering if I should return them.
A Google search for "Vilmar chair reviews" led me to your blog. I appreciate any help you can give.
Thank you,
Sherry K.

This is something I also noticed when putting the chairs together: After putting the chairs together, as soon as an adult sat down the legs splayed out, just as they are doing for Sherry now. But by the time I wrote the review in December, the problem had already diminished to the point of being hardly noticeable, which is why I think I forgot to include that information in my initial review. I actually had to go and sit and watch what happened to see if this was still occurring. It seems like after regular use the chairs "settle" so that the legs are no longer under as much stress as when you first sit on them after putting them together. I am comfortable continuing to use them, and I don't worry about the immediate durability of the legs. 

I would gauge the lifespan of these chairs to be about 5 years - this is purely a guess on my part based on the materials and the "feel" I get from using the chairs over the last year. Like many of the less expensive items at IKEA, I think these chairs are meant to be used as a "starter" kitchen, or one that may be moved around frequently, and are of lesser quality than some of the store's other costlier options.

As with any heavily-used piece of furniture (especially on wood, laminate, or tile flooring), I would recommend using some sort of floor protector pad like the Fixa - though please note from my Fixa review that that the pads are slightly too big for the Vilmar's feet (use a pair of scissors or look for a smaller pad).

The Life in Dutch rating for the Vilmar Stoel/Chair remains at 3 Swedish meatballs on our 5 meatball scale. I feel that the initial rating has held up and is still an accurate depiction of the construction process and quality. Many thanks to Sherry K. for her question and agreeing to let me use her e-mail for this update - I hope this update is helpful for others as well.

Do you have a specific question about one of the reviewed IKEA products and how it's held up since the review? Please let me know in the comments or via e-mail at lifeindutch AT gmail DOT com.

Life in Dutch Updated Rating for Vilmar Stoel/Chair: