Exploring Beyond Ikea: Top Destinations to Purchase Furniture in Germany
In Germany, the world of home furnishings extends far beyond the familiar confines of IKEA. For those seeking unique, sustainable, and personalized options, a variety of brands offer eco-friendly alternatives that emphasize craftsmanship, quality, and local production.
Bauhaus, a well-known German institution, is not just a DIY and home improvement store. It also stocks an array of kitchen, bathroom, garden furniture, and lamps. For those on a tight budget, Roller offers no-frills, affordable furniture for every room, with basic quality and functional designs.
For those who prefer a more curated selection of modern sustainable furniture, consider brands such as WERKHAUS, Nolte Küchen, and VS. WERKHAUS, a notable option, produces sustainable furniture and accessories that are 100% made in Germany, using innovative designs without glue or screws and emphasizing local suppliers with strong environmental and social commitments. Nolte Küchen offers climate-neutral furniture production, certified by PEFC and FSC, ensuring responsible forestry and high-quality furniture made predominantly in Germany. VS provides office and home furniture with certified sustainability, meeting European-wide standards for environmental and social responsibility, with many products certified at the highest sustainability level.
Sundays, although not strictly German, offers eco-conscious solid wood products with non-toxic finishes and modular design, which may be available in Germany or suitable for ordering online.
For those who prefer the second-hand route, NochMall in Berlin is a "second-hand department store" that sells a wide range of furniture, clothes, electronics, and appliances. Free Your Stuff has various city groups on Facebook where people list items they're giving away for free, and furniture can be spotted in the streets of big cities. Online marketplaces such as Ebay Kleinanzeigen, Wellkauf, and Facebook marketplace can yield unexpected used furniture treasures.
Local family-run furniture shops and carpenters outside the big cities offer customizable or unique furniture with varying prices. Caritas Möbellager (furniture warehouses run by the Catholic charity Caritas) and Diakonie second-hand shops sell furniture at low prices. In Düsseldorf, Caritas Kaufhaus Wertvoll sells used and upcycled furniture, and Diakonie KadeDi offers second-hand furniture with moving and delivery services.
Lastly, larger chains like Home24, XXXLutz, and Jysk offer a wide range of furniture options. Home24 sells over 250,000 furniture items online and has nine showrooms across the country. They also have an outlet store for end-of-season and discontinued items. XXXLutz, Austria's largest furniture retailer, has 57 stores in Germany and a well-stocked online shop, offering a wide range of products, including sofas, dining tables, lighting, and homeware. Prices range from budget-friendly to higher-end, and both flatpack and pre-assembled furniture is available. Jysk, with 960 shops in Germany, offers affordable furniture that requires self-assembly.
Exploring these diverse options will provide you with a wealth of personalized, eco-friendly alternatives to IKEA that emphasize sustainability, craftsmanship, and quality local production in Germany.
Incorporating unique, home-and-garden items into one's lifestyle can be achieved by considering various brands in Germany. For instance, Sundays offers eco-conscious solid wood products, and Nolte Küchen provides climate-neutral furniture certified by PEFC and FSC. On the other hand, those who appreciate a more curated selection of modern sustainable furniture may find WERKHAUS an attractive choice, known for its innovative designs and strong environmental and social commitments.
