I dunno, when I looked through an ikea catalog I thought a lot of the stuff looked pretty nice and well built/thought out, but there were a few items I wasn't sure about. Then I went and spent a couple hours in one of their stores - and walked out more confused than when I went in. I'd say I'd really only consider owning about 20% of what they sell - MOSTLY the 20% most expensive, but some of it was sprinkled here and there. For instance they had all kinds of misc bedroom furniture, freestanding closets and the like, anywhere from $79 to $300 for one piece. The $79 ones screamed out "I'm garbage" as soon as you opened the door - but the $300 ones seemed pretty slick. In the catalog you'd be hard pressed to identify any differences.
Having said all that, if I lived near a store, I'd probably own more of their stuff - but after coming back home and reading through the catelog again, I honestly couldn't figure out what to buy!
If you need furniture to fill up a room (ie a den you rarely use etc) Ikea is GREAT. The stuff looks nice and is cheap. But for furniture that you'll use all the time - or if you aren't particularly careful with your stuff - you have to be careful what you pick.