Welcome to IKEAFANS! We're Here to Help!

Welcome! Whether you’re new to IKEAFANS' Forums , or you just feel new, this page should be a help to you in your explorations. Like the internet itself, we realize that the sheer size of our website can at times be overwhelming. We’ve tried to make sure that there are multiple ways to navigate and to find the resources you are looking for. Take your time – IKEAFANS are intrepid souls - we know you can manage it!

If you have questions along the way, refer back here first (check out the sections below on Site Organization and Navigation, How to Search our Site and how to Catch up on the Latest. If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for in any of those places or in our Site FAQ, feel free to contact one of our Forum Moderators or Community Mentors, or to use Contact Us to reach the webmaster and/or the Administrators of the site.

Make sure you check out our New Member Guide for more on what there is to offer at IKEAFANS!

Please Join Us!

Why just lurk when you can join in the fun?! As a registered member, you will gain access to additional content and valuable areas of the site that our visitors don’t have. Joining will allow you to use our search function, to post and reply on the forums, to start your own blog and comment on others’ blogs, to view images in and upload your own photos to the galleries and to peruse our many member-authored articles and tutorials – you can even write your own! You'll also have access to our IKEAFANS Newsletters, Guides and Workbooks in addition to our Resources Directories.

After registering, you MUST click on the link in the confirmation email which is sent immediately upon registration in order to complete the process (if you don't find the email right away, check your spam filters). You will NOT be able to access your member benefits until you do so. Once you’ve done so, don’t forget to LOG IN!

Community Guidelines

We think that we have the friendliest place on the web – and there’s a reason for that. We have a carefully crafted set of Community Guidelines designed to make for a pleasant experience for all members and visitors alike. Our Guidelines are strictly enforced by our Administrators, Moderators and Community Mentors - every single thread is read every single day. Additionally, all members have the ability to report threads that appear to be inappropriate in any fashion for review by the staff. Just click on this button next to each post:

Though each and every member is required to acknowledge that they have read and agreed to the Community Guidelines prior to registering, we encourage you to review them again and familiarize yourself with the expectations in order to avoid any misunderstandings or uncomfortable situations in your dealings with fellow IKEAFANS. .

Meet our Moderators and Community Mentors!

The IKEAFANS Moderators and Community Mentors are a tireless group who give their all on a daily basis to ensure the smooth operation of the website. These are unpaid volunteers who make it their business to welcome new members, help people find what they're looking for, and regularly volunteer time and energy to help members find resources and assist with planning. They are worth their weight in gold and this site wouldn't be what it is without their dedication. Three cheers for the Mods and Mentors!

You can identify a Moderator or Community Mentor by their Angel Little Blue Guy - it looks like the icon at the left and appears at the bottom of each and every post they make. Please take the time to get to know the Moderators and Community Mentors! And, when you get the chance, don't forget to Say Thank You!

Personalize your IKEAFANS Experience!

Ever wondered how some members added their Location, an avatar or a photo to their profile? Click on My Account on the left side of the thin blue tool bar located at the top of each and every page. This is the place to personalize your IKEAFANS Forum Experience!

Here you can adjust your time zone, check your private messages, follow subscribed threads, or add a signature or avatar to your profile. You can also determine how, when and from whom you receive private messages and email from other members and whether or not you want to recieve post notifications, email from the administrator and IKEAFANS newsletters.

Site Organization and Navigation

Our site has mutliple areas all designed to help members get the information they need in a format that makes sense to them. Across the top of every site page, you'll find a navigation bar in blue that has links to all the major areas of the site: Home, Forums, Galleries, Blogs, the IKEApedia, and Guides.

Guides are our way of organizing information for different 'niches'. For instance, if you are a DIYer, the DIY guide has information put together just to help you. We have one for New Members, one for Professionals, one for Kitchen Planners, one for people doing Research or just looking for information, and the aforementioned DIY guide.

Posting and Replying to Threads in the Forums

Even if you've never participated in an online forum before, you can do this! It's not difficult once you get the hang of it. Before you know it, you'll be an old pro!

Here are a few tips to get you started:

First, find the appropriate forum for your question or comment. You can find a listing of all the forums on the Forum Home page. If you have reviewed the forums and you still can't decide what forum to post in, you can post in Got Questions and a Moderator will move it to a more appropriate forum if necessary.
Once in an individual forum, if you wish to start your own thread, click on the button above or below the thread listing. If you are replying to a thread, click on that thread title to enter the thread, then click on the button at the bottom of the page. In either case, you will then use the text editor box to type your message, then click on Preview to check your message, or Submit if you're feeling lucky.
You can always go back and Edit your posts by clicking on the button if you find you've made an error or need to change your post.

Remember - this is a Family Friendly site. Please refer to the Community Guidelines if you are unsure whether your post content is appropriate. We reserve the right to edit, comment or remove posts that do not adhere to our Guidelines and to move posts and threads to be sure they are in the appropriate locations.

How to Search our Site

We are working on an integrated search for our site. In the meantime, we offer you several ways to find the info you're looking for. Article search will search our article database. Forum search will find threads, posts and gallery images. Both can be accessed at the top of each page on the site.

All visitors and members alike have access to our comprehensive Site Map. Our Article search, Forum search and Advanced search functions are features reserved for our registered members - see? Another great reason to join IKEAFANS! You'll find access to all three ways to find things on our site at the top right of each page in the yellow block.

To successfully search our site, consider these tips:

Use the Article Search to search for articles, and the forum search to search for threads and/or photos.
Use descriptive keywords or phrases with Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to limit the search results
Use "quotes' around phrases to focus your search.
Use Advanced Search to search by Member Name, in a specific forum, by number of replies or to limit the search to the title of a post or to a specific range of dates. You can also specify the order of the search results in the Advanced Search.

Catch Up on the Latest!

There are multiple ways to keep up on the latest goings on on IKEAFANS. There are listings of Recent Posts, Latest Blog Entries, Recent Articles, Updates to the IKEApedia, the currently Featured Installer and important news listed on our home page. Additionally, you'll find Recent Blog Entries along the right side of most pages on the site.

To keep up on the most current updates to the forums and the galleries, use the Recent Posts menu on the blue tool bar at the top of each page. You can get a listing of Daily Posts, New Posts, or Posts from the Last 5 or 10 days. You'll also get a listing of the most recent uploads to the Galleries by using these tools.

Another way to keep up with the action is to use Subscribed Threads. At the top of each thread, under Thread Tools, you'll find a link to Subscribe to this Thread. You can later access these threads, as well as any you have participated in in My Account.

Additionally, you can choose to receive an email from the site to notify you of new posts to threads you have subscribed to, either through participation or through selection. Be sure to set up your Default Thread Subscription Mode (My Account > Edit Options > Default Thread Subscription Mode) to Instant Email Notification

How Can I Give Back?

IKEAFANS is not affiliated or supported, sponsored or paid for by IKEA in any way - it is a private site run by a husband and wife team living in small town America (see more About Us). We are sustained by the generous donations of our members and a small monthly income from the advertisements you see on our pages. Though income has increased slowly over time, our expenses have increased at a much faster rate as we continue to bring more resources to you, upgrade our software, expand our site offerings and increase our bandwidth and server capacities. Unfortunately, when expenses exceed income, it comes out of our pockets.

You can help! Please consider a donation to the support of the IKEAFANS site. If you've saved time, money or energy as a result of your experience here, think about what that's worth to you...and then Make a Donation. All donations are acknowledged by the award of a Little Blue Guy and a listing on our Donors Acknowledgement page. Invest in the future of IKEAFANS!