I bought a lift-top coffee table from a big box store almost a decade ago. It’s entirely particle board and has seen better days cosmetically, but it’s probably my single favorite piece of furniture. It’s immensely practical for meals, using a laptop, or just bringing your remote/drink/whatever closer to your hand when laying down on the couch. I instinctively try to lift other people’s coffee tables when I visit, and am mildly annoyed when it doesn’t work…
Bidet. I can’t believe I lived without one.
Cast iron or mild steel pans FTW. With care, they will outlast you and are totally nonstick once seasoned.
also, they develop and add to the flavor of what you cook that nonstick pans never will. My inexpensive item though was a stupidly cheap chef’s knife from Ikea. I needed one after moving into my first apartment and I was getting some furniture there (the futon wasn’t bad either, for what it was,) and I still have the knife around even after upgrading to a wustoff.
it was like twenty bucks. and with care it still performs like a champ.
I still have a second hand IKEA desk that I bought off a guy from work when I first moved to the area and had no furniture. It’s just the right size and has a keyboard shelf on rollers which seems hard to find these days.
After i broke a glass coffee pot within a week of getting it, i bought a metal one on the cheap. It happened to be vacuum sealed as an added bonus.
Nearly 15 years later I’ve yet to buy a new one. Its vacuum seal is still intact.
Aeropress coffee maker.