Let me put it this way: in my area, the vast majority are veneers or what looks like a vinyl sticker. This is an inversion of what it used to be, which was the majority were hardwood. The market in every geo is different, but I am in a top 10 major city in US. I don’t buy from Ikea online, so maybe that is possible! It doesn’t change my experience though.
This is the crux of my argument against these types of articles, they try to retcon “you are the one who is crazy! it’s always been like that”. I was searching at an autistic level for a dinner table for the last five years from IKEA until I just gave up and bought a vintage thing made of real teak, made by a craftsperson for less than a mid range sticker and mechanically separated wood table from IKEA.
This is the crux of my argument against these types of articles, they try to retcon “you are the one who is crazy! it’s always been like that”. I was searching at an autistic level for a dinner table for the last five years from IKEA until I just gave up and bought a vintage thing made of real teak, made by a craftsperson for less than a mid range sticker and mechanically separated wood table from IKEA.