Does IKEA furniture have any chance to gain...  

Ikea does have design items..
they are sold at their Habitat stores.

I didn't realize that IKEA...
I didn't realize that IKEA owns HABITAT. Isn't that who reproduced the Robin Day designs. I have heard bad things about the sofas construction.

Ikea serves a wonderfull...
Ikea serves a wonderfull purpose for many individuals who want good design but cant afford high priced high design. It is easy to knock because it is made of inexpensive materials and often falls apart. That said, remeber that many of Paul Mccobb furniture was designed for this same market back in the 50's. It was inexpensive furniture made of simple materials designed to serve the needs of many people who could not afford more expensive items. Twenty years ago at auctions houses in New York, you could NOT give away Mccobb pieces at auction...today they get a pretty penny. don't get me wrong, Ikea is not Mccobb, but I believe that there will be an active collectors market for select pieces of Ikea design in the future.

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[". . .I was raised in the desert. . ." ??]
[Levitz furniture ad: Furniture truck backing up to the White House; GWB speaking: "C'mon back -- watch out for the dog -- Barney, watch out -- that's my sofa in there. My so-fa. . ."]

IKEA also has the 'PS' line,...
IKEA also has the 'PS' line, which includes some designers worth mentioning. The only one I can remember right now is Hella Jongerius, who designed 4 vases for IKEA, but there are other examples I'm sure...
The Ikea PS steel cupboards/sideboard are nice and I like the 'PS' sofa/daybed also...

kitchens
the best thing about ikea and perhaps the only great thing is the kitchens.
theglossy white and stainless stuff looks amazing together..
and relatively inexpensive.

I love Ikea kitchens
I'm in the process of installing one myself, though not in glossy white; rather, I opted for simple slab birch cabinet doors.
If I were willing to spend more money, I probably would have gone with www.henrybuilt.

IKEA is the real Design Within Reach
Remember that Modernism was intended to be democratic and inclusive. Ironically today it's not that way save for IKEA. (Unless I'm missing something else?) I love IKEA and am talking notes here about its previous products. I will collect them.