Marc Arnaud’s KALLAX Build Completed Through Creative Interpretation of Instructions
PARIS — The KALLAX bookcase purchased by Marc Arnaud — whose IKEA trip and financial secrets have been documented — was assembled over one Sunday afternoon, seven hours, and what Marc estimates as “four distinct emotional phases,” emerging on the other side as a structurally sound piece of furniture with one remaining screw whose designated location was identified in retrospect as inside a panel that has already been secured and cannot be accessed without disassembly. The screw is on the shelf beside the KALLAX. The KALLAX is standing. The screw is observing the KALLAX from a position adjacent to it.
“The KALLAX is solid,” Marc confirmed, pressing the sides with the testing pressure of someone checking their own work. “The KALLAX is solid without the screw. The screw was for a specific position that the position no longer requires.” He has considered whether the screw’s absence represents a structural risk. He has concluded, through the pressing test and a YouTube video on KALLAX stability, that the KALLAX is fine. The screw remains on the shelf. The screw is a documentation of the build’s process.
The Final Screw Question
IKEA furniture construction produces, across the global builds performed annually, a consistent surplus of screws, bolts, and dowels whose presence in the completed build was either never necessary or cannot be determined as necessary without disassembly that the assembler declines to perform on the basis that the completed build is solid. The surplus is designed: IKEA includes extras. Marc’s surplus is one. The extras have served their purpose by being present as options. The option was not required. The KALLAX stands.
According to Psychology Today’s perfectionism and completion research, structurally sound outcomes are equivalent to perfect outcomes for all practical purposes. The KALLAX is structurally sound. The practical purpose is met. The screw is on the shelf in case it becomes clear later what it was for. It will not become clear. The KALLAX is excellent.
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