IKEA is a store that sells ready-to-assemble furniture. It’s often been compared to children’s LEGO plastic construction toys.
     
“Lego is a gateway drug to Ikea” was posted on Twitter by Nick Hodge on August 12, 2009. “Revelation: Legos are a gateway drug to IKEA #fb” was posted on Twitter by Jason Lawrence on December 28, 2011.
           
“IKEA: Legos for adults” and “You don’t grow out of Legos, you just graduate to Ikea” are similar sayings.
     
   
Wikipedia: IKEA
IKEA (/aɪˈkiːə/; Swedish: [ɪ²keːa]), formerly known by its full initials, Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd, is a Swedish multinational group of companies that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture (such as beds, chairs and desks), appliances and home accessories. It has been the world’s largest furniture retailer since at least 2008. Founded in Sweden in 1943 by then-17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, who is now one of the ten richest people in the world and the owner of a more than 40 billion dollar fortune, the company’s name is an acronym that consists of the initials of Ingvar Kamprad (name of founder), Elmtaryd (the farm where he grew up), and Agunnaryd (his hometown in Småland, southern Sweden). The company is known for its modern architectural designs for various types of appliances and furniture, and its interior design work is often associated with an eco-friendly simplicity.
 
Wikipedia: Lego
Lego (Danish pronunciation: [lɑjˀɡ̊oːˀ]; stylized LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company’s flagship product, Lego, consists of colourful interlocking plastic bricks accompanying an array of gears, figurines called minifigures, and various other parts. Lego pieces can be assembled and connected in many ways, to construct objects; vehicles, buildings, and working robots. Anything constructed can then be taken apart again, and the pieces used to make other objects.
     
Twitter
Nick Hodge
@NickHodgeAU
Lego is a gateway drug to Ikea
2:02 AM · Aug 12, 2009·Twitter Web Client
   
Twitter
Gregory Owens
@Jaste
Lego is a gateway drug to Ikea (via @NickHodge)
2:16 AM · Aug 12, 2009·Twitter Web Client
   
Twitter
Jason Lawrence
@entropyinmotion
Revelation: Legos are a gateway drug to IKEA #fb
10:55 AM · Dec 28, 2011 from East Leon, FL·Twitter for Android
   
Twitter
Froggy
@AuthenticFroggy
Lego is a gateway drug to Ikea furniture #justsayno
5:57 PM · Jul 23, 2013·Twitter for iPhone
 
Twitter
JP Castlin
@RouserJP
Literally just overheard someone argue that LEGO is a gateway drug to IKEA.
6:21 AM · Mar 25, 2018·Twitter Web Client
   
Twitter
Tivoni Devor
@TivoniDevor
Legos are the gateway drug that leads to a lifetime of IKEA dependence
10:59 AM · Dec 29, 2019 from Philadelphia, PA·Twitter for Android
 
Reddit—Showerthoughts
Posted by u/jrcookOnReddit June 22, 2020
Lego is a gateway drug to IKEA