Ikea Kitchen Cabinets & Appliances

[SalandJeff]

Does anyone have any experience with Ikea kitchen cabinets and/or appliances? The cabinets seem to be relatively inexpensive. How is the quality? Do they help you with design service? Are they difficult to put together and put up (do-it-yourselfers here - but not experienced with anything like a kitchen!)

Thanks for any feedback or advice!

 

[allison443]

I remodeled my kitchen a few years ago and while gathering information I found quite a few people who raved about Ikea cabinets! We didn't use ikea though.

Here is a website/forum all about ikea kitchens. It has kitchen planning tools, message boards, etc.

www.ikeafans.com

 

[SOnotLayuh]

They are GREAT quality and super cheap! The IKEA team worked very closely with us to figure out what exactly we wanted to do. We didn't put them up because we have friends in the cabinet business, though

Try to go visit an IKEA near you. You can see the cabinets for yourself! The one we have here in Charlotte has an incredible display floor.

 

[njsweetP]

We gutted and installed our kitchen in our first house 17 years ago with IKEA cabinets. We went with the lower priced cabinets (plain white) and had a small kitchen. This was our first time with such a renovation project, and the cabinets were a breeze to assemble and install. We did not use their design service, however, so I can't comment on that. You want to make sure everything is in stock when purchasing though. (which seemed to be a problem years ago).

 

[dex08]

We toyed around with the idea of using Ikea cabinets but we ended up not because we are getting a higher quality cabinet through our contractor for a comparable price.

Ikea's design tools are fantastic though! You can download it right onto your home computer and redesign your kitchen by plugging in your dimensions and locations of windows and then drop & drag components into the virtual kitchen. And you can view your design in 3D and get a cost estimate.

It was easier for us to learn the software tools by sitting in Ikea at their design center and having one of their employees walk us through the steps and then later when we went home we pulled up our design that we had saved on their server. We used the Ikea design as a basis when we were getting estimates from other contractors.

The Ikea cabinets come flat, not fully constructed as you would get them from places like Home Depot and Lowes. So you have to put each cabinet 'box' together individually.

 

[Lucille1963]

Friends of mine purchased Ikea cabinets when they remodeled their kitchen about 3 years ago. They look really beat up already.

 

[Melmac]

We remodelled our kitchen using Ikea cabinets 2 or 3 years ago (no appliances so I cannot comment there). We got white cabinets with butcher block countertops. I put together the cabinets myself and DH and dad installed them. My dad said the wall cabinets were a breeze since they have a track system you use. The cabinets have held up really well and wash well. I loved the different storage options in the cabinets. The butcher block needs to be resealed every 6 months or so but I don't mind because it looks nice! Their return policy was really good too. Good luck - we had an excellent Ikea experience.

 

[tlh0726]

We currently have Ikea cabinets (nexus birch) in 2 of our rental units and will be putting them into a third one in the near future.
I did not use thier design service. I just planned everything out myself using sizes and graph paper.
I put the cabinets together. First one was the hardest after that only had to glance at the directions.
DH and I installed the cabinets.
The hanging rail for the wall cabinets makes installation a breeze. No more trying to find a stud especially with smaller size cabinets.
We have not had any issues with any of the cabinets.

didn't use thier appliances. I thought they were high priced compared to what you could get at lowe's

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I meant to respond to this earlier.

We recently renovated our kitchen and used IKEA cabinets. I LOVE them. (Now all my friends want them, too.)

I shopped around for 5 years. These were the first ones I saw and the ones I always went back to. They're beautiful, good quality (coming with a 25yr guarantee), and exactly what I wanted.

We used a design service that works *with* IKEA. They're an independent company but work exclusively with IKEA. (They are quite busy; in fact many of their clients have oceanfront, exclusive homes.) They helped us design it and gave us plans that we could give to the electrician, countertop people, etc, which simplified things quite a bit for us. (Cost: $350) We then chose the option of their sending someone over for a day to help with cabinet installation, which was tricky even for my DH who's worked with cabinets before. By the time he left, 80% of the cabinets were installed, and my DH felt comfortable knowing what he was doing. (Cost: $600 - both were money well spent.)

IKEA is easy to work with because everything is always available. No waiting weeks if you make a mistake with DIY. DH made a measuring mistake drilling the hardware spot on one, and simply went to IKEA the next day for a new drawerfront. (Cost: $35) By contrast, another friend is having her re-done also (by a cabinet company) and they've made mistakes a couple of times. She's had to wait several weeks each time for them to fix it so it's put the project on hold for two months, and at one point none of them were speaking to eachother, lol. (Our whole kitchen was done in 3 weeks.) She now hates her cabinets.

All I can say is do your research, and examine your own budget. If you have $30K to spend on cabinets, then IKEA might not be the way to go. But if you're on a budget (like we are) and want fresh, clean and innovative, then IKEA is definitely worth a look. We have a friend who works in the cabinet business who was really surprised at how nice ours were and how they had the same hardware as some of the more expensive cabinets.

If anyone has any ?s, I'd be happy to answer if I can.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Friends of mine purchased Ikea cabinets when they remodeled their kitchen about 3 years ago. They look really beat up already.

Anyone can beat up a kitchen in 3 yrs. I'd like to see the rest of the house.

ETA I'm amending my answer. What I meant was, any cabinets can be beat up after 3 years. It depends on the people using them.

The cabinets we replaced were original to the house, ie vintage 1964. From a functional standpoint, they were still in good shape, obviously all the people who've lived in this house, including us, treated them with respect. (But the painted over knotty pine still had to go. I lived with it for 21 yrs, I should get a medal, lol.)

I remember once, about 18 yrs ago, we got new formica countertops. My sister, who we refer to as the absentminded professor (and is hard on things), stayed overnight one night and in the morning, cut herself a bagle sans cutting board, leaving a big gash directly on my brand spankin new countertop, which remained there up till the renovation. I have no doubt if she lived in my house my kitchen would be fairly trashed after a short time.

So, IMO, what type of "user" you are is one of the factors that goes into making a decision about materials. We're pretty respectful of things in our home, so I have no doubt that these are going to hold up well. (And if they don't, we have a 25 yr guarantee.)

 

[SalandJeff]

I meant to respond to this earlier.

We recently renovated our kitchen and used IKEA cabinets. I LOVE them. (Now all my friends want them, too.)...

Thanks for all this helpful info!

Did you choose to get the large drawers on the bottom....that is one of the things that I would love to have. If so, how do you like them? Are they really functional or do you wish you had cabinets?

Any way you can post any pics?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Did you choose to get the large drawers on the bottom....that is one of the things that I would love to have. If so, how do you like them? Are they really functional or do you wish you had cabinets?

Yes, we got the drawers - 6 of them. (Those were one of the things I loved, too.) We actually made a [two seater] island out of two base drawer cabinets. I also have one regular lower cabinet against the wall that I'm thinking of switching out for a drawer cabinet (that's how easy IKEA is) - they seem so much more functional as "you don't have to go to the inside, it comes to you". We keep some lesser used items in there.

Another thing I really love is the corner cabinets. Previously, ours were "black holes". Stuff went in and never came out. Now, both the upper and lower corner cabinets open and swivel. I finally have the type of storage, organization and ease that I've always dreamed of - and at a very affordable price. (We took advantage of buying the cabinets on sale, which gave us a savings of 10% off the regular price. Go early and/or at "off" times - the place is absolutely mobbed during the sale, lol.)

Another thing I like about the cabinets is that they are soft close (all but the upper corner one). IKEA also has some cool accessories - my favorite, which was a must have - is the 5 glass "canister" storage piece. I keep regular and herbal tea bags, hot chocolate, crystal light and such in there. Because they're so visible the kids grab one when they come home from school and I make myself a cup of lemon tea in the evening. (I can't find the thing I'm talking about on the website or I'd show you.)

I am working on pics, but right now some of the kitchen looks messy because we're dismantling a deck off the kitchen in prep for a sunroom. But hopefully I'll have some soon.

 

[Judique]

Thanks for all this helpful info!

Did you choose to get the large drawers on the bottom....that is one of the things that I would love to have. If so, how do you like them? Are they really functional or do you wish you had cabinets?

Any way you can post any pics?

I have a complete Ikea kitchen with appliances and granite countertop and I absolutely love it! It was a do it yourself job in many ways but outside contractors were used to reroute electric, plumbing, change light fixtures, do replacement drywall and windows, install granite (through Ikea) and hardwood flooring, etc.

The large bottom drawers are fantastic. In fact I am going to remodel one small area and install another 36 in base drawer unit. I had left floor space under a window to be able to push a utility cart out of the way - I have a fairly large kitchen for a small and older home.

I am very happy with my appliances - they are all whirlpool - exhaust fan hood, dishwasher, refrig, stove and an extra wall oven that is also convection as we like to bake.

And if I'm tired of the door choices in 3 or 4 years, since these are european box styled cabinets, I can change the color and door style for a relatively small amount of time, money and effort.

Also to note that in the past couple of years, Ikea door choices have doubled and there are several solid wood choices available, where just 3 or 4 years ago most of the doors were mdf and foiled.

If you catch the spring or fall kitchen sale and plan to buy everything at once with at least 3 appliances, they usually offer 20% off. I was able to get my granite added into this sale price through Ikea.

They also have a huge selection of accessories.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I have a complete Ikea kitchen with appliances and granite countertop and I absolutely love it! It was a do it yourself job in many ways but outside contractors were used to reroute electric, plumbing, change light fixtures, do replacement drywall and windows, install granite (through Ikea) and hardwood flooring, etc.

The large bottom drawers are fantastic. In fact I am going to remodel one small area and install another 36 in base drawer unit. I had left floor space under a window to be able to push a utility cart out of the way - I have a fairly large kitchen for a small and older home.

I am very happy with my appliances - they are all whirlpool - exhaust fan hood, dishwasher, refrig, stove and an extra wall oven that is also convection as we like to bake.

And if I'm tired of the door choices in 3 or 4 years, since these are european box styled cabinets, I can change the color and door style for a relatively small amount of time, money and effort.

Also to note that in the past couple of years, Ikea door choices have doubled and there are several solid wood choices available, where just 3 or 4 years ago most of the doors were mdf and foiled.

If you catch the spring or fall kitchen sale and plan to buy everything at once with at least 3 appliances, they usually offer 20% off. I was able to get my granite added into this sale price through Ikea.

They also have a huge selection of accessories.

I agree with this. There always seem to be new items.

I should clarify - we got 10% off because we kept our old [newer] appliances. (20% if you buy cabinets and appliances; 10% just cabinets, over $2500.)

We also had an electrician come in and install recessed lighting, move some plugs and ceiling boxes, and bring the whole thing to code, etc. (That was pricey! But obviously worth it. It's amazing how much difference there is in a 1964 kitchen compared to today's kitchen electrically when you think about it. Older must be even worse, lol.)

We kept our ceramic tile floor as it was in great shape. We priced up countertops and wound up getting a good deal on granite from an independent company so we went with them. They were able to install the granite within one week of template, which was done the day after the cabinets were installed, so it all went fairly quickly once we started.

I am also thinking of adding some more cabinets to another area of the kitchen. It will be fairly simple if we do. No rush to make a decision which is great.

 

[kelly1218]

i didn't use the cabinets for my kitchen....I made a craft area with them.

DH said he will ONLY buy from IKEA from now on...even though he had to assemble them, he LOVES how easily they went together.
And the hang rail is a dream.... he hung the rail...and then I could decided how I wanted the setup.

I also LOVE how the drawers and doors don't slam...they have this neat little gadget that clips to the hinges.... slowly closes them instead of slamming!!!