Berkeley Parents Network: Ikea Kitchens

Berkeley Parents Network

Ikea Kitchens

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Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > House & Garden > Ikea Kitchens

Using Ikea cabinets for a remodel
Ikea Kitchen Remodel
IKEA cabinets
More Advice about Kitchen Remodels

Using Ikea cabinets for a remodel

Nov 2007

We just purchased a house and would like to remodel the kitchen as soon as possible. But of course, having just bought a home, we are not exactly flush with cash. And we have a little one and anticipate having more and I cringe at the thought of all the toy trucks and shopping carts that would inevitably bang up and ding custom cabinetry. So we're thinking more economic options and happened across IKEA. I tend to think of IKEA for more disposable furniture needs, so am a bit hesitant about going this route for the kitchen cabinets (we would probably buy our appliances, and perhaps countertops and sinkware, separately). Would love to hear from anyone who has used IKEA for a kitchen remodel. Are you happy you went with them? Did you find that IKEA was, in fact, good bang for the buck? Did you install yourself, use IKEA to install, or an independent contractor to do it? Any other pieces of wisdom to share? Thanks! Need a fridge and more

I am a designer in Berkeley and I do lots of kitchen/bathroom projects. Occasionally I have used Ikea kitchens and they can be quite economical. With the proper design they can read like custom cabinetry and with the right choice of finishes (counters, backsplash, etc) they can be elevated to look quite nice. I recommend their installers as they are extremely knowledgeable about their products. Bonnee

We installed our Ikea kitchen ourselves about 3 years ago. Having 2 kids, now 5, I was very concerned about the laminate getting messed up quickly. I am totally satisfied with the durability and the cabinets are not marked or chipped or damaged in any way after 3 years of tough wear and tear. I would buy it again in a flash. You can also, of course, get solid wood Ikea cabinet fronts but I don't see the need if you're looking to save some money. Very happy with my cheap cabinets

Check out the latest issue of Fine Homebuilding (available at Barnes & Noble, Builder's Booksource, etc.). They have both an article about kitchen cabinet construction but also one specifically about IKEA kitchens. Architect

Funny that this message was right below my earlier query about raccoons. Anyway, I remodeled my kitchen this summer with IKEA cabinetry and LOVE it. The cabinets were extremely easy to build and they were the least complicated part of the remodel process for my contractor, who I can recommend by the way (George Matthews at http://www.geomatconserve.com/). They look great and not at all cheap. If you want to see what they look like I believe George posted photos on his website in projects section. For my whole kitchen it was less than 3K, which I found very reasonable. Good Luck with your kitchen. Leslie

We are building a new home & decided to go with an IKEA kitchen because we liked how they looked and it seemed like a good value. Consumer Reports rated them very high (much better than Home Depot's cabinets which cost a lot more). We haven't yet moved in or used the kitchen. Therefore, I can't speak to how it will hold up over time, but I'm pleased with how the cabinets look, what we paid, and the process of putting them together. I am not a do-it-yourself but I was able to assemble the cabinets myself. My husband and a friend, both who are very handy and comfortable with tools, installed the cabinets. That took a little more skill but for someone who is handy, apparently it's pretty straightforward. One piece of advice is to make use of the IKEAFans.com website. That is a fantastic resource! The instructions that come with some of the IKEA things (like the lazy susan for the corner cabinet) can be hard to decipher (there are no words, only pictures) and occasionally are wrong. However, the people at IKEAFans.com are just wonderful in helping you through any problems you have - much more useful than calling customer service at IKEA. Good luck! happy with IKEA

We put in an IKEA kitchen in May and so far have been very happy with it. Obviously, I can't speak to long-term durability but my husband (who assembled the cabinets) was impressed with how they were designed and had done a fair amount of research before purchasing. We did some of the work ourselves and some with contractors: they did the demo, plumbing, electrical and my husband his brother built and installed the cabinets and IKEA butcher block countertops. We had granite (not IKEA) installed as well later on. For us, IKEA was perfect; a nice update to a kitchen we will use another year or two and a prospective buyer should be happy with it too. If you want to come and see ours, please let me know. Laura

We installed an IKEA kitchen about 6 months ago and, so far, have been very happy. We felt the cabinet prices were extremely economical AND appealing, which allowed us to spend more money on things like countertop (caesarstone), faucet (hans grohe), etc. Our friends are surprised when we tell them it's a (mostly) IKEA kitchen. We did decide to hire certified IKEA installers who both put together and installed our cabinets, put on pulls, kick, etc. I would HIGHLY recommend going that route unless you've either done it before or are extremely handy.

The initial design phase was a bit frustrating trying to use the IKEA kitchen planner (i'm a mac person and it doesn't work on a mac), but the staff in the kitchen department at IKEA was *usually* willing to help and offer suggestions. You will find yourself there ALOT during the ordering and installation, and you will probably need to return/exchange pieces that were either shipped incorrectly or damaged. You just have to be patient, because in the end, it's really worth it. Oh, and we have two young children who aren't always gentle - but the cabinets are still in great shape. Feel free to contact me if you have further questions. emily

Hope this isn't too late -- we remodeled out house with an IKEA kitchen and we LOVE it. We used the Nexus style in white oak (they don't seem to have it on display but you can order it), looks terrific two years in so far. Their hinges and hardware are supposed to be top notch, and the special cabinets that pull out and the corner lazy susans are really terrific (no more reaching into the far back dark corners or just losing things forever in unreachable areas). We recently went to a friend's house -- they have the same cabinetry and theirs is older and still looks nearly new (they have two small children), so I'm hopeful ours will look good for years to come. Our architect, whose taste I really admire, has an IKEA kitchen too! And you truly can't beat the price -- we fitted out our entire kitchen AND some pantry cabinets for a little over $2K. They have some really nice hardware too -- I know some folks who put in pricey custom cabinets and then bought all their handles at IKEA. They now carry Corian counter tops -- why do you care? Because you can get an integrated sink! No edge or lip anywhere to catch bits of this and that, just smooth, smooth, smooth. We had been planning to build and install them ourselves but by that point in the reno we were exhausted so we had our contractor do it. I remember seeing an IKEA Kitchen Fan site on the web but don't have the URL anymore. We give it two very enthusiastic thumbs up! Proud IKEA kitchen owner

Ikea Kitchen Remodel

June 2005

Has anybody gotten a full IKEA kitchen package? We're looking at a kitchen remodel and the price of having a contractor doing it is making our hair stand on end! It seems like the IKEA kitchens are really *really* reasonable -- is there a reason? (Are they going to fall apart in five years? One year?) When we resell our house someday will the kitchen have significantly less value without a fancy contractor kitchen? IKEA can even put in a custom Corian counter (me: ''Wow!''). Would love to hear any positive or negative reviews from anyone who put one in. Thanks! Kitchen Krazy

I do not have an Ikea kitchen myself, but we are planning a remodel, and I have been spending a lot of time on the Gardenweb kitchen forums. I have gotten a ton of valuable advice and ideas from this site, and I know they have an ongoing thread for Ikea topics. Do a search on IKEA and see what you find. The site is: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchbath/ Claire

To the person who was inquiring about the Ikea kitchen. We moved into a home in February of this year that has a full Ikea kitchen. I think it's a few years old. I love it. It's white with beech wood counter tops. But, it's Ikea, so the whole kitchen comes in small boxes and you either have to hire someone to put it together or do it yourself. The people who owned the house before us put it together on the side of the house and had a contractor install it.

It's got all these great little gadgets, turn around shelf thingies for your pots and pans, sliding out shelves, nice handles, looks clean and to me quite expensive.

If you want to come look at it email me, I am happy to show you how an Ikea kitchen will look in a few years. Not sure how it will look in 20 though. ( : jamilie

We did not put in a whole kitchen, but about three years ago we bought a freestanding pantry to add to our kitchen. We LOVE it! The door is the only wood on it and the base is the white laminate (I believe), but it is very sturdy and the hinges are great......much better than some of the more expensive cabinets. Some friends did their whole kitchen (and they are VERY style conscious) and I understand they really like it. Good luck! Monika

To the person wondering about Ikea kitchens: we installed a full Ikea kitchen in 2001. People seem to really like it and are always surprised when I tell them it's from Ikea. I dressed up the cabinets with really nice pulls from Restoration Hardware and that helped a lot and was well worth the $. I have no idea re: the resale value, but I simply wasn't able to do a designer kitchen. It's functional and looks good. If I were doing this again, I would go with an undermount sink (darn!) and some sort of funky countertop (I did basic ol' formica). I bought this kitchen back when Ikea staff helped design the kitchen, which was quite helpful. Overall, we're happy with it. Nothing has fallen apart (yet) and the drawers are sturdy. I really love the deep drawers for pots and things. And the installers were amazing. Bad: some pieces were back ordered by Ikea for months so the installation went on and on, but the installers stuck to their quoted price. Good luck! Nicole

We used Ikea in Emeryville about five years ago for a complete kitchen remodel. Their in-store designer helped us measure out and figure out what cabinetry we needed, and ordered everything, including the Corian countertop subcontractor. The two cabinet installers they sent us did an excellent job: efficient, helpful attitudes, good at executing little adjustments we asked for. The only trouble was a few cabinet parts that did not arrive correctly and had to be re-ordered. The Corian installation was also terrific. The end result is quite attractive -- everyone comments on how great our kitchen looks, and we are very happy with our choices (despite a few minor imperfections). Throw in Ikea's low low prices, and it was an amazingly good deal for us. The only rub I know of is we got in ahead of the curve before Ikea's kitchen design services were really 'discovered' and since then we've heard that their services are always backlogged - so you'd do well to press hard to u! Understand their delivery commitments. But if you like what you see in their showrooms in terms of style and amenities, and can budget the necessary timetable, I think you'll end up satisfied customers. As the saying goes, why pay more? Budget-conscious

April 2004

We are looking for a kitchen designer/architect to help us plan a remodel using IKEA cabinets. We need someone who can use the IKEA catalogue and then create a drawing that we can take to IKEA. Thanks!

We have an Ikea kitchen, but when we started the Ikea process (2002), they did the drawings for us. However, I know the whole kitchen dept has since revamped, so I guess that's not available anymore. When we finally got going on our kitchen (2003), our contractors re-did the drawings anyway, which made sense in the end, since they were the ones doing the job. I've recommended them before here, but don't see them in the archive. They're Bradbury-Luce and can be reached at 510 816- 0647 or worldbluce@yahoo.com I highly recommend them for several reasons: They've done several Ikea kitchens, they were right on target both in $$ and time, they dealt with unexpected structural problems expertly, they have good subs (though we had a bit of a problem with the floor), and are experienced, professional, and really nice guys (important when they're in your home every day!). Caveat on Ikea though - Although we're happy with the end result, Ikea was a pain to deal with. My husband had to spend literally hours going back and forth with irritating little issues - missing hardware, damaged pieces, lost orders, incomplete orders, incorrectly labeled packages, and very, very poor customer service. Be prepared. Stacey

IKEA cabinets

October 2002

I am remodeling soon and would like opinions of IKEA kitchen cabinets from anyone who has used them. Thanks! remodeling soon

We purchases IKEA cabinets in '99 and are very happy with them . So far they have with stood the wear and tear of our family. They wipe up easily and look beautiful. My only complaint is we used IKEA wood counter tops and several of the counters have cracked and split. Hope this helps! mhpoole

This is a response to the person interested in IKEA kitchen cabinets. My husband is an architect and designed a complete kitechen remodel with IKEA cabinets. We are extremely pleased with the results. The cabinets are well made, have nice design features and were easy to install. It has been three years since our remodel, and the cabinets still look like new and are easy to maintain. If you have more questions or are interested in a referral to a great architect, you can email me. Carol

We remodeled our kitchen a year ago with IKEA cabinets. They look great and they have great practical organizing things for the insides. Our medium size kitchen cost about $7000 for the cabinets and all the pull-out baskets/pantry.

The only caveat is that I ended up ordering everything from the Burbank IKEA because the Emeryville kitchen dept had a backlog of 2 months for design. Even though IKEA does not design the kitchen for you, their kitchen planners have to plug in everything you want into their CAD system, thus the waiting list. We gave our architect the cabinet catalog and he drew very simple plans. Then, I typed up a list of all the parts and faxed it to Burbank. You'll have some hassle with missing/back-ordered parts that require getting on the phone a bit. But, it wasn't terrible. Also, it was VERY easy to return extra parts/shelves/etc. to the Emeryville store for full refunds. Drop me an email if you want to see our kitchen.

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