If you have an IKEA kitchen what do you think?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Wow. How large is your kitchen?
I have 50s era metal cabinets which are still v sturdy but ... old. Wondering if I should go the IKEA route...

Our kitchen is pretty small - we are in a small TH. The cabinets cost just over $1600. On floor: preinstalled dishwasher, Under-sink cabinet, lazy susan in corner, preinstalled stove, then a cabinet with 2 large drawers on bottom and 2 smaller drawers on top (utensils), preinstalled fridge. On wall: corner cabinet, a slim cabinet, preinstalled microwave, one standard size cabinet and then an above the fridge cabinet. My husband had to do a few spacers and an extra wine rack cabinet (built this by hand, so not from IKEA)to fill in some gaps in the footprint from our old kitchen, but as I said, we wound up with more shelf space because our old cabinets were so poorly designed.

We got the backsplash tiles at Home Depot and he also installed some hanging lights where we use to have cabinets over our sink. It opens the space up visually.

[Anonymous]

Our kitchen is IKEA - the higher end cabinets, made of oak. I think at the time they were called Ukurum - don't know if they still exist. Went for a Corian countertop and a slate floor and backsplash. Everyone who has ever entered my kitchen remarks on how beautiful it is, and they are often surprised when I say it is IKEA. I am very happy with the decision and continue, 5 years later, to love the look and feel of the kitchen!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We JUST finished an IKEA kitchen cabinet install. We did what our neighbor had done in her kitchen...at the urging of an interior designer friend of hers. My husband and our neighbor did the install in a couple days. We did not get the counters at IKEA - we found a better price at a granite place out near Dulles.

We did new cabinets, new countertops, new kitchen and new faucet for less than $4K. BEAT THAT! And it looks pretty amazing - all our neighbors who came by to see it the other night were asking my husband to help them do the same install in their kitchen. I think we've started a trend.

Considering the lowest price we got from a contractor who gave us an estimate for cabinets before was $11K, we're pretty darn happy.

Wow. How large is your kitchen?
I have 50s era metal cabinets which are still v sturdy but ... old. Wondering if I should go the IKEA route...

There are lots of people out there who will pay good money for your 50s era cabinets. You can sell them and put the money toward your new kitchen.

[Anonymous]

I've done 2 ikea kitchens, one other kind. Love ikea. Enviros like ikea too - the cabinets are greener than most. I'm very handy though, and love to put things together. Counters bought elsewhere, as were appliances. One Ikea sink, working fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:wait for black Friday when the kitchens are 30% off

IKEA has 30% off all kitchen cabinets on black friday??? If so, we might have an IKEA kitchen in November!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:wait for black Friday when the kitchens are 30% off

IKEA has 30% off all kitchen cabinets on black friday??? If so, we might have an IKEA kitchen in November!

Yes! And this gives me plenty of time to plan my new kitchen!

[Anonymous]

We remodeled our kitchen 4 years ago- Ikea cabinets, dishwasher, sink, oven/stove, hardware...we are still in love with it! Holding up really well.

We "customized" our kitchen with highend backsplash and granite slab- so I cannot speak to the countertops. We did pay about 15% more than expected because of stocking errors (they gave us the wrong peices and then charged us restocking fees, etc) and misquotes. But, I barked up the corporate tree and they gave us a store credit.

[Anonymous]

they also usually have a "kitchen sale" in early summer!

[Anonymous]

We lived in a condo with a new Ikea kitchen for 2 years. It was nice for about a year and a half, then things started falling apart. And I am gentle on things, I did not treat it harshly. I would avoid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We lived in a condo with a new Ikea kitchen for 2 years. It was nice for about a year and a half, then things started falling apart. And I am gentle on things, I did not treat it harshly. I would avoid.

IKEA looks cheap and wears poorly.

[Anonymous]

We have IKEA cabinet boxes with both custom doors and countertops purchased elsewhere. We've been very happy.

[Anonymous]

that's odd, because I have ikea stuff that has lasted me 10 years and more. I do know that some of the stuff is cheap, but it drives me nuts when people write off the whole store as "cheap crap." It just isn't based in reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:that's odd, because I have ikea stuff that has lasted me 10 years and more. I do know that some of the stuff is cheap, but it drives me nuts when people write off the whole store as "cheap crap." It just isn't based in reality.

That is my experience as well. Some stuff lasts FOREVER, some is crap. My son's bedroom set is IKEA and it has held up beautifully and for some reason never scratches or dents. He has had it for 4 years and it still looks new.

I think some IKEA cabs are crap, but the soild wood ones look good to me. Yes, you are going to get better cabinets if you spend 100% more, but I think they are great for someone on a tight budget. At the end of the day, as long as you are not putting them in a high end luxury house, you are better off with IKEA than nasty old outdated cabinets.

You can find LOTS and LOTS of reviews of various IKEA kitchens online and overall the reviews are pretty positive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We JUST finished an IKEA kitchen cabinet install. We did what our neighbor had done in her kitchen...at the urging of an interior designer friend of hers. My husband and our neighbor did the install in a couple days. We did not get the counters at IKEA - we found a better price at a granite place out near Dulles.

We did new cabinets, new countertops, new kitchen and new faucet for less than $4K. BEAT THAT! And it looks pretty amazing - all our neighbors who came by to see it the other night were asking my husband to help them do the same install in their kitchen. I think we've started a trend.

Considering the lowest price we got from a contractor who gave us an estimate for cabinets before was $11K, we're pretty darn happy.

Wow. How large is your kitchen?
I have 50s era metal cabinets which are still v sturdy but ... old. Wondering if I should go the IKEA route...

Don't get rid of the 50's cabinets! They are the best. Especially, if they are St. Charles. I would never go from old metal cabinets to IKEA. If you *must* change your cabinets look into selling your original ones. I would buy them if I didn't have St. Charles in my kitchen already

[Anonymous]

You know, I agree, especially if the old cabinets are original to your home. You could give them a shiny new paint job inside and out, then upgrade other kitchen parts as needed to pull together a funky vintage look. I hate seeing mid-Century ranch houses done up in Pottery Barn style.

I think something like powder coating or auto body paint are common for updating vintage metal furniture. You can find lots of examples on Apartment Therapy.