Ikea Kitchen Cabinets & Ikea Stores

[jongchen]

I recently remodeled my kitchen. In an effort to keep costs under control I used Ikea cabinets. Costs still spiraled out of control but that is another story. I've lived with the cabinets for maybe two months and here is my report on them.

For people unfamiliar with the cabinets the body is constructed of fairly thick press board. They make the body in two colors, white and beige. The color of the body is only visible when the cabinet doors are open. Customization is provided via different doors and side panels. I got the medium brown wooden door. The door does not feel like a "hardwood”, it looks pretty but is fairly light. The drawers are also sturdily constructed and pull out all the way.

What struck me most about the cabinets was how “clever” the designers were in making the cabinets easy to install. All the upper cabinets are hung on a rail attached to the wall. This makes it very easy to get all the cabinets hung straight on the wall. You get the rail straight and viola all your cabinets are straight. Also if you need to remove your cabinets from the walls for any reason you can. Just loosen a few bolts hidden by plastic covers and your cabinets are off of the wall. The legs on all of the lower cabinets are adjustable in height. They are pretty much like the feet on your range or washing machine. This makes leveling the lower cabinets easier. No need to insert a large number of shims into the edges of frames and such. My contractor pretty much raved about the ease of installation of cabinets. He also mentioned that he generally charged more to install “traditional” fully assembled cabinets. The reason he gave was because he had to send a minimum of two guy out to install those cabinets where as one person was sufficient to install the Ikea cabinets.

I really like the cabinets, they are better than all of the cheap junk that I had in all the apartments that I rented. They are better than a lot of the cabinets that I see in 300K houses in my area (though in Northern Virginia 300K doesn’t buy you much house).

The free kitchen planning software that Ikea has is also great. You can draw your kitchen out and then it has cad symbols for all of their cabinets. Once you finish your kitchen it can also render it in 3D. The best part is the software will print out a list of all the cabinets that needs to be ordered and a quote for the price.

The people at Ikea were also great to deal with. They were all friendly and knowledgeable. When things went wrong with my order they even sent items via UPS to me for free.

That was the good stuff.

The bad stuff mainly deals with large delays in my order, and the fact that I had to visit Ikea over 5 times to pick things up. It’s great that they are willing to send items to you via UPS. But the vast majority of cabinets, side panels etc. are too large to be sent via UPS. So you are going to have to pick those items up.

Fortunately for me the items that were backordered were non-critical items. But my neighbors were missing a few of their lower cabinets. It took 6 weeks to get the items from backorder. That delayed their project by 6 weeks. It took me over 8 weeks to get everything I needed to complete my kitchen. The delays that I encountered are not out of the ordinary according to my contractor when dealing with Ikea.

Some hints for dealing with Ikea

* Use the planning software

* Go during the week so its less crowded and easier to talk to the sales people

* Order your cabinets WAY earlier than you need them. I would suggest 8+ weeks before installation minimum. The bad part is that when your order comes in Ikea wants you to pick it up so you need to find some place to store them. They are all flat packed but still take up a lot of room.

* Once you get your order check it over. I didn’t and mid stream had to return items and get the correct items. That delayed me by a few weeks. Checking your order over will not be any fun. I did a small kitchen and still had a shipping list that spanned over 8 sheets of paper.

* Pay Ikea the $100 or so dollars to deliver the cabinets. Some of those boxes are very heavy and you’re going to need help to move them

[Marmish]

Thanks for sharing your experience. There are always plenty of people asking about remodeling who will find this very useful. Any other tips?

[fifi]

Thank you for that information, jongchen. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this.

I am in the final design phase of my house and haven't gone to a contractor yet. Ikea cabinets are the option I have chosen for premade cabinets. (Here, some contractors opt to do job built cabinets. You have to be careful about hinges and drawer glides when they want to do that, though.) Anyway, I was really impressed with the functionality of the hardware. And, believe me, I think I looked at every cabinet on the planet. There is a lot of cheap junk out there as well as cabinets that are priced so that a decent kitchen is the equivalent of a large luxury car. Your experience with the installation is very helpful as well.

Thanks for the tip on delivery. As this is a new house, that will give the contractor plenty of time to get it all ordered. Even if he has to rent a storage unit for a short time, that isn't a significant expense.

[Trishiad]

Cool, thank you. We do a lot of Ikea at our house and have wondered about the cabinets. We NEED a kitchen remodel but can't afford it and always talk about whether Ikea would be durable enough for the money savings. It's great to hear they're so easy to install too.

trish

[LindaK]

My thanks as well. This would be a good place to consolidate information and experiences about Ikea cabinetry--there are so many other threads on eG that reference it as a source without necessarily having lived through the experience.

For what it's worth, I am fortunate enough to count many architects among my friends and most have Ikea as the foundation of their kitchens. Why? Given that they are also on a budget, they tell me : high marks on design combined with quality details such as hardware, etc. Now that I'm working on my own kitchen renovation plans, i am weighing the benefits of saving $$ on cabinetry like Ikea against the other hard costs of a renovation. Personally, I'd rather spend the money on the range or countertops.

Consumer Reports published an article about kitchen renovation last year that ranked cabinetry. Ikea did very well against the higher priced semi-custom cabinetry models.

Edited February 25, 2005 by LindaK (log)

[snowangel]

Since we need a new furnace, A/C, kitchen floor, and just replace all appliances, when I put in new countertops, we did not replace the cupboards/cabinets. They are darker than I would like, but they are very high quality.

So, to my question. How easy is it to configure IKEA without having soffits and having cupboards to the ceiling?

Although this probably warrants another thread altogether, what's withit with soffits? All of that wasted space that could house stuff that is used infrequently?

I hate my soffits. My kitchen is small. I have almost no space to store stuff. To see that drywall covering empty space that could house stuff that would be more easily accessible (I'd rather pull out a stepstool than run to the basement to dig something out) leaves me scratching my head. It's not like framing drywalling, mudding, sanding, priming and painting the soffit is not work whatsoever...

[fifi]

You guys are making me feel very good about my research so far. On my last trip to Ikea, they had this little demo. There were these mechanical devices opening and closing cabinet doors and weighted drawers. There were counting devices attached. Both were at about 250,000 and still working smoothly! Now, this may be all a set-up but the point was, they were trying to make a big deal of the smooth operation of the hardware and long term reliably. That was also featured in their marketing copy.

Yes, they use chip board in the interior construction. That is one of the criticisms I have heard. Do I care? No. I am not willing to pay a premium for stuff I can't see as long as it works. The only downside I can see is that if the house ever floods, there might be a problem. But, in that case, you are probably into gutting the place anyway.

[winesonoma]

Since we need a new furnace, A/C, kitchen floor, and just replace all appliances, when I put in new countertops, we did not replace the cupboards/cabinets.  They are darker than I would like, but they are very high quality.

So, to my question.  How easy is it to configure IKEA without having soffits and having cupboards to the ceiling?

Although this probably warrants another thread altogether, what's withit with soffits?  All of that wasted space that could house stuff that is used infrequently?

I hate my soffits.  My kitchen is small.  I have almost no space to store stuff.  To see that drywall covering empty space that could house stuff that would be more easily accessible (I'd rather pull out a stepstool than run to the basement to dig something out) leaves me scratching my head.  It's not like framing drywalling, mudding, sanding, priming and painting the soffit is not work whatsoever...

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You need to see what is in the soffits.

[jongchen]

So, to my question.  How easy is it to configure IKEA without having soffits and having cupboards to the ceiling?

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Well that kinda depends on several items. Is there anything in those soffits and what is the height of your ceiling? Ikea is somewhat limited on the sizes of cabinets that they carry. According to the handy kitchen planning tool javascript:emoticon(':biggrin:')

smilie their wall cabinets are only avaliable in 30" and 39" heights. They do have horizontal wall cabinets and "refrigerator cabinets" that are 15" in height so I suppose you can stack one of those with a normal cabinet to get 45" and 54" high cabinets.

[snowangel]

There's nothing but air in the soffits! What a waste of space. I'm a few years away from new cabinets and cupboards, but when I replace them, they will go to the ceiling.

[ScorchedPalate]

I'll jump in and add my two cents about IKEA cabinets. My husband and I remodeled our kitchen ourselves -- aside from help with demo-ing the old floor, adding ventilation, and installing the countertops, and painting (which we abhor) -- and the IKEA cabinets were the most wonderful part of the experience. Really easy to build and install... it's almost impossible to put them together wrong. They're also very well built, so even when we had to re-construct one to fit it around an old chimney, it held up really well. And yes, you can run cabinets all the way to the ceiling; they even sell special tall upper cabinets to do just that.

I also heartily second the suggestion to order early and triple-check your order. Out of 150+ pieces, 4 were missing (and there were 4 that weren't ours), but they paid to have the missing pieces UPS Overnighted to us. And once when we discovered a defective piece mid-install, they put a guy in a truck from Tukwila (an hour away) and sent him up with a single drawer-facing. Really impressive.

If you're in the mood to slog through 150+ photos, check out our Ofoto remodel album (you don't have to sign in; just click the photo to bypass the login). The cabinets start at about #68.

Good luck with your remodel!

~Anita

[daniellewiley]

There's nothing but air in the soffits!  What a waste of space.  I'm a few years away from new cabinets and cupboards, but when I replace them, they will go to the ceiling.

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We also have only air in our soffits, and I hate the wasted space. We are trying to sell our house, but at one point we got a quote for doing a new kitchen instead, as that is one of my biggest complaints. One of my requirements was cabinets to the ceiling. Because we have high ceilings, this added tremendous cost. It was a second row of cabinets, and then with installation, the costs really skyrocketed. Our house is 115 years old, so the floors AND the ceiling are uneven. To make the cabinets hit the ceiling evenly, there would have been a tremendous amount of construction required. So, we are off to a new house.

[greenwich st]

We've used ikea in two kitchens -- we had the contractor put them together, but they are easy if you are handy, generally. Ordering can be a bit annoying -- they're often out of stuff -- but if you're patient, it's fine. We love our cabinets and the many available accessories. Our first set has lasted six 1/2 years so far with no problem, warping, etc. despite enduring leaks, building shifts, and a fair amount of banging. We weren't thrilled with the available door choices for our renovations so in the first case we had custom doors fabricated and in the second we chose ikea doors in a style we liked and had them painted white. The second choice was best -- their doors are much better quality than the ones we had made. Of course, you can order non-ikea handles to customize. Mainly for resale considerations, we spend lots of money on stainless appliances, but the cabinets look just as high-end to my eyes, and what a bargain!

[russ parsons]

i've got ikea cabinets in the extension i built on my kitchen. i've had them (and the hardwood countertop) for almost 10 years and they still work great. in the next couple of years i'm going to redo the rest of the kitchen (finally, a built-in dishwasher!), and i'm planning on ikea for that, too.

[designchick88]

Thanks for reporting your experience. We remodeled our kitchen 3 years ago and I really wanted to use Ikea cabinets, but with no Ikea in our area we couldn't do it since they can't ship all the cabinet components to you. I had to settle for metal utensil rails from Ikea, which they would ship . We ended up going with Kraftmaid cabinets (maple, plain doors) and while the cabinets are lovely, getting them shipped to us and installed was a Sisyphean nightmare.

We also have soffits and I also hate them. There are some cool things I could store on top of my cabinets if the stupid soffits weren't there. I didn't even consider taking them out; I wish I had.

[ScorchedPalate]

I really wanted to use Ikea cabinets, but with no Ikea in our area we couldn't do it since they can't ship all the cabinet components to you.

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Really? When we remodeled an office using IKEA cabinets years ago, we had them shipped to us. (This was when there was no IKEA in Northern California, where we lived at the time.)

~A

[gravlax]

Thank you for this thread!

We bought an old house a couple of years ago, and the kitchen is as close to a complete rip out as you can get.

We have been looking at what Ikea has to offer, but I have been hesitant up until now.

I will definetely go and get the software.

[Marmish]

Ikea Kitchen Planning Software

[Stone]

I'm about to install my Ikea cabinets, and I have one question that I can't get answered. If anyone has installed them, please help!

Here's what I can't get past: After hanging the rail on the wall, there are two short 1/4" bolts sticking out on which the cabinets are supposed to hang. The holes in the back of the cabinets, however, are about 1". The faceplate that goes on the inside of the cabinet just rests on the face, it doesn't seem to "fit" in tightly anywhere. Am I supposed to stick the cabinets on the bolts and just rest them on top of the bolts before I put the faceplate on? It seems that all of the weight of the cabinet will be resting on one thin spot on the top of the bolts.

[Stone]

If you're in the mood to slog through 150+ photos, check out our Ofoto remodel album (you don't have to sign in; just click the photo to bypass the login). The cabinets start at about #68.

~Anita

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I didn't get those posters! Damn. They would probably answer my questions.

[KitchenMom]

For great information about Ikea cabinets, check out the Ikea thread on the Kitchen Forum at That Home Site There are many people in the middle of installing Ikea kitchens, and some who are probably done with the video who would be happy to send it to you. They are also great about answering questions.

Kitchen Forum

[Steve Klc]

Stone--there are three metal parts "inside" the cab--the largest, an L-shaped bracket (which you might be calling the faceplate) that gets screwed into each sidewall of the cab before you try to hang them--then a small roughly one inch square "washer," for lack of the real term, and a nut. When you go to hang a cab, yes, you kind of balance the whole cab on just those two screws--but the screws are inside the metal holes of the L bracket which align perfectly with the holes in that back panel--it sits fine, no danger of damaging the cab since it is metal on metal--and you just reach in with your other hand, slip the washer and then the nut on, just hand tighten one side, then do the other--the whole time supporting the cab with your other arm if you're doing it by yourself. I've hung about 15 Akurum IKEA wall cabs myself, horizontal and vertical, it can be done by one person. That system is great--you can get a lot of adjustment at that screw point, which sometimes comes into play when you drill between the cabs to attach them to each other.

If you bought cabs as-is without instructions you can go back to the store--they have copies on file--and if you are missing parts--they'll usually give you what you need, even if they have open a box to do it.

Russ, you're really lucky when you get around to re-doing your kitchen--the IKEA near you in Costa Mesa, CA has an amazing kitchen display, the best, by far, of the 8 IKEAs I've been in (3 in DC, 3 in NJ and two near you--Costa Mesa and Carson.) I wouldn't be surprised if it is IKEA's national showcase for kitchen design. (Carson was being renovated last time I was there--and really needed it.)

Count mine as another vote in favor of the whole do-it-yourself IKEA kitchen process, we re-did ours last Summer and didn't regret it for a minute, if you choose carefully it can be affordable, very high quality and adaptable stuff, and this Summer I'll be re-doing the kitchen of my sister. It should be open by now, so I'd encourage everyone in the South to consider the IKEA in Atlanta--the best kitchen guy from the Woodbridge, VA store (which up until this Summer had excellent kitchen staff and displays, alas, no longer) moved down to Atlanta to head up their kitchen department. His name is Ron and he's great--very smart, no attitude, commited to customer service, thinks out of the box--helped me "mod" several things unique to our space and needs--so put yourself in his hands and you'll be fine.

[ScorchedPalate]

I'm fairly sure that the installation poster is inside the package for the sink cabinet -- so if you didn't order a sink cabinet, you won't get a poster unless you ask. But I'm sure they'd be happy to mail you one, or give you one if you go to the store.

~A

Edited July 4, 2005 by ScorchedPalate (log)

[MelissaH]

Russ, you're really lucky when you get around to re-doing your kitchen--the IKEA near you in Costa Mesa, CA has an amazing kitchen display, the best, by far, of the 8 IKEAs I've been in (3 in DC, 3 in NJ and two near you--Costa Mesa and Carson.)  I wouldn't be surprised if it is IKEA's national showcase for kitchen design.  (Carson was being renovated last time I was there--and really needed it.)

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Has anyone been to the New Haven store and checked out their kitchen department? We'll be visiting friends in the neighborhood ten days from now, and plan to stop in to see what's currently on offer, get a new kitchen catalog with the new price list, and possibly pick up a cart so we can take the Sawzall to the horrendous semi-circular semi-useless shelves in our kitchen.

MelissaH

[Chris Amirault]

I've been: it's more extensive than Elizabeth or Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but I don't have too much to compare to, as you can see!