Ikea kitchens vs....?

[supafamous]

Wife and I are looking at ripping out the kitchen we have and are considering the Ikea cabinets pretty seriously. We've looked at a few places in Richmond that build custom cabinets and they are either not as well made as the Ikea units (though it's real wood) or significantly pricier than Ikea (and even those aren't that well made).

Would like to get some opinions from those who have installed kitchens on how the quality compares with the small businesses out there (and do you know ones you'd recommend?)

Our kitchen is about a 10x12 and Ikea would run about $10-11K installed by Modus (w/ a quartz countertop) and the quotes I've been getting elsewhere have ranged from $15-22K. With the Ikea one we may even install it ourselves - looks fairly straightforward.

thanks,

[N.V.M.]

we would'nt even look at building a $15K kitchen and Richmond shops are known for production, not quality.

all i can say is stay away from cabinets built with 5/8" material.

[murd0c]

I'm getting my kitchen cabinets installed this weekend and the pricing actually best Imea and is way better quality. I will let you know how it goes and how happy I am with them.

[Hondaracer]

The thing with IKEA is if you fuck up a door or decide you want go in a different direction you can just drive to IKEA and buy anything you need

In my experience cabinet companies are notorious for taking -forever- for anything. I.e. You order your whole kitchen from them and there is a door missing which should have been there to begin with, it's now gonna take a month to get that door.

I think I'll be going with IKEA when I do my kitchen just because of the flexibility they offer

[GLOW]

doesn't ikea have some free 3D software where you can pick and choose product and layout your kitchen and see what it looks like?

i believe you can go to the warehouse and choose what slab you want for your countertop too iirc from a coworker.

[BrRsn]

I've personally installed Ikea cabinets before -- as long as you're willing to rent/get the right tools (360 degree laser level + a table saw for the finishing pieces/veneer coverings + stud finder + a good cordless drill as a bare minimum) it's a doable DIY project. Take your time and it should take you a weekend or so (a professional would bang it out in half a day but also charge $$$).

You also get bragging rights every time someone comes over and asks about your new kitchen

[murd0c]

The thing is if you get someone to install them you save the PST but if you do it on your own you pay the PST. So really you get install for half price and you have nothing to worry about if anything fucks up down the road.

[roastpuff]

That Ikea Kitchen thing is cool. Does anyone know if there's one for living rooms/furniture?

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by murd0c

The thing is if you get someone to install them you save the PST but if you do it on your own you pay the PST. So really you get install for half price and you have nothing to worry about if anything fucks up down the road.

Huh? What? If Modus does the install I save the 7% PST b/c it's a service?

[murd0c]

Originally Posted by supafamous

Huh? What? If Modus does the install I save the 7% PST b/c it's a service?

Yes that's correct and that's off the entire bill. That's what really swayed me into getting the company I bought my cabinets from to install them since when you add the numbers together it wasn't all that much extra.

[quasi]

You're paying PST it's just rolled into the price, that's not to say that the company your using can't be cheaper including it.

When I provide a quote it includes everything except the GST, the client is paying the PST but it's rolled into the quote and he never sees the cost of it. They had to procure the wood used for those cabinets there selling you and they paid PST on it when they bought it. It's all factored in to the quote.

[murd0c]

its only rolled into the price at all since it's a tax which goes to the government. You either pay it or you don't pay it but the actual price doesn't change and that reflects on the final price. What happens is the government double dips on the tax charging PST when it comes in and if it's sold directly to the consumer they will charge the PST again which is a total joke.

[yray]

I got fired from Ikea kitchens

Let me know.

buy 3 fans for $150 each and get 20% rebate off your kitchen total

fuck their lighting system

Good thing about ikea is the parts will be there for atleast 20 years. If they do change, it will be on the news.

smartest customer is get the cabs from IKEA and get a carpenter to do custom wood doors and filler panels.

[Noizz]

Originally Posted by yray

I got fired from Ikea kitchens

Let me know.

buy 3 fans for $150 each and get 20% rebate off your kitchen total

fuck their lighting system

Good thing about ikea is the parts will be there for atleast 20 years. If they do change, it will be on the news.

smartest customer is get the cabs from IKEA and get a carpenter to do custom wood doors and filler panels.

Yup, you can even get custom panels online from guys like Custom Doors For Ikea Cabinets - Semihandmade

They will ship it to you directly. Pretty reasonable prices. They even do the BESTA media cabinets if you are looking for TV or media stands. Semihandmade Doors for Besta IKEA® Cabinets | Semihandmade

Saw them at a tradeshow and thought it was a pretty neat business. I like the repairability aspect of IKEA, but wish they offered higher-end materials and finishes.

[N.V.M.]

Anybody that even mumbles Ikea in our shop gets fired.

[yray]

Originally Posted by Noizz

Saw them at a tradeshow and thought it was a pretty neat business. I like the repairability aspect of IKEA, but wish they offered higher-end materials and finishes.

I am talking about solid wood doors. Those shakers are pricey Ikea is just reluctant to bring the fancy finishes over. You can see all the fancy finishes in the euro website.

[Noizz]

Originally Posted by yray

I am talking about solid wood doors. Those shakers are pricey Ikea is just reluctant to bring the fancy finishes over. You can see all the fancy finishes in the euro website.

They will do solids as well from what I remember at the tradeshow. Oh, I never knew that. Makes sense though, the demand for higher quality woods and veneers are more prominent in EU.

[Ferra]

Originally Posted by supafamous

Wife and I are looking at ripping out the kitchen we have and are considering the Ikea cabinets pretty seriously. We've looked at a few places in Richmond that build custom cabinets and they are either not as well made as the Ikea units (though it's real wood) or significantly pricier than Ikea (and even those aren't that well made).

Would like to get some opinions from those who have installed kitchens on how the quality compares with the small businesses out there (and do you know ones you'd recommend?)

Our kitchen is about a 10x12 and Ikea would run about $10-11K installed by Modus (w/ a quartz countertop) and the quotes I've been getting elsewhere have ranged from $15-22K. With the Ikea one we may even install it ourselves - looks fairly straightforward.

thanks,

I did my ikea kitchen DIY.

Not as easy as I thought, but not super difficult.
I found prices can be very cheap to moderate, depending on the door you pick. (I picked a painted MDF door, which is one of the cheaper choice), cost me around $5,000. (around 40ft of base cabinet + 25ft of wall cabinet)
For comparison, if I used their expensive door the same setup would've cost close to $10K.
I imagine for a smaller kitchen you can do with $2-3K.

I was doing the install after work, took me around a week and a half. My guess is around 25 hours of work.
Assembling the cabinet is the easy part. Making sure your wall is straight and putting on the rail straight is the hard part...

I also put in integrated light in all the drawers. Looks fancy and expensive. Easy to install, but organizing the wires cleanly takes a while...because there are so many of them (i bought 20~ drawer lights).
Believe it or not, the most frustrating part of the work was cleaning off the tape glue residual they used on the included cable cover ....I had to use kerosene and a magic eraser to wipe each and everyone of them

The more expensive drawers from ikea feels very nice. (Smooth and solid)
TBH, nicer than a lot of custom kitchen places I shopped at double the price

The painted MDF doors feels and looks nice, but they are hardly durable. (Will dent and nicks if you hit it) But then I think any white painted door will do the same...regardless of wood or mdf.

In the end, I would recommend them if you are somewhat handy, and have the time to do it.
I think I spent 10hours+ planning and figuring out how everything fit together before I started.
Hiring a kitchen shop means they will figure out all the details for you.


The countertop costed me more than the kitchen cabinet..$5K...

[Hondaracer]

looks great, what did you do on the front of the island there where the stools are just melamine panels?

also are the gable ends of the island from ikea?

I'm just finishing up my suite which i used all Ikea cabinets and the quality of the soft closers on the drawers are better than the majority of cabinet makers we used when building townhomes, Cantebury kitchens etc. had worse quality hardware than Ikea.

[Ferra]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

looks great, what did you do on the front of the island there where the stools are just melamine panels?

also are the gable ends of the island from ikea?

I'm just finishing up my suite which i used all Ikea cabinets and the quality of the soft closers on the drawers are better than the majority of cabinet makers we used when building townhomes, Cantebury kitchens etc. had worse quality hardware than Ikea.

The island is actually made with cabinets back to back. (so those are doors not panel)
The sink side are full depth 25" drawer cabinet, and the back side are 15" depth doors (push open). So the island cabinets add up to 40" deep.
The island top is 50" deep, which leaves about 10" of overhang for the stool.

The island "gable" is the actually the quartz countertop with a waterfall edge. (So the countertop wrap both ends of the island)

One thing I did "differently" was the gable left of the fridge. The ikea gable looked too thin (3/4"), so I bought a plain white 98"x25"x1.5" countertop and laid it vertically to give it a thicker looks. ($80 which is cheaper than their 3/4" cover panel)


FYI..i also raised my cabinet 1" higher than standard (37"?)
So I can't use the ikea original kick plate (plinth?) since they are 1" short. I just use the big cover panel they sell and cut them to the height I need. Which is also much cheaper but a bit more work.

Pic was taken a while ago...I had all the doors, top trims, and kick plate installed since...

[Hondaracer]

Any pics with the trims in etc?

[N.V.M.]

we did one of the twins(Canucks) kitchens last year. wasn't too fancy, nice clean look. but then, we only build by what the designer's want, all drawings given to us. this is only part of it, but you get the idea.

[Ferra]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Any pics with the trims in etc?

haha.. will post it hopefully next week.
Redoing my staircase now...house is like a mess.

FYI...doing a new stairs & stringer + glass railing is definitely not DIY friendly..
i probably spent 100 hours on it already...and only 60% finished..

[Hondaracer]

NVM is the rail over the bottom cabinets there for a ladder?

[N.V.M.]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

NVM is the rail over the bottom cabinets there for a ladder?

yeah, you can see it here(solid oak, with wheels(not visible):

ladder by N.V.M., on Flickr


here's another recent job. its an Arthur Erickson house in West Van. the colours and tones of this area were bang on. so warm and inviting.

AE3 by N.V.M., on Flickr

AE2 by N.V.M., on Flickr

AE1 by N.V.M., on Flickr