IKEA kitchens any experiences??

amilotte

Hi

Just wondering whether anyone has any comments on IKEA kitchens. We are kitchen shopping at the mo after nearing the end of a renovation project.

We are waiting for a quote from Buildbase and Howdens are visiting next week (we have trade accounts). However, I went to IKEA yesterday and was quite impressed by their range, I have done an online plan and their prices are certainly competative but is that because it is an inferior product?? How have people found their worktops... hubby is convinced quartz is the only way to go but this is far more than I want to pay:eek:.

We will be staying in this property for the forseeable future so want something that is to our taste but also does not cost the price of a deposit on a house:rotfl:.

Thanks in advance
Amilotte

ClaireN75

We haven't got IKEA worktops but the rest of our kitchen is from there. We're happy with it, hinges are robust, as are the drawers and associated hardware. We first installed it 10 years ago and this year we've upgraded some of our standard units from cupboards to drawers (they have a bigger selection now than when we first installed it). Value for money and quality-wise we're very happy.

Keiss_21

We (or rather DH is!) are in the process of installing an Ikea kitchen.

Quality is pretty good: a WHICH report a few years compares the quality of units including Homebase, B&Q, Wickes and Ikea (can't remember the others). Ikea and Wickes came up top, with Ikea beating Wickes by having better instructions on how to build them (honest!) and a wider range.

We too looked at lots of different ranges, and I did like some of the Wickes ranges, but even with their 1/2 price sale they came no-where near the cost of Ikea units.

I have spent months (if not years!) planning this kitchen and had great fun with Ikea's kitchen planner. You can download it and enter your room's details (size, window, door, radiator placings etc), then you can choose your units, with the doors and worktops of your choice.. There is a 3D tab so you can see your kitchen in 3D, which may help you on the design. There is also a list tab, a list of everything you need for your kitchen. You can print this off and take it to the store and buy it! We did it this way, but you can talk to the in-store folk for a discussion and get help with the planning and the installing if you wish. My wonderful DH is a dab hand at DIY, so he is tacking it most weekends. He is fixing some decor strip to the wall units we have up already...it's looking good! Our kitchen is awkward and has wonky walls, doors and floors, so finding things that fitted into it was great!

As to worktops, we have chosen the Numerar Oak, it is really lovely, but remember to get the BEHANDLA sealing oil when you get it so that you can seal the surface (it takes a few coats). We have had the sink in since the end of May with worktop in all the way round to the cooker, and it is great! We were going to go with the beech worktop, but after seeing them in store, we decided to go for the more expensive worktop and I am glad we did.

Hope this helps

ic

I've got an Ikea kitchen that I fitted last year. I'd be happy to go with Ikea again in the future. Make sure you know what you want, I found the staff in store near to useless in helping with the finer details.

Meepster

Keiss_21 wrote: »

We too looked at lots of different ranges, and I did like some of the Wickes ranges, but even with their 1/2 price sale they came no-where near the cost of Ikea units.

That'll be because the Wickes spec is far superior to the Ikea spec.

socrates

mwilletts wrote: »

That'll be because the Wickes spec is far superior to the Ikea spec.

mwilletts - you seem to know your stuff regards kitchens :T

What do you think of Bechmarx - for rental properties - I get full trade discount and pay around £1000 inc VAT for small kitchens - including everything apart from appliances (I source these from ebay usually 40% cheaper) - this is including wall units on both sides as well - soft closing, sink/waste, taps, counters, handles etc.

14 units (1 being a four drawer unit) and one for built in cooker

This includes a site visit and plans (with exact measurements) for joiners and builders as well as 3D drawings.

I found Wickes expensive and unhelpful - plus 4-5 weeks for non take away kitchens - Benchmarx have everything in stock or can get it within 24-48 hours.

Do you have any other suggestions besides Howdens?

becs

We installed our Ikea kitchen ourselves 2 years ago now and are thrilled with it. The quality seems absoloutely fine to us and if Ikea are prepared to offer 25 year guarantee on their kitchens then they must believe in them. We loved the choice of units available and again agree with others that the planner is fantastic.

Meepster

socrates wrote: »

What do you think of Bechmarx - for rental properties - I get full trade discount and pay around £1000 inc VAT for small kitchens - including everything apart from appliances (I source these from ebay usually 40% cheaper) - this is including wall units on both sides as well - soft closing, sink/waste, taps, counters, handles etc.

14 units (1 being a four drawer unit) and one for built in cooker

This includes a site visit and plans (with exact measurements) for joiners and builders as well as 3D drawings.

I found Wickes expensive and unhelpful - plus 4-5 weeks for non take away kitchens - Benchmarx have everything in stock or can get it within 24-48 hours.

Do you have any other suggestions besides Howdens?

Benchmarx kitchens are of an equal quality to Wickes kitchens, mainly due to the fact they are the SAME kitchens Benchmarx is Travis Perkins attempt to take on Howdens and TP of course, now own Wickes, infact the majority of the Benchmarx upper management came from Wickes, as did quite a lot of the sales people.

Benchmarx tend to be a little more expensive than Howdens, but are a better quality carcase, however if you do get a quote from Howdens and it is cheaper than Benchmarx, they will usually match it (as long as it is a similar door)

I'd also consider going to see a local indpendant. Depending on how many kitchens you buy a year, they should be able to give you a good deal...

Meepster

becs wrote: »

The quality seems absoloutely fine to us and if Ikea are prepared to offer 25 year guarantee on their kitchens then they must believe in them.

I agree, it is a fantastic offer, having a 25 year guarantee. Good luck when you try and claim under it though, you'll be suprised at how often the words "normal wear and tear" will be used by the Ikea rep that comes out and has a look. Oh, and NEVER admit to touching any of the doors with any kind of liquid, otherwise they will blame any faults on this and NOT the product...

becs

Thanks mwilletts, The kitchen has been in for 2 years now and looks as good as the day it was put in, no problems at all so far. It's also highly unlikely that we'll either be in this house in 25 years time or even if we are that we'll have the same kitchen. I don't use cleaning products on the doors aminly because we use ecloths and water but also these are ridged doors so generally just need dusting unless something is spilt which rarely happens. It is true that you do get what you pay for but then a lot of people in this climate don't have a huge amount of money to spend on a new kitchen. I think the quality offered by Ikea is fantastic for the price. I could afford to replace mine 4 times over if I were buying from some of the next cheapest suppliers.

rachbc

I've installed 2 ikea kitchens - the first of which is coming up for 8 years old and still going strong in a rental property, the second almost finished.

I found that for our budget they offered the range of cabinets I liked most, with the most extras like pull out storage, the sizes I needed to fit some odd spaces etc.

MW how is the spec so dramatically different between wickes and ikea? I remember in another thread you mentioned blum hinges as being superior to others and ikea use these as standard, 18mm cabinets etc so surely they can't be all bad? I mean I get the price difference between ikea and smallbone but tbh not between ikea and another 'shed'. For example a standard 600 wide wall cab in a gloss white finish 176 quid in wickes, 60 in ikea. My cynical side says it so wickes can permanently offer a 50% sale, and not forgetting the salesman's cut off course...rather than because the product is actually worth 116 quid more!