ikea kitchen cabinets

paulr70

Hey all,

Am considering an ikea kitchen, have heard lots of different opinions on them. Which? give them the top kitchen suppliers but i`ve heard lots of fitters complaining about their base units lack of service depth and positioning. Also that their doors arnt uk standard sizes, so if you want to change them 10 years down the road you have to rip out and start again.
Anyone want to share their experiences on the latest ranges of ikea? They do seem to be half the price of even the cheaper online kitchen manufacturers.

Thanks

rach_k

We had one fitted last year. The fitter wasn't used to Ikea kitchens but he said it seems good quality and worked well. His only criticism was that maybe it was over-engineered/too clever, but I don't think that's really a criticism! The base units do sit closer to the floor and (maybe) closer to the wall but if you're having plumbing etc done anyway, it's not a big problem. The fitter and plumber didn't complain but, even if they did, that's their job to deal with and doesn't affect me as the customer!

I think the doors are different sizes to other places but if you rip them out you don't have to start again, you just buy more doors from Ikea, surely? They always have a good range of more traditional and modern styles so I can't see that you'd end up with a kitchen you hated simply through lack of choice, if you ever did want to change it. Personally I'm planning on my kitchen lasting a LOT longer than 10 years though!

Doozergirl

There is no such thing as a standard size kitchen door. If you want to change the doors on a kitchen, you are limited mostly to the original supplier.

There is a bit more faff involved in fitting because they are flat pack and there is no service gap, but if we fit one, I just make sure we have a slightly deeper worktop to hide any sins. It's not a major thing.

Ikea drawers sometimes seem to have more wobble in comparison to other retailers, but I have accidentally lived with an Ikea kitchen for six years now and have had precisley zero problems with anything. We recently upgraded the hinges to really good quality ones and that gives the doors a more quality movement, but there was no real issue before.

Really, in terms of value for money, they are second to none. You can have as much fun as you like with a design and accessories and still not have spent as much as you think. Costs a bit more in labour to fit as any flatpack would.

They've changed the units since our FAKTUM kitchen. We designed and fitted a METOD kitchen for a friend at the end of last year and I think it is better.

If there is a strict budget involved, I wouldn't go anywhere else.

paulr70

Doozergirl wrote: »

There is no such thing as a standard size kitchen door. If you want to change the doors on a kitchen, you are limited mostly to the original supplier.

There is a bit more faff involved in fitting because they are flat pack and there is no service gap, but if we fit one, I just make sure we have a slightly deeper worktop to hide any sins. It's not a major thing.

Ikea drawers sometimes seem to have more wobble in comparison to other retailers, but I have accidentally lived with an Ikea kitchen for six years now and have had precisley zero problems with anything. We recently upgraded the hinges to really good quality ones and that gives the doors a more quality movement, but there was no real issue before.

Really, in terms of value for money, they are second to none. You can have as much fun as you like with a design and accessories and still not have spent as much as you think. Costs a bit more in labour to fit as any flatpack would.

They've changed the units since our FAKTUM kitchen. We designed and fitted a METOD kitchen for a friend at the end of last year and I think it is better.

If there is a strict budget involved, I wouldn't go anywhere else.

ok just i was trying to find replacement doors for ikea sizes and didnt find anything. Their tall wall units are 800mm high, all the wall units i`ve been pricing up from other companies have been 720mm high.
Also have walked around two different ikea`s and as you say all the large kitchen drawers we opened wobbled like crazy. Even the b&q we went to afterwards felt better put together.
Think like you say comes down to price, it is half the price at ikea which is a major saving for a kitchen.

martinsurrey

paulr70 wrote: »

ok just i was trying to find replacement doors for ikea sizes and didnt find anything. Their tall wall units are 800mm high, all the wall units i`ve been pricing up from other companies have been 720mm high.
Also have walked around two different ikea`s and as you say all the large kitchen drawers we opened wobbled like crazy. Even the b&q we went to afterwards felt better put together.
Think like you say comes down to price, it is half the price at ikea which is a major saving for a kitchen.

Don't forget that Ikea kitchens in the showrooms get bashed around by thousands of kids a month. How many times have you seen some parents let their kids treat the displays like a jungle gym!

wantonnoodle

I don't know about fitting etc, but the house we bought a couple of months ago has an Ikea kitchen. We've had no problems with the drawers at all - in fact they're more solid than the kitchen drawers we had in a rental from Magnet a few years back, so in my eyes they're good stuff. The only problem we've had is one of the hinges on the corner cupboard slips, but I think that comes with the territory with adjustable hinges. We're going to try to get a replacement hinge but in the grand scheme of things its a pretty minor detail, since we're still decorating upstairs.

Doozergirl

paulr70 wrote: »

ok just i was trying to find replacement doors for ikea sizes and didnt find anything. Their tall wall units are 800mm high, all the wall units i`ve been pricing up from other companies have been 720mm high.
Also have walked around two different ikea`s and as you say all the large kitchen drawers we opened wobbled like crazy. Even the b&q we went to afterwards felt better put together.
Think like you say comes down to price, it is half the price at ikea which is a major saving for a kitchen.

Yes, they are very different sizes to mainstream kitchens but each of those companies have subtle differences in their door sizes and hinge sitings so you can't mix and match different company units and doors.

paulr70

martinsurrey wrote: »

Don't forget that Ikea kitchens in the showrooms get bashed around by thousands of kids a month. How many times have you seen some parents let their kids treat the displays like a jungle gym!

true but then i`d expect their latest showroom kitchens to be what a normal kitchen would go through in 5 years. I`ve been around wickes, b&q, wrens, homebase,etc and none felt as flimsy as the ikea stuff. Maybe they just have rubbish fitters at the ikea showrooms or dont tighten up their drawer/doors regularly. I actually crawled under the ikea drawer bases to have a look but couldnt see how they were fixed, but the top moved a good inch back and forth on about 5 different styles i looked at.

vansboy

Just about to start on my 5th Ikea kitchen, at my new house.

Wouldnt consider any others.

VB

Livelongandprosper

My IKEA kitchen is five years old this week and seriously looks as good as new

I am right now going through my 5 year gaurentee to get the induction hob fixed, no bother

The drawers are holding up fine as are the turntables and pull out shelves

A couple of cupboard doors have needed adjustment but then we did fit them ourselves and adjustments take minutes

For the price we paid, I'm more then happy with quality

rosie383

Another vote for IKEA. The new METOD range is designed to be fitted by the customer, and my dh, dd and I fitted ours ourselves. No wobble with the drawers at all and we couldn't have gotten anywhere near as good quality kitchen for the money.