Is it cheeky to get Magnet to design a kitchen then buy it from Ikea?

[lisbapalea]

Does anyone know if the likes of Magnet or similar will do a home visit and leave you with the design (e.g. recommendations of how best to arrange cupboards / appliances), that you can then take to somewhere cheap like Ikea?

Sorry of this sounds clueless - I just need help with trying to make the space in my oddly sized kitchen (L-shaped, low ceilings) work a bit better than it currently does! I know I can't afford a fancy kitchen and am quite happy with some of the units available at Ikea, but I know that their online kitchen design tool won't allow for our wonky old walls, and I also know the staff in-store won't be able to get a sense of it without actually visiting.

Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated!

Thanks

Magnet will draw up a design for you which you can keep , however I found that the 'designers' have very little imagination and they just do as you tell them without offering any individual solutions.

Not sure whether Magnet will come to the house I had to make an appointment at our local branch for a 'consultation'.

In the end we used an independent kitchen company who offered a better design and came up with ideas we didn't even think of .

I tried this approach with Magnet, and they didn't let me keep the design! It was a pretty simple kitchen, and I had most of it mapped out in my mind, so I could remember what their (good) suggestion was...and incorporated it into my ikea kitchen. Like Tuna, I went to their shop, but had the rough plans and dimensions with me.

Thanks. Would your local company have let you keep the design do you think? I doubt I could afford a local bespoke designer, but I'd like to get some expert advice!

Can yo make a cardboard model of your space and play around with the playmobile kitchen or similar? and see what work best

Yes, it is cheeky. But..so what.
Do be careful that there may be small differences between cabinet sizes so one company's design might fit 5 units across the wall whereas another might squeeze in 6, or only manage 4.

Don't Ikea offer a design service though?

Ikea do have an online design service and you can also go in-store for advice, but as our kitchen space is quite quirky I think I would like someone to see it in real life and advise from there.

Not sure I am creative enough to make a cardboard model but I might have a go!

Ikea does a planning service, where someone comes in, measures up, and draws up a plan for you. It's £100, but you can claim £50 of that when/if you buy the kitchen.

ikea has an online planning tool which lets you play around with the design in 3d - you measure up your kitchen and put in the doors and windows.

It is really good and I think you may do a bettr job designing a kitchen that works for you than any designer.

That said - moben let me keep a print out of their design for my kitchen.

There are some good reviews on MN re the Ikea planning service.

Wickes will come round your house. They won't let you keep the design but you can steal their ideas. Their design was quite boring and the local independent guy we went with came up with a better design and was quite a bit cheaper.

I got moben in and then bought from Ikea. get an independent fitter though. Moben didn't let me keep the designs, but it was fairly simple to remember and they had some good tips in terms of not having high cupboards as they'd block the light coming in, and how to use the light bouncing off the window etc. However, she put the cooker opposite the sink, which I would never do again. I do too much washing food and then carrying it over to the cooker which means lots of drips on floor!

Magnet did a design for my kitchen, which I really didn't actually like, and would let me keep print outs of the pictures but would not let me have any of the specification details i.e. Width of cupboards etc.

I went into Ikea with my kitchen dimensions and they did an initial design on their 3D planner for me which I could then tinker with at home on my laptop. Much better than Magnet, can keep an eye on costings easily and can save numerous variations of your design so you can compare easily. I am very happy with my ikea kitchen and they have some great offers on at the moment.

I used the IKEA online tool
designed my kitchen EXACTLY as I wanted it
when the chippy came to fit it I printed out the standard plans and he worked from them

I had the Ikea designer come to the house, there is a charge ( which they forgot to do) and I chose an independent installer. Ikea sizing is quite different to others so be wary that your plan from Moben etc won't work, but as an idea of where to site sink etc it can give you ideas of where to work from.

Ikea units are exactly the same widths as everybody else
depths are exactly the same
heights are exactly the same
and I bought all my appliances elsewhere and they fitted just fine

other kitchen makers will tell you bad stories about Ikea to justify the extra n thousand pounds

Ikea units do not leave a load of dead space behind them
that is the only differennce

Ikea units don't have a cable/pipe space behind them, so if you have pipes or cables on the wall then you may have to have them put below the floorboards.

We had a friend design our kitchen and he came up with a great idea that we would never have thought of. We then got quotes from Howdens and Wrens, but Ikea are a good bit cheaper than either of them.

I don't think that you have a guarantee that a Magnet planner will suggest something fab though. That is down to coincidence really, who you get to come around.

I used the Ikea planning tool and will go into the store soon and make sure I haven't forgotten anything vital.

There was a bitter industrial dispute by Magnet workers back in the day. Magnet became the South African orange of kitchen fitters. For this reason alone, I would exploit their arse.

Ikea do similar sized units to other kitchen suppliers however, they don't do a 45cm door if you have a slimline dishwasher, so you have to do a 50cm or 60 cm door on the front.

And some of their tall units only come in certain sizes like 40 and 60, no 50 wides.

If you are feeling brave you could post your measurements on your profile and I am sure we could all have a go at helping you plan it

My main advice would be, allow for a filler piece near a wall to allow you to open a cupboard up. A larder cupboard will give you lots of storage. I am a big fan of symmetry so tend to plan out around a focal point.

Check out the "things we learnt whilst installing my kitchen thread" can't link as I am on my phone but if you need to go to the advanced search bit and look for kitchen in property/DIY.

We did this with County Kitchens, then bought from B & Q. We already knew sort of what we wanted but they finalised the details/measurements etc. Probably cheeky but if their kitchen had been more reasonably priced we'd have got it from them.

We had BnQ to design. Kept picture printouts and went and bought at Homebase.

MMeLindor
sorry but that is not true, I have an Ikea kitchen - picture on my profile - and the pipes are most definitely not under the floor - its in a new built part of the house
the pipes are just at the level of the plinth - ie within 6 inches of the floor OR within 2 inches of the wall
well within the capabilities of any competent plumber or electrician

I got annoyed when looking at other kitchens that their "full depth drawers" - I have used drawers rather than cupboards for all my base units - were a good 10cm short because of the "utility" - read " dead" space at the back.

don't know about narrow dishwasher covers - I switched to a big dishwasher and none of my appliances are hidden as they cost so much more to do it that way

We had several designs and quotes from various kitchen places. I thought it was standard practice. We went with one of them, but I would not have felt bad going with Ikea instead.

Talkin
Thanks. Good to know. We haven't had it fitted yet. Joiner told us that. Will have another word with him

Mme Lindor
I have a photobucket account (in this name) that if you want I can fill with kitchen fitting photos from 4 years ago
(and I still LOVE my bamboo worktops)
just message me ...