pimp an IKEA kitchen?

[MissWing]

Hi all, IKEA kitchens seem to get good reviews, esp for the price.

We're considering getting one and then putting an engineered stone worktop on top (compac probably). Then adding Jeff appliances from the John lewis outlet/ boots electrical. With Franke sink and taps.

Is this going to work?

Is it daft to put a whole bunch of mid-high end stuff (worktops etc), on IKEA carcasses? Eg will our stone and the sink outlive the kitchen?

We're planning to get our builder to fit it.

V grateful for your views!

I did it last year because quite frankly lots of kitchens are over priced.

Ikea carcass and door, axiom worktop, all appliances from different stores, sink, tap and boiling water tap from other places too. The only thing apart from cabinets that we bought from Ikea was the extractor that fits inside their cabinet.

Ikea sell good quality stuff, but it just wasn't what we were looking for appliance wise. So we did bling the kitchen so to speak. My sister has had her Ikea kitchen for years and it still looks good.

My mate had Ikea stone effect (laminate) worktop in her 200 year old house. It looked amazing.

A lot of people say that there's bugger all difference between high-end and common-or-garden carcasses. I don't know about that, but I think it makes perfect sense to upgrade the bits you see and touch the most. We bought our worktops from a different place from the kitchen, because the kitchen supplier charged higher prices for a poorer quality worktop.

We did this and loved it (in our previous house)

Get IKEA kitchen, spend money of nice work top, handles, tap and appliances.

Caution: the tall IKEA cupboard bowed when we fitted a Bosch oven and microwave - too heavy. Our kitchen fitter fixed the problem by fitting a metal brace to the back of the cupboard.

I loved that kitchen

I fitted an ikea kitchen with ikea solid wood work surfaces wrapped round (ie, start at floor and go all round cabinets). Looks amazing.

I have Ikea units and Neff appliances and solid bamboo worktops
I don't think it looks to bad (pic on my profile)

We did this, but you need to be aware that IKEA units are not necessarily standard sizes, so make sure your appliances fit in the gaps.

For example, we have a plate heater, which should fit into the top drawer space of a standard unit, but ikea top drawers are shallower than some other makes, so we had to mess around with the drawers a bit to make it all fit.

but ikea top drawers are shallower than some other makes
Que?
Ikea carcasses are all standard widths and then you slot the drawers in whatever order you choose.
If you bought the wrong depth drawer set that is hardly ikea's fault - they sell several

I don't know about drawers but it is true that Ikea uses continental standards - I know this can be a problem for plumbing etc. The 'standard' height for, say, a cutlery drawer could be different, but you can find out about that beforehand and make allowances.

Plumbing not a problem at all
just make sure that all services run at skirting height (where you can still access them after the units go in) and its easy.

I've got non ikea bits in my ikea units and NONE of my appliances or worktops came from ikea

The back of the units is different though, I think - gawd, it's all so long ago (>10 years) that I can barely remember.
Some measurements are metric rather than imperial and the service channel at the back is ?shallower.

Some kitchen fitters don't like fitting Ikea kitchens which may be related to profit margin.

Btw, the quality of the actual fitting will hugely impact on how stable and 'square' your kitchen will remain long-term.

pacific
THe difference between Ikea and older other brands is that Ikea units are full depth : so the drawers are 55 cm deep in a 60cm unit
there is not the big 'dead' space behind the back of the unit that things like old Habitat kitchens did
so lazy plumbers used to run the pipes half way up the wall where they could not be accessed once the kitchen was in
BUT
since Ikea shook the market up, people like Howdens and Wickes and B&Q also advertise "full depth" base units
ie they all need the utilities to be at skirting height as there is no service channel

any fitter not willing to work with Ikea is a fool as they are a doddle
our kitchen and utility had over 40 carcasses and the chap built and fitted the lot in less than 3 days - including a bit of customising around the pillar.

Ah, yes, that's what it was

Our kitchen fitter is a friend and did all the carcasses in a day or so with DH as his labourer while I kept them in and bacon butties . Day 2 was door furniture and the metal brace and worktop/handles etc.

I'd happily do it again.

Big thanks to you all for sharing. Have esp noted your point Pacific about the bowing cupboard as we are planning to put an oven above ground level.

MummytoMog your worktops sound super classy.

Thanks again.

Another thought- any suggestions on where to source knobs and handles?

Screwfix - vast selection

Jim Lawrence - a bit expensive posher

SDS London

Google 'architectural iron mongery' or 'door furniture'

You could easily spend as much on the door knobs as on the rest of the kitchen

Oh, Pacific, I cannot be trusted and have made a beeline for the expensive stuff!

talkinpeace I love your kitchen.

What are the units called? Where did you. Uh your bamboo worktop from and are you happy with it? [thansk]

May I just ask a silly question, when people say 'pictures are on their profile' where exactly is that? I've tried clicking on a users name bit it doesn't appear to work?

I was just interested in your kitchen talkinpeace as I'm also looking for kitchens. Thanks.

Its the bog standard ikea carcasses with the nodsta fronts - no handles

(click on my name, then pictures and the kitchen one is at the bottom)
worktops were bamboo direct
love them because the offcuts make great shelves / tables
they are 6 years old and a fresh coat of olive oil every month is all the tlc they need

NB Nocross : the TOTAL budget for the kitchen and utility room was £6000 plus £1000 for the fitter
all the appliances (neff / bosch) are graded stock so huge price reductions

Thank you, it doesn't seem to work for me, your name just goes in a blue box. Grrrr. Sounds lovely anyway

You can only click on usernames that are underlined then click on "PacificDogwood's photos" (just an example, don't bother, there are no photos there )

TalkinPeace, never mind your kitchen, look at you!
nice kitchen too

Yey that worked! Thank you! Ooooo nice kitchen too.

LOL @ Pacific
the "vanity" pics are because my main haunt is the weight loss / 5:2 threads
and interstingly the debt threads have an almost identical mindset so the "focus" that works for one is applicable to the other

have to get fit ready fot my 50th birthday pics next spring

Greencheese
I've got loads of pics and links : am quite happy to pop some up to google doce .... tell me what you want to see

I wondered what a bamboo worktop looked like, I'd not heard of one before and had something totally different in my head ha. I've just been googling them. Thanks.