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Original poster

what are your views on ikea kitchens?

26 replies

SoniaShoe · 31/03/2015 09:25

I've been reading all the kitchen threads on here with interest as we're planning a complete kitchen refit. I hadn't thought of ikea until i saw a thread (john lewis vs ikea) recommending them and now i'm seriously considering one from there. So much cheaper and they have a 0% interest deal on at mo. But what is the quality like? Do they last? Does anyone have any experience?

OP posts:

TheUnwillingNarcheska · 31/03/2015 10:17

Mine was fitted 18 months ago, both my sisters have Ikea kitchens and have had them for years. They are solid and much cheaper than other brands. The cheapness and range of interior fittings is amazing.

The comparison I used was I had a new kitchen due to a kitchen extension so I had to guess the size of an infill panel for the end of the run, next to a tall larder unit.

We bought a decor end which was 60cm deep meaning you turn it sideways to fill a gap up to 60cm but we realised we could actually use a kickboard as the filler about 14cm. The kitchen fitter was used to dealing with Magnet kitchens and said "return that decor end and get £350 back" I told him it was a mere £50 for that decor end. Which just goes to show you that chipboard, wrapped in laminate foil is massively overpriced by some kitchen suppliers.

Mine was ordered before they changed to the Metod stuff but I am sure it is still made the same. Some people just use the carcass and then have solid wood doors put on too.

It is worth a trip to Ikea to see it, but if you want to see a kitchen advisor find out if your store does "browsing" as mine does. The Leeds store opens at 10 but they open their doors at 9.30 for food and anything up to the glass/crockery section. That way you can snare an advisor first thing.

lunar1 · 31/03/2015 10:26

I had one in my old house and it lasted and looked like new after 7 years when I moved out. Got my new one in this house last year and am really happy with it.

Pradaqueen · 31/03/2015 10:36

Yep another vote for ikea here! Save your money for appliances, worktops, taps as these make the difference. Their fitting costs cannot be added to the 0% from memory and I got mine fitted for £1800 (we are in Essex) v the 7k quoted at ikea. I spent £4k on the units only as we had quite a large kitchen fitted. Hope. This helps!

MerryMarigold · 31/03/2015 13:16

I have an Ikea kitchen which I've had for nearly 3 years, good as new. Their pull out units are amazing, and so much cheaper than other kitchens. I would go for them again, although I am not hugely keen on their doors at the moment. When I got mine, they had lovely copper metallic doors which I used on the top units.

Not that happy with the fridge/ freezer, but perhaps all built in ones aren't great. Also, dishwasher broken twice (not mechanical, door issue) but been fixed on guarantee. I got a separate cooker as wasn't convinced on their appliances and cooker is important to me.

Sink unit I love, love, love. I got a massive sink with a pull out drawer underneath which houses all the bins and washing up stuff.

MerryMarigold · 31/03/2015 13:18

Oh yes, I used an independent fitter who charged 600.00 vs. Ikea who quoted about 3K!!!

prepperpig · 31/03/2015 13:18

We have an ikea kitchen which we pimped to make it look more expensive and people are always shocked when I tell them its ikea. Its amazing how much kitchen you can get for the price.

MerryMarigold · 31/03/2015 13:20

Sorry, yes, ordered my own handles and worktop online too.

RhinestoneCowgirl · 31/03/2015 13:23

Our IKEA kitchen has been in for 10 yrs, still looking good. DH and his brother fitted it as they are fairly handy and I think we got worktop from B&Q

Want2bSupermum · 31/03/2015 13:26

IKEA is good but Wickes is worth looking at too. For not much more you get nicer cabinet doors.

TalkinPeace · 31/03/2015 13:30

picture of mine on my profile
its 6 years old
love it

VeryPunny · 31/03/2015 13:31

There is a reason IKEA kitchens are a which? Best Buy. Ours is going in after Easter and we would have paid nearly double to get the same spec from another supplier.

unlucky83 · 31/03/2015 13:40

Another yy to an ikea kitchen - mine is 7 yrs old and no problems
Not sure about the fact they have changed them? But the biggest 'problem' with Ikea kitchens were they have no space behind the cupboards - so if you need to run eg a waste pipe behind them it either has to go underneath them - behind the plinth and it should have 'fall' (a slope) on it so depending on length it might not be possible or through the back of the inside of the cupboards which is not ideal...on the plus side the cupboards go right back to the wall so you don't lose space behind them - and I love the supertall wall cupboards - gives you an extra shelf for the stuff you don't use often but need to keep somewhere.
(Also the narrow base cupboards - 37cm rather than 60? my brother used them in his house for extra cupboard space in a 'corridor' - 60cm would have taken up too much space made it feel cramped but they were perfect...actually I bet you could use those in front of a pipe run - but you would lose more space)
Other thing is I got my worktop from elsewhere and I believe ikea one's are slightly wider - ideally mine could be 1cm wider - it doesn't have much of an over hang at the front so the doors get more splashes on them ...
But definitely a lot of kitchen for the money..would recommend.

shanghaismog · 31/03/2015 17:23

Love my drawer units, plus saved lots of pennies for beautiful granite, taps & top notch appliances.

Plus I like the transparency of their pricing, everywhere else I felt like I was being ripped off as the price kept changing, plus pressure to get ordered before the "sale" ended.

My fitter did moan about fitting it though... My only gripe quality-wise is that the plinth is a bit flimsy.

fussychica · 31/03/2015 18:45

They are brill - had them in several houses where we have replaced the kitchen. I was gutted that in my current house I had to have a bespoke kitchen - we tried every which way with IKEA (and other companies supplying off the shelf ) but we couldn't make it work so it cost rather more than planned. DH has always fitted them himself and we get the worktop (and fitting) elsewhere.
I was always very happy with the quality and the interior fittings are great. The only thing I wasn't keen on was that their white kitchens aren't a true white so always landed up choosing another finish.

Mrsladybirdface · 31/03/2015 18:59

Had a metod kitchen installed last year. like others pimped mine with handles and worktop (though we do have their appliances which I'm happy with) I can DM you a link to my pin interest account which has pics

Starface · 31/03/2015 19:56

We have a 5 years old ikea kitchen, and fitted one more for MIL. It is good value. We ended up with quite a bit of chopped out cupboard backs, which definitely looks messy. Some of their sinks are small, which is annoying. for MIL we bought sink elsewhere. Their wood worktops were awful and we returned and bought elsewhere. It left us with little overhang, A bit messier as pp says. We had hob and oven, both of which needed fixing under guarantee, both not the cheapest. We planned this as a short term kitchen awaiting extension. However, when we extend I will probably go elsewhere for a better finish inside cupboards. Having said that we have recommended them to others and fitted one for MIL, so not horrendous. I would go elsewhere for fitting, but for best finish seek someone with experience of ikea kitchens.

museumum · 31/03/2015 20:01

We have one in the flat that was here when we bought it. The units are fine but the sink, taps and under unit lighting are all seriously shit. So I'd advise you buy units only and get more expensive accessories.

TheUnwillingNarcheska · 31/03/2015 20:43

Right, I replied to this further up the thread, am now on the computer with the photos on so here is mine literally just after it was fitted. Dark grey gloss doors on base cabinets and larder units. White gloss on everything else. Pull out larder cabinets for the base cabinets means I don't have to reach over anything to reach to the back of the cupboard.

My worktop is Axiom (if you order a sample from them they send you a huge A4 size piece of the top laminate bit) sink is Franke, appliances are all Whirlpool but not Ikea's range of Whirlpool. Extractor is Ikea because it fits inside their cupboard. I have an instant hot water tap too. Fitter charged me £1500 which included putting a door into the utility, fitting kitchen, plumbing everything in and because it was an extension, moving the main water feed from the middle of the floor to the new back wall.

Starface you had a lazy fitter I'm afraid. The situation with kitchens is usually that you have everything ripped out so any pipework can be seen, is fully accessible and can be dropped to skirting board height. Then the units can be fitted without any need to chop anything out the back of the cupboard. Ikea sink units have the back panel pulled forward anyway to allow all the pipes to go behind.

unlucky83 · 01/04/2015 00:26

My Ikea sink unit didn't have the back panel forward...but then it was a corner cupboard too...
The other thing I thought about was I got an Ikea tap - less than 5 yrs in I needed a new cartridge (it was dripping) - a bit of fuss to get one (they'd changed design and the first lot they sent me were the wrong size...but they did get the right one to me eventually and all for free.

Maybe because we'd been faffing with a dripping tap so long (so turning the lever as far as it would go) or maybe the new cartridges weren't quite right but then the lever started spinning on the spindle - they didn't do new levers - so because it was within guarantee and they no longer did that style I could chose a new tap of equal or less value (or more if I wanted to pay) and they sent it out to me FOC - and because I'd paid someone (independent) to fit the kitchen in the first place and they didn't have any workmen in the area they paid my £70 plumber's bill to install it...
Fantastic customer service ...except now this tap (2 yrs old) is stiff to turn - so much it is loosening on the sink - normally this type of tap you can take them apart and grease the o ring to loosen it up - but not with this tap, it is a sealed unit ...so soon it will be another new tap time - and I don't think they'd replace this one for me again...

Also I had problems with my undercounter lights and looking at reviews other people had the same problem - individual lights worked intermittently -tap them and they worked - Ikea cs said they weren't faulty - no one else had complained but admitted they didn't keep a record of the complaint so unless hundred of people complained about an item they didn't register the fault... (mentioned it to the guys in the kitchen department - they knew what I was talking about - seems they are halogen bulbs and maybe poor quality or got bumped in delivery...the filament is broken when you tap them they rejoin...since replaced them with bulbs from elsewhere and not had a problem since.)

Original poster

SoniaShoe · 01/04/2015 11:06

thanks everyone for the reviews and its so good to hear the positive stories and love the photos. based on all this we're definitely going to look into the units from there but maybe get appliances and worktop elsewhere. think we'll be braving it there on bank holiday friday early doors. will let you know how it goes..

OP posts:

Ipanema01 · 15/04/2015 13:45

A bit late to the party but I'm also thinking of an Ikea kitchen and am wondering for those of you who bought their taps, worktops etc elsewhere, where did you look/find them?
Not sure where to start!

Great to see such good feedback on Ikea :)

tomatoplantproject · 15/04/2015 14:00

We also have a pimped up ikea kitchen. The handles are from a local ironmonger, the sink and taps are Hans Groehe (so not cheap) and the top is bright yellow Formica which I think was sourced from a place in Essex for about £100. All of it was fitted by our builders when they sorted out our house.

If you spend time reading interiors magazines and visiting a few kitchen shops you should start to get an idea about what you like the look of and some of the kitchen brands around.

I agree with a pp that the

poocatcherchampion · 19/04/2015 08:07

We installed a metod ourselves before Christmas. Was pretty simple. We bought appliances from ao.com and worktop from IKEA - wood laminate pesonalig - oak.

Mqybr our friends are uncouth but they keep asking if its OK to put hot mugs on it. As if it is not plastic. We are very happy with it.

ToBeeOrNot · 19/04/2015 10:34

We got our appliances (Neff) and sink and taps (Franke) from a local kitchen place. I rang them up and asked if we bought everything from them could they do us a deal, and they ended up being £100 cheaper than appliances direct.

Worktops came from worktop express

Zinxie · 19/04/2015 10:58

Does anybody know when they will be getting new door styles? I'm looking at fitting an ikea kitchen next year, ideally, but am not keen on any doors at the moment.

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