Ikea kitchen yay or nay

[Badweekjustgotworse]

We're doing a large extension and have totally overstretched ourselves. Long story short bought the house after speaking to our architect about cost o the scale of extension we wanted and bid accordingly.... now of course the estimates for the extnsion are over and above what he estimated and we bid up higher than we originally wanted before taking his advice so budget is already stretched which leaves us looking at possibly an Ikea kitchen.

I actually really like the Scandinavian design and look of their kitchens and options, but just wary it could be a false economy if the mechanism on the drawers etc isn't going to last.

We have two small children though so what ever we put in could potentially get wrecked / drawn on / bashed with trucks and ride on toys etc anyway so maybe a cheaply now and replace in ten years is the way to go.

Had anyone had an Ikea kitchen put in in the last few years and how has it lasted?

As always all mumsnet wisdom greatly appreciated.

Installed an Ikea kitchen 10 years ago. The build quality even then was great and ease of assembly fantastic. It still looks good and everything works beautifully. They have improved many features since we bought ours but I would not hesitate to have another. Son & daughter have also had them more recently and also recommend. Hope this helps.

It's a yay from me.

By far the best designed kitchen I've ever had. I've had a lot of quite expensive kitchens in my time too.

Superb storage, accessibility and things flow effortlessly. I dislike cupboards as I can't see the backs.

Ikea deep Drawers are functional and adaptable and customisable in so may ways.

The only major negative for ikea kitchens is they are defiantly European. The problem is them are not compatible with UK systems. We struggled with traditional uk plumbing and pipes and trying to fit UK appliances into it.

We have managed. But be aware this was an issue.

I feel totally worth the trouble as it's a pure pleasure to use.

We had a tight budget and fitted a B&Q kitchen ourselves. It lasted and worked well. cheap as chips. Going to do same in this new house. I like modern melamine style so it's great for us and was durable and smart. so easy to fit.

Mine is 7 years old and I still love it.

We struggled with traditional uk plumbing and pipes and trying to fit UK appliances into it.
Utter and complete tosh.

UK appliances are 60cm wide - standard Ikea unit size.
Plumbing runs at skirting height rather than pre 1960's mid wall
Electrics can go anywhere you like.

None of my appliances, nor my worktops came from Ikea and it all fits together just fine.

Great! We have an appointment this afternoon so now happy we're not wasting our time!

Stillamum good to low you're happy ten years on. Are your doors the foil wrapped ones or veneer? I've a foil wrapped one (not Ikea) in the house we're staying in while the work is done and they're a bit crap. The foil is starting to peel on corners, it's about 5 years old. I know there's different glues etc that different companies use so not sure if the Ikea use a good system.

Mumblebee, pleasure to use is high praise indeed!

Has anyone used the Ikea appliances As well or just sourced your own appliances?

Have a look at diykitchens.com too. A little bit more than Ikea but not massively so (ours worked less than £1000 more for 13 units including 5 pan drawer units and 4 lengths of laminate worktop) a much larger range of cupboard sizes, door fronts and come ready built.

My doors are solid wood - ash I think and still look good. One of the best things about Ikea is that their wire baskets are very well priced - I have mobility problems and we have sliding wire baskets and carousels in all our floor level cupboards - what an blessing! Can see where everything is. They seem incredibly strong too - I have tins stored 2 deep in one of mine and it doesn't flinch! We used Hotpoint appliances, they were British then, and no problems. Making up the drawers was amazing - no screws or anything - you just kind of fold them and they are incredibly solid!! I had to buy one B&Q drawer carcass for a particular situation and it was much more trouble to put together - I had to put screws in it!

Ours has been in for two years and still looks fantastic. More options than you can shake a stick at and the pricing structure is so straightforward.

The different service void is only a problem if your builders or installers are idiots or lazy.

yorkshire were in Northern Ireland so don't have diykitchens, being over here does seem to limit options a lot unfortunately!

Ah that's a shame. Ikea kitchens are still good, it's the thought of all that flat pack that puts me off!

Ikea kitchen here, 5 years ago and still looks great except for where the bloody dog chewed the kickboards.

LB no dogs here but wouldn't put a bit of chew damage past the toddlers...

Had 2 ikea kitchens (only because I moved house not because there was any problem) and i love them.

Love the online kitchen planner service.

Also had their fridge freezers and dishwashers without any problems.

In response to 'Utter and complete tosh'

Our experience was a difficult installation.

We had a professional company to fit it.
The multiple plumbing and coupling parts were troublesome. We ended up with a slightly split pipe, as I think, our plumber lost patience with the EU plumbing into U.K. Sizes.
This resulted in a slow leak and a replaced water damaged cupboard.

Our fitter had difficulties as our dishwasher was hard to integrate as it was uk spec and not Ikea. The false door didn't move correctly when fixed to a Uk model.

The microwave was hard to integrate as it wasn't Ikea's own.

We had no end of niggles, it wasn't straight forward. However, despite all of this, once it was finished, it's the most functional, practical kitchen I've ever had, and I love it.

I'd recommend looking into Ikea appliances to avoid these problems.

our plumber lost patience with the EU plumbing into U.K. Sizes.
do explain .....
if your plumber was still working in imperial, change plumber

our dishwasher was hard to integrate as it was uk spec
please explain
appliances have had EU kite marks since the 90's

The microwave was hard to integrate as it wasn't Ikea's own.
All of my appliances are Neff or Bosch. All slotted into the standard gaps easily.

IKEA units are standard sizes.
Some fitters and plumbers are luddites

We had an Ikea kitchen in the last house and are looking to have another in the current place. They are very good value for money. Also, the design solutions are very clever and I have only seen similar levels of inventiveness in very expensive, bespoke kitchens. If you want to make it appear a bit more upmarket, you can add better appliances or worktops.

Yes, they're fab. Old skool builders and joiners hate them because it means they have to apply a bit of thought and not just do everything they way they've always done it.

I'd actually consider paying the extra for an Ikea install for the next kitchen I do, then I'm not explaining to tradesmen what the various bits are for.

I've always wanted those red kitchen doors from ikea...exh wouldn't let me have them and it would look odd in the house I am buying as it's very old and has a solid fitted kitchen already.But for those two things I'd be down there like a shot! Had Ikea kitchens at work and they get battered-communal kitchens-and have stood up very well so far.

yy to some builders not liking them because it's more work for them. They're brilliant design and very solid.

Yeah ours is 5 years old and still perfect!

OK, so I went to the planing appointment yesterday and am seriously unimpressed with the level of design offered.

I hope this doesn't come across as wankerish but ALL the 'consulatants' were basically minimally trained spotty teenagers. The consulatan to was working with had no clue about how to design a space and all the lovely little quirky details that are shown in stormont weren't offered and when requested she didn't understand what I was asking or understand how to how to model it on their design package.

I know they have an online design, to be clear I work in design and work with autocad but a bit miffed I'm going to have to go into to online package and basically design the kitchen I a package I'm going to have to spend a fair bit of time figuring out from scratch.

Totally Underwhelmed right now.

I'd feel a lot happier ordering an Ikea kitchen if I felt like if given my brief and sat down with an Ikea kitchen designer who could collaboratively design a kitchen with me based on my feedback and ideas... I literally spent the entire time trying to massage some ingenuity out of her

Did you all design your own kitchens yourselves? Are my expectations too high???

I've got an ikea kitchen, designed by myself just thinking what would be the most useful way to use the space I have

TBH I'm a bit surprised you are a designer yourself and want someone from ikea to design it for you

also don't knock spotty teenagers, if they are so below you do it your bloody self

An Ikea kitchen isn't a "wow" kitchen in an expensive house. They tend to scream lack of money and DIY. For some buyers that's not an attractive combination. If it's a small house and no-one will expect better when you sell, then go ahead.

It sounds like your kitchen is a bit bigger and needs some thought. I would go elsewhere.

We had kitchens 'designed' for us in various shops and they were all absolutely rubbish! Then we planned our own Ikea kitchen to work exactly the way we wanted it to - yes it's a bit of work but there are a million options and you get a perfect solution for you and your space. All the fiddly 'extras' in the world won't make up for a badly thought through layout IMHO. Have the drawers that fit your plates, have your mugs and glasses stored beside the dishwasher so unloading it is super quick. None of the 'designers' seemed to think about this stuff at all.

We had all ikea worktops and appliances except the ovens - we did have to have a door adjusted to have the non ikea oven fitted perfectly in the space. But the fridge, freezer, dishwasher etc all brilliant, easy to use, reliable and come with really good guarantees.

Big vote for ikea!