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.

Tbh I had wickes do a design and I was seriously underwhelmed and have designed it myself.
If you don't want to do the design, why not look for a concept planner like @oneplanonhouzz

thanks for the mention YorkshireTea !

I have had 3 ikea kitchens, each one designed by me (with minimal input from DH!) Neither of the ikea stores I used offered anything more than just an putting the order and checking I had enough legs/handles/etc.

My most recent one was built in 2003, large kitchen, cream shaker-style units, solid wood worktops. Combined with stainless steel appliances, good tiling, Karndean floor and cream walls, it definitely was a WOW kitchen and most people thought it was not ikea. No problems at all with the plumbing or electrics - pipes go at floor level.

I sold the whole 13yr old kitchen last year for £200

Yes - very happy with my Ikea kitchen 3 years on. I only got the units and doors though. Appliances and worktop were bought separately. If I ever move house and need to refit a kitchen I would not hesitate to get another Ikea kitchen and spend more money on tiles/worktop/flooring/appliances.

ssd I'm not a kitchen designer, obviously if I was I would design it myself, point is that all the lovely little details that they put into their display kitchen in store are the things that make them attractive but these are the design details that specifically aren't even mentioned by the people that do the appointments because they have no design training. I asked her about the app online that they have and she said they had a couple of weeks training on how to use the functions on the package but no design training on the aesthetics of how to put the kitchens together. So basically she went along a wall and asked me shelves or drawers and blocked the whole thing out that way rather than looking at the shape of the wall and suggesting layouts that balanced the space etc.

yorkshore maybe I look into that, houzz

frontstep We're waiting on a few designs to come back in from a couple of other companies who have what I wouldn't see a single the traditional approach of taking a brief from a client going off and creating a design and then presenting it to the client. It'll be interesting to see what they come back with, maybe I'll be as underwhelmed as you were and maybe just need to lower my expectations of what kitchen designers actually offer.

I have an IKEA kitchen now nearly 5 years on. The worktops and appliances were non Ikea because that's where I prioritised my budget - quartz worktops and Miele, Franke, Neff and Samsung appliances. Visitors are surprised to learn that the units are from IKEA because overall, it's an expensive finish. O.K, when you open the cupboard door and feel the edges, it's obviously not high end but it's good value on a cost/quality basis and I did a huge amount of research and looked at various kitchen suppliers. I have a great number of pan drawers, they seem to be a pricey option everywhere else so I made sure that I put plenty in my Ikea kitchen

The way I see it, I can update with custom doors in the future if I want to/need to whilst using the same carcasses. Yes, I did it to save money but it still looks great! Personally, what screams budget to me are wooden worktops.

We're going with Ikea for what seems like the most awkwardly shaped kitchen in the county. I've found the best option to be to chuck programmer DH into a quiet room with the Ikea online design tool.

We put in our second Ikea kitchen last December. (Our previous one in our last house was put in in 2009 and is still perfect.)

I designed it on their website...I spent a while tweaking it and it was very easy. You can pick / swap out different layouts until you find your perfect one.

The cabinets etc. are great quality. We got our fridge / double oven / extractor / hob and dishwasher all from them too. If you're going integrated, you must get their dishwasher. The new doors are longer than standard, and will not open with a different dishwasher (there is a sliding hinge that you can buy but it's not good).
All the appliances are excellent quality...the induction hob is top notch, and the double oven has more functions than most e.g. a defrost button, meat thermometer etc.

Getting back to the planning...you can request one of the dept. managers for your appointment. They'd be the ones that train the others, and they know all the tricks / extras.

Best of luck with it!

Love my Ikea kitchen. Designed it myself as I know what I want. Couldn't be happier. Builders had no problems at all.

It is like most products OP, you get what you pay for. Ikea prices don't have hours of planning built into them from an experienced kitchen planner. Ditto any other cheaper brand. They suit competent DIY designers. You won't find them in houses worth £££££. You are expecting too much of "lower end"
Kitchen planners. If you look in KBB magazine you can see what other companies offer but there is a price to pay!

We've had our Ikea kitchen for 4 years and I love it. We took in a kitchen design from
another company (estimated cost of £25k) and they pretty much matched it (we paid £4K in Ikea) both of these exclude white goods which we bought separately. We put it all together ourselves which was really easy (use wood glue as well as the fixings!) and they've lasted really well, it still looks brand new!

They aren't priced to include an amazing designer so I would get that from elsewhere and then get Ikea to match it.

Our IKEA kitchen went in two years ago. It's their new kitchen range and the only word of warning is that their workarounds for non-IKEA appliances are slightly problematic. Oven and hob are fine. But we have an integrated Bosch dishwasher and an integrated Whirlpool washing machine and their dimensions don't fit with IKEA's dimensions. So the washing machine is raised slightly on board, but this isn't ideal as it tends to move forwards when on a spin cycle. And the dishwasher door is attached by an IKEA BEHJÄLPLIG hinge-system which has broken about five times in the two years we've had it. They replace it and fix it for free each time, but it's annoying. So if you want integrated appliances then go for IKEA's own.

Other than that, though, the kitchen looks great. Lovely drawers, solid oak worktops. And good value (also I paid over two years at 0% interest).

freckled how have you found the oak work tops. I'm partial to a bit of natural wood and have been toying with the idea of a solid wood worktop. I also like how it finishes an island with the down stands on both sides brings solid too, but have been put off by so many people bemoaning their high maintenance. It would worry me with the potential for blackening around the sink or cooking oil stringing around the job with splashes etc. Have you found it difficult?

Sorry for the derail OP. Anyone who's ordered from Ikea recently - what was the lead time? I can't get through to them or find the info online.

I've had an ikea kitchen (cribbed together from bits in the the bashed and battered section no less!) for over 10 years, and it's all still working fine and looking lovely. I particularly like the massive steel sink which is one piece with the upstand so I've not had that issue with boggyness behind the sink.

It's not uber-luxury, but it's a perfectly nice kitchen - I don't think it really looks cheap either (because the doors were returned ones, I could afford the nicer glass ones for instance).

I went with an ikea kitchen in the next house too - the only thing that I've replaced with a non-ikea part is the sink waste which we couldn't stop leaking (was one of the funny extending ones) - and even that was just a quick trip to Wickes as they're all standard sizes.

The wood worktops are fine - no problem around the sink. There's a couple of marks on one of the worktops from someone leaving a leaking mug on it overnight, but it can be sanded down and re-oiled very easily.

Ikea lead time is generally 0. Most of the cabinets and fittings are held in stock to take home same day or for next day delivery. Occasionally unusual bits or certain doors might be a few days. Mine was all in stock and didn't wait for anything.

And OP my architect has wooden worktops in his house which were sprayed with a lacquer by a professional car spraying place. Water sits on top in a drop and isn't at all absorbed. Looks great and is utterly durable.

Thanks dyne!

I went in with my plans and ordered and paid on Monday at 3.00pm.

225 boxes were delivered on Tuesday 1.30 pm.

Planning an Ikea kitchen at the moment, interesting to hear about difficulties with integrated appliances. Has anyone made an island out of the units? How does that look? Has anyone customised the fittings in the doors to allow tambour system, pocket or folding doors?
Thanks

what just to say I went into a branch today with a near-final design and they were incredibly helpful at finalising it, making adjustments, answering questions etc. I'd get as far as you can online, then go see them.

Yes, we put in an island. It's not huge but works very well for us.
It's 2 x 60cm units with 1 x 80cm in the middle (all 60cm deep), backed with the same units but in 37cm depth.

We have drawers on the deeper side, and smoked glass doors on the shallower one, where we put all our glassware.

Our hob is also on the island.

Mine is 4 years old and I love it.

But it is the old Faktum one not Metod, so appliance wise, we have Whirlpool built ins, not the one supplied by Ikea though as we wanted button less for a more streamlined look. We checked the aperture of the cabinet and then checked the size of the appliance. So the combi microwave and oven fit beautifully.

The dishwasher is an integrated Beko £200 job (have previously had Bosch and this is just as good) and our induction hob is DieDietrich which was £850. The worktop is Axiom, a Franke sink, and we have an instant hot water tap.

As a kitchen gets fully ripped out all pipework etc can be moved to skirting board height. I never understand wanting to lost cupboard space on every cupboard because there may possibly be some pipework behind it. Ikea's sink cupboard is designed for pipework.

Go into the store, and talk it through with a person in store, that way all the stuff you see on their display kitchens that you want you can incorporate into your plan.