Should we get an Ikea kitchen? (fit in, apartments, how much)

[equinox63]

We are thinking about buying an IKEA kitchen for our 1920's home. If you have done this, how was the experience? How much did it cost? How long did it take? What are the pros and cons? Anything we should watch out for?

[brown_dog_us]

How handy are you?

[ElleKaye]

Originally Posted by brown_dog_us

How handy are you?

This is a great comment OP because you're going to have to be like Bob the Builder. IKEA has some products that are great but most furnishings are not. I have not done a kitchen myself, but I have a milleial friend who has done a lot rooms with IKEA stuff, and I'm still not clear if she has finished putting it together yet.

[equinox63]

Originally Posted by ElleKaye

This is a great comment OP because you're going to have to be like Bob the Builder. IKEA has some products that are great but most furnishings are not. I have not done a kitchen myself, but I have a milleial friend who has done a lot rooms with IKEA stuff, and I'm still not clear if she has finished putting it together yet.

I guess I'm fairly handy... I've put together quite a bit of IKEA furniture over the years (beds, cribs, dressers, chests of drawers, bookcases, etc) but I can't say I'm ready to tackle a kitchen. Is it horribly expensive to pay them to do it?

[ElleKaye]

Originally Posted by equinox63

I guess I'm fairly handy... I've put together quite a bit of IKEA furniture over the years (beds, cribs, dressers, chests of drawers, bookcases, etc) but I can't say I'm ready to tackle a kitchen. Is it horribly expensive to pay them to do it?

I don't know how much they charge or even if there is an offer on the table. I'm sure you could talk your into an offer though.

I have even hired day laborers to assemble things for me which I can assure you takes a leap of faith. I'm not sure I would have come out better financially just buying from a regular furniture store having a good sale. I do think you will spend less money buying from IKEA and hiring someone to assemble a kitchen. It's going to look great, but you may have to sacrifice a bit of quality.

[bellhead]

Originally Posted by equinox63

We are thinking about buying an IKEA kitchen for our 1920's home. If you have done this, how was the experience? How much did it cost? How long did it take? What are the pros and cons? Anything we should watch out for?

I would get the dimensions of your room, put it on graph paper and take it to Ikea and get the pricing information. If I am correct on this the Ikea kitchen is made out of particle board with very little solid wood in it. Here is an article on it.

Faith's Kitchen Renovation: 5 Things We Learned While Buying an IKEA Kitchen

Your other option is to find someone who makes cabinets for a living and will make them for you. This a lot of times will cost about 2x as much but you get hard wood, everything custom, plus quality. Finding someone like this is the hard part bu you will come out ahead.

Things you may want to do in order to get a good kitchen.

1.) gut the entire kitchen, even drywall.
2.) Level the floor, and fix the flooring.
3.) Get a plumper to sign off on the plumping, you only get one shot with the wall open.
4.) Electrical.

[Domitian]

I've never installed their kitchen products but if it's anything like their living room and bedroom furniture, I would consider the furnishings to be "cheap".

I furnished an entire apartment in CA with Ikea b/c it was stylish yet affordable. However, I would not put it in my "real" house (well, maybe a basement rec room).

The materials used in Ikea products contain a lot of manufactured wood products (MDF, particle board) and while the butcher block counters will resist moisture in a kitchen setting, the base cabinets will not.

If this is your home, I wouldn't go cheap - especially in the kitchen.

[Harpaint]

Originally Posted by domitian

i've never installed their kitchen products but if it's anything like their living room and bedroom furniture, i would consider the furnishings to be "cheap".

I furnished an entire apartment in ca with ikea b/c it was stylish yet affordable. However, i would not put it in my "real" house (well, maybe a basement rec room).

The materials used in ikea products contain a lot of manufactured wood products (mdf, particle board) and while the butcher block counters will resist moisture in a kitchen setting, the base cabinets will not.

If this is your home, i wouldn't go cheap - especially in the kitchen.

^^^^ yes

[atler8]

Originally Posted by Domitian

I've never installed their kitchen products but if it's anything like their living room and bedroom furniture, I would consider the furnishings to be "cheap".

I furnished an entire apartment in CA with Ikea b/c it was stylish yet affordable. However, I would not put it in my "real" house (well, maybe a basement rec room).

The materials used in Ikea products contain a lot of manufactured wood products (MDF, particle board) and while the butcher block counters will resist moisture in a kitchen setting, the base cabinets will not.

If this is your home, I wouldn't go cheap - especially in the kitchen.

Great points there!
You buy cheap... you get cheap. Who wants a "cheap" look in your kitchen or any room frankly?
Our local paper did an "IKEA" furnished house feature recently & although I can admire some IKEA rooms at their show room stores & individual items can be just fine, there was something slightly off-putting to me about the living room featured in the newspaper piece that was completely an IKEA creation. In other words, it was not a look or anything I'd strive to have in my own residence.

[Domitian]

Originally Posted by atler8

Great points there!
You buy cheap... you get cheap. Who wants a "cheap" look in your kitchen or any room frankly?
Our local paper did an "IKEA" furnished house feature recently & although I can admire some IKEA rooms at their show room stores & individual items can be just fine, there was something slightly off-putting to me about the living room featured in the newspaper piece that was completely an IKEA creation. In other words, it was not a look or anything I'd strive to have in my own residence.

it's very minimalist and made to fit in the smaller European apartments and spaces. their design is genius but it's certainly not 'heirloom' furniture and frankly, it's made to be disposable. Again, it's good for inexpensive furnishings but not what I would consider a home's "infrastructure" like kitchen cabinetry.