Ikea Kitchens?????
Discussion
Having just bought a house outright I have started renovating it and it will be getting a new kitchen.
Has anyone purchased an Ikea kitchen, and if so, how would you rate it? I have a contractor who is OK with fitting it but wondered what other people experiences are of the general quality and durability?
An Ikea is obviously cheaper when compared to companies such as Magnet but I wonder how inferior an Ikea would be? Having a young family I don't see the point in spending a large amount on a kitchen when I could spend it on other things...(like a Caterham!!!)
Has anyone purchased an Ikea kitchen, and if so, how would you rate it? I have a contractor who is OK with fitting it but wondered what other people experiences are of the general quality and durability?
An Ikea is obviously cheaper when compared to companies such as Magnet but I wonder how inferior an Ikea would be? Having a young family I don't see the point in spending a large amount on a kitchen when I could spend it on other things...(like a Caterham!!!)
Mandat said:
My whole hou9se is mostly ikea stuff.
I installed an ikea kitchen in an old flat, and also in a new house last year.
I'm happy with the quality and durability, and would not hesitate to recommend ikea to others.
Did you install the kitchen yourself? Also, how was the purchasing process? Did you find the staff knowledgeable?I installed an ikea kitchen in an old flat, and also in a new house last year.
I'm happy with the quality and durability, and would not hesitate to recommend ikea to others.
I may venture into to my local store in Edmonton on Tuesday with the wife to take a closer look at what they have. I have seen that they offer a home design service for £40 which seems reasonable.
We have an Ikea kitchen that's been in 5 years now. So it's Faktum rather than the current Metod range.
The only slight issue we had was one warped door within a couple of months of fitting it, but we just got it swapped in store for a new one with no issues.
Their current range has no 50cm units so that may restrict layout.
We sourced worktops, sink and some appliances elsewhere. Spent 2k at Ikea, which was for units, doors, handles plus fridge and dishwasher (next nearest quote was 6k for same layout).
The only slight issue we had was one warped door within a couple of months of fitting it, but we just got it swapped in store for a new one with no issues.
Their current range has no 50cm units so that may restrict layout.
We sourced worktops, sink and some appliances elsewhere. Spent 2k at Ikea, which was for units, doors, handles plus fridge and dishwasher (next nearest quote was 6k for same layout).
Additionally you have the added Labour of putting it together. Also consider DIY Kitchens, Howdens to avoid this. I sourced ours from DIY and we were pretty happy. Wife also used to work for Howdens and their stuff was half decent (depends which range you get mind!)
Ikea don't have a service void which can be challenging in the U.K. - you have to cut up the cabinet backs or drop everything to the plinth gap.
Ikea don't have a service void which can be challenging in the U.K. - you have to cut up the cabinet backs or drop everything to the plinth gap.
Quite a few threads on this, but the general feel is that they're fine if you can overlook the little quirks.
I believe that some new sizes are coming out, it might be worth checking if they're out yet, or when they're due.
Frankly, they're fine, though the kitchen planning tool in the shop is an absolute nightmare to use. Take accurate dimensions of your kitchen and wait to have one of the people help you draw it up.
I've put 2 in recently, and they're fine. In fact the flat I'm living in now has an ikea kitchen in it right now, its about 5 years old, and looks fine. I'm also in the middle of putting in a super expensive kitchen, and honestly, I can't really see where a factor of 10x the price is going.
The nuisance/benefit is that now and then you'll be missing bits, but handily they're all usually in stock.
I believe that some new sizes are coming out, it might be worth checking if they're out yet, or when they're due.
Frankly, they're fine, though the kitchen planning tool in the shop is an absolute nightmare to use. Take accurate dimensions of your kitchen and wait to have one of the people help you draw it up.
I've put 2 in recently, and they're fine. In fact the flat I'm living in now has an ikea kitchen in it right now, its about 5 years old, and looks fine. I'm also in the middle of putting in a super expensive kitchen, and honestly, I can't really see where a factor of 10x the price is going.
The nuisance/benefit is that now and then you'll be missing bits, but handily they're all usually in stock.
Pheo said:
Ikea don't have a service void which can be challenging in the U.K. - you have to cut up the cabinet backs or drop everything to the plinth gap.
Or create your own service gap by pulling units out from the wall and using slightly deeper worktop. The plus side of no service gap is bigger cupboards. We were moving the gas supply anyway so we just made sure it was routed below plinth level. To get a standard (non-ikea) worktop to overlap the cupboards at the front it is very difficult as the units are deeper than normal. Their own worktops are different size from standard to accommodate this. I had this problem so had to build an upstand see my thread:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Also I ended up with the worktop slightly higher than normal (by about 2 or 3 cms) in order to run my sink waste pipe from left to right across the room, between the bottom of the units and the floor, and still have a drop on the pipe. That's because I couldn't run my waste under the floor for various reasons, (like my old flat joists have butchered to buggery in the past so I didn't want to cut them any more) so something to consider for you.
Because I had drawer units it was not possible (and I would not want to) run the pipes through the cupboards.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Also I ended up with the worktop slightly higher than normal (by about 2 or 3 cms) in order to run my sink waste pipe from left to right across the room, between the bottom of the units and the floor, and still have a drop on the pipe. That's because I couldn't run my waste under the floor for various reasons, (like my old flat joists have butchered to buggery in the past so I didn't want to cut them any more) so something to consider for you.
Because I had drawer units it was not possible (and I would not want to) run the pipes through the cupboards.
Our IKEA kitchen looks exactly as it did when I installed it five years ago, it's lasting pretty well. If it's skilfully fitted they can look great and feel much more expensive than their actual cost. Quality worktops, appliances and taps help.
Their bad bits are the sinks (and s
tty plumbing), the lack of a service void and I've found some of the trim parts like cornices difficult to get a decent finish with. The dishwasher doors they use now that slide up and down are pretty poor as well and we've had a bit of trouble with ours.
Their bad bits are the sinks (and s
tty plumbing), the lack of a service void and I've found some of the trim parts like cornices difficult to get a decent finish with. The dishwasher doors they use now that slide up and down are pretty poor as well and we've had a bit of trouble with ours.Does anyone have a Which? magazine subscription?
There is a survey of 2k kitchen buyers here, looking at the best and worst brands, including Ikea and others.
http://www.which.co.uk/reviews/fitted-kitchens/art...
There is a survey of 2k kitchen buyers here, looking at the best and worst brands, including Ikea and others.
http://www.which.co.uk/reviews/fitted-kitchens/art...
We have an Ikea kitchen with their version of corian worktops (seemless) fitted.
The units and worktops are great but we had their installers fit them as part of a deal which was a nightmare. If you can install them yourself or get an independent fitter do it, then use them.
It took us a year and emails to the boss of Ikea to get the worktops installed properly and they had problems fitting the appliances and making them work properly too.
Summary: kitchens - good. Their installers - bad
The units and worktops are great but we had their installers fit them as part of a deal which was a nightmare. If you can install them yourself or get an independent fitter do it, then use them.
It took us a year and emails to the boss of Ikea to get the worktops installed properly and they had problems fitting the appliances and making them work properly too.
Summary: kitchens - good. Their installers - bad
Ozone said:
Summary: kitchens - good. Their installers - bad
That seems to be a common point. A lot depends on the installers contracted out by Ikea. I guess if your lucky you will get a good outfit but there's always the chance that the installers are not good.Alot of useful posts so thanks all. In anot ideal world I would love to spend 10k plus on a kicthen but as my whole house needs doing, the potential saving on a kicthen means I can spend money elsewhere.
I fitted our Ikea kitchen in 2010
Carcasses as good as anyone else. Doors a little flimsy.
White goods cheap but not the best. Still all work though.
Unit sizes a little strange until you get used to them
No 50mm gap behind the carcass for services so pipes etc run though the unit. Advantage is carcass fixes flush to wall and there's two inches more cupboard space.
WE made a mistake with the bench tops in that they came with square edges and square corners = dangerous when there is a little one about.
Carcasses as good as anyone else. Doors a little flimsy.
White goods cheap but not the best. Still all work though.
Unit sizes a little strange until you get used to them
No 50mm gap behind the carcass for services so pipes etc run though the unit. Advantage is carcass fixes flush to wall and there's two inches more cupboard space.
WE made a mistake with the bench tops in that they came with square edges and square corners = dangerous when there is a little one about.
My experience with Ikea kitchens has been reasonably positive.
Their previous kitchen system, Faktum, was in production for 20 - 30 years and I imagine its replacement, Metod, will be too - so if you fancy a quick refresh at some point down the line you can be fairly confident of being able to source compatible replacement doors/drawer fronts.
The carcasses themselves are 18mm and the materials & fixings compare favourably with similar offerings from other manufacturers. In terms of worktops and doors, there's a pretty extensive range of options to suit a variety of budgets. You can also add on all manner of fripperies like in-drawer lighting. One thing I find useful is that they offer shallow base units - so if you want a simple means of creating a breakfast bar, you can use a run of shallow base units with a standard depth worktop, leaving an overhang at the front.
Quality wise, the drawer mechanisms are excellent and the wall and tall units are very solid. The base units have a couple of metal rails in place of a traditional top, so they're a bit wobbly until they're all screwed together and screwed to the worktop.
I found the performance of their 3D planner was a bloody nightmare from home, although it was better in store. How good the staff are probably varies from store to store but I've always found them pretty clued up and they've made some good suggestions whenever I've been in to order kitchens.
With regard to fitting, I've always done it myself. The units are simple enough to construct and are hung on a continuous rail - meaning they're all automatically aligned with each other (although you can adjust them if you need to for some reason).
As others have said, the only potential annoyance of any significance is the lack of a service gap behind the base units. Whether this is relevant will depend on the construction of your house. The last one I installed was in a house with a suspended timber floor in the kitchen, under which all the water/gas pipes ran. The dishwasher was next to the sink and both were on an external wall. Consequently, I didn't have to run any pipes/drains behind the base units. The lack of a service gap does have an upside though - increased cupboard capacity.
The only temporary issue I've ever had related to the incompatibility of the Ikea Metod doors with non-Ikea integrated dishwashers. Because the base units sit quite close to the floor, putting an Ikea door on a non-Ikea integrated dishwasher means the dishwasher won't open properly. Fortunately I eventually discovered that they intermittently offer a £20 sliding adapter mechanism that resolves the issue, although they don't seem to publicise the fact much - perhaps worried about harming sales of Ikea dishwashers?
Their previous kitchen system, Faktum, was in production for 20 - 30 years and I imagine its replacement, Metod, will be too - so if you fancy a quick refresh at some point down the line you can be fairly confident of being able to source compatible replacement doors/drawer fronts.
The carcasses themselves are 18mm and the materials & fixings compare favourably with similar offerings from other manufacturers. In terms of worktops and doors, there's a pretty extensive range of options to suit a variety of budgets. You can also add on all manner of fripperies like in-drawer lighting. One thing I find useful is that they offer shallow base units - so if you want a simple means of creating a breakfast bar, you can use a run of shallow base units with a standard depth worktop, leaving an overhang at the front.
Quality wise, the drawer mechanisms are excellent and the wall and tall units are very solid. The base units have a couple of metal rails in place of a traditional top, so they're a bit wobbly until they're all screwed together and screwed to the worktop.
I found the performance of their 3D planner was a bloody nightmare from home, although it was better in store. How good the staff are probably varies from store to store but I've always found them pretty clued up and they've made some good suggestions whenever I've been in to order kitchens.
With regard to fitting, I've always done it myself. The units are simple enough to construct and are hung on a continuous rail - meaning they're all automatically aligned with each other (although you can adjust them if you need to for some reason).
As others have said, the only potential annoyance of any significance is the lack of a service gap behind the base units. Whether this is relevant will depend on the construction of your house. The last one I installed was in a house with a suspended timber floor in the kitchen, under which all the water/gas pipes ran. The dishwasher was next to the sink and both were on an external wall. Consequently, I didn't have to run any pipes/drains behind the base units. The lack of a service gap does have an upside though - increased cupboard capacity.
The only temporary issue I've ever had related to the incompatibility of the Ikea Metod doors with non-Ikea integrated dishwashers. Because the base units sit quite close to the floor, putting an Ikea door on a non-Ikea integrated dishwasher means the dishwasher won't open properly. Fortunately I eventually discovered that they intermittently offer a £20 sliding adapter mechanism that resolves the issue, although they don't seem to publicise the fact much - perhaps worried about harming sales of Ikea dishwashers?
Edited by Risotto on Monday 30th January 10:25
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