Does anyone have experience with Ikea's kitchen cabinets?

My wife and I are planning to redo our kitchen in 2011 had been planning to simply paint our existing old school oak cabinets and have some new units custom built to fill in spots where we are planning to move appliances... recently I came across an add for Ikea cabinets, and have started looking at them - it seems like they're a pretty good deal - lots of options, configurations, etc.

Any info is appreciated!

Don't have personal experience, but my college roommate and his wife installed Ikea cabinets in their kitchen in 2007. Still look good today. But, I don't ever ask them about their cabinets, just never hear any complaints. They still look good, though.

My wife and I finished(mostly finished) our kitchen renovation in our 1959 house and we used Ikea cabinets. They were the best fit for our budget, neighborhood, and style. I did tons of research before choosing them. All the positive reviews were from people who had actually used the product. All the negative reviews were from people that had not. I would highly recommend the cabinets.

The upper cabinets are hung on a rail system. At first I thought it wouldn't be strong enough to hold the cabinets, much less cabinets plus their contents. We have had no trouble out of them.

There is also a program you can download from their website that allows you to design your kitchen. It is very user friendly and gives you a price list of what you choose.

The thing I like most about them is that they are very customizable. Tons of different options for all cabinet types. They have a lot more size and style options than off the shelf cabinets from HD or Lowes. They also have some really nice and affordable sink options. We bought the single bowl apron front sink for less than $250. It is porcilian though, so we have to be concious of that.

The only down side to the cabinets is, like all Ikea products, you have to assemble them. It is very monotonous. Have them delivered because there will be a ridiculous amount of boxes and it only costs $60, unless you are outside their delivery radius.

Also, check out ikeafans.com. This sight was a huge help. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[This message has been edited by KodyMack (edited 12/1/2010 11:19a).]

Thanks Kody!

It sounds like you guys did it yourself? How long did it take to assemble?

We had some very good help from some friends. One is a handyman and the other hangs cabinets for a living. One helped us get everything measured out for the cabinets and the other helped us install them. I didn't have any experience hanging cabinets, so they were very helpful.

Assembly of the cabinets took me about two weeks by myself. I would come home and do a few a night.

Just an FYI in the event you are considering the Houston Ikea.

Making a long story short, you may be able to save SIGNIFICANT amounts of money going to the Round Rock or Dallas area Ikeas. The Houston Ikea is one of a few 'franchise' stores in the country. They have identical catalogs as far as products and pictures, but their prices are either the same (in many cases) or significantly higher (in the event of the furniture item we were interested in) by as much as 15%.

May not be significant or even apply to you, but it is something to think about. If you get a Houston catalog and go online to the Ikea catalog you will see what appears to be the same catalog (identical pictures) but prices will vary on some items.

I have their cabinets in my garage for cheap storage and they have held up to abuse well!

We had Ikea cabinets put in our kitchen. If you're on a budget it can save a lot of money. The help desk in their kitchen area is actually really helpful. They will have local planners that you can in contact with that will come to your house to help plan out the design of your kitchen. They have the cabinet styles that most cabinet places offer.

Assembly can be a pain it has the standard Ikea instructions ambiguous pictures and no text.

If you do go the Ikea route make sure you save your receipt. They like to over order parts and they are upfront about it. I agree with them its better to over order then to not have all the parts you need. You have 30 days to return the item for full refund even if its opened.

here is my kitchen pictures thread from a few months ago http://texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=1713108&forum_id=61

Has anyone used their kitchen cabinets in the bathroom? I've been looking at that.

The one thing you have to watch out for in bathroom applications is peeling laminate. All of the cabinet bodies from IKEA are laminate, even if the doors/drawers are all wood.

At the very least, you need to have an exhaust fan that will remove moisture from the bathroom. We had a laminate body vanity and it lasted about 2 years before the laminate started peeling at the corners from moisture.

Bump to get some additional thoughts.

We are redoing our kitchen with cabinets from Lowes. They are solid wood, so you dont have the issue of peeling laminate, and they look really nice.

[This message has been edited by histag10 (edited 8/25/2014 4:19p).]

Good friend of mine did his kitchen with ikea cabinets an d they look very nice.

His only compliant was the time it took to put them together. Hanging in them was a breeze, with help.

Other complaints:
1. Not all the hardware was delivered, so that meant a five hour round trip drive to pick it up. At least everyone that went with him got a free meal and dessert. (Yes, we do live 2.5 hours from the nearest ikea).
2. The money he saved by getting ikea cabinets was from not having someone put the cabinets together. Again it took some time, but he's happy with it.
3. The back board of the cabinet is not thick. It's the same thickness as the backer board for a billy bookcase. His concern is with kids or even himself they'll jam something in and break the backing (but no one would notice unless they were looking for it).

Overall if he were to renovate another kitchen later he'd go back to ikea.

[This message has been edited by JHUAggie (edited 8/25/2014 8:49p).]

My SIL put them in her kitchen. My husband and FIL installed them & had a heck of a time with the corner cabinet, but once in the rest were easy. They look great for the price.

We're thinking of adding cabinets to our office to make a built-in work space. I've considered IKEA...glad to hear they're getting good reviews.

I used them when I gutted my kitchen last year. I did a ton of research and they were the best fit for budget and looks. The functionality and customization you can do is awesome. They have a 20% sale going every few months. Install took a while because I work a lot but they look awesome and everyone can't believe they are Ikea. Would do again in next house!

If considering flat pack cabinets, also look at Cabinets to Go in Houston.

I have no experience but have heard good things.

We recently completed an extensive kitchen and bath remodel with a name builder in B/CS. We put Ikea vanities in our baths (love them) and custom built cabinets in the kitchen.

The Ikea cabinets are better quality, and I wish we had used them in the kitchen.

I used them when I gutted my kitchen last year. I did a ton of research and they were the best fit for budget and looks. The functionality and customization you can do is awesome. They have a 20% sale going every few months. Install took a while because I work a lot but they look awesome and everyone can't believe they are Ikea. Would do again in next house!

Zomg! An 80 hour DP!!