IKEA Kitchen Review
About six months ago we decided to take on renovating our outdated kitchen. We were searching for a more modern look for the home to tie in the modern farmhouse style that fit the house. From the beginning, I knew I wanted black slab doors for the cabinets to give the kitchen a modern look. I must say we were so happy when we found the perfect cabinets at IKEA.
Yes, you heard that right, IKEA! I did my research in finding actual reviews and was pretty impressed with what I found. Initially, we were going to go with a big brand store for our cabinets, but when we consulted and realized that just the cabinets alone would cost about $20,000, that was a hard no for us. I am talking basic cabinets with no customization. Also, I wasn't 100% sold on the aesthetic of the black cabinets that we saw during our consultation.
I was in search of a matted black finish and the stores I had gone to consult what was presented to me was not what I was looking. Of course, the cabinets where we consulted were real wood, so you could see the grain show through, which wasn't exactly the look I was going for. The black front doors that we purchased from IKEA were not real wood, but 90% recycled plastic mixed with sawmill leftovers and scrap wood. That was not a deal breaker for us, if anything, we loved that it is sustainable material and we were saving the environment in small way.
After thorough research, we settled on going to the IKEA store closes to us to see the cabinets in person. We liked what we saw and decided to proceed with purchasing. This process was easy due to IKEA's kitchen planner, where I could configure the kitchen to my liking online. I could pick and choose the cabinets and drawers while adding the hardware to what fits best with the style we were going with and, more importantly, ensuring that they all fit within the measurements we had.
We did have delays in delivery, but I believe it was in part because of logistical issues due to the pandemic. I also believe a lot of people were probably renovating while at home. We did go to near-by IKEA stores to grab what they had in-stock, but I think it was all worth it. Also, cleaning can be a little tricky, since they are a matted finish and we have little ones you can see fingerprints on the front cabinets. I haven't cleaned the front cabinets with anything else by water, dish soap and microfiber clothes. Smudges and any water or cooking stains come out by using the named products, all you need is patience to tackle each front cable using the "wax one wax off" method.
I would highly recommend the cabinets and I would also recommend to use their installers to come to install. As we all know installing anything from IKEA can be very time consuming or tricky some times. These contractors specialize and are very knowledgeable in installing and making any plumbing or wiring cuts to connect appliances. We also had a local vendor come and install our counters from a local store, so we had to make sure the cabinets were perfectly aligned and the IKEA contractors did an amazing job ensuring they were. If you are looking for an affordable option for your kitchen, IKEA is the place to go.
Overall, I love how the kitchen turned out and I will definitely use IKEA cabinets for our new home. I will be looking at Semihandmade for options on door fronts the next go around, so stay tune!
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