IKEA kitchens

[Fidgetsmum]

Have found units we like at IKEA. We like the look and we like the fact it's relatively cheap. Before we go for it, any advice or info that might be helpful from anyone? We'll be using their planning service but not sure if we'll use their installation service as they couldn't give us a price vaguely.

Has anyone got an IKEA kitchen and would like to help us prepare with some advice? We've always put up with whatever the kitchen was when we've moved in, but the current one needs replacing, so we've never done this before!

Thanks

[ClareC]

Wouldn't go with IKEA kitchens at all, they are not great quality.

Would recommend Howdens, much better quality and reasonably priced. Howden store's compete with one another on price too.

[ontheedge]

ClareC Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Wouldn't go with IKEA kitchens at all, they are

> not great quality.

>

> Would recommend Howdens, much better quality and

> reasonably priced. Howden store's compete with

> one another on price too.

I've heard most builders say they're very good quality especially the carcasses and if you wanted a more bespoke look you could get doors elsewhere. I'm very happy with my IKEA kitchen but got worktops elsewhere. A friend who got hers fitted by IKEA is very happy with kitchen but wasn't so happy with the istallation service from them which was a bit shoddy the installers don't actually work for IKEA they contract it out. Was very happy with the guy who fitted mine and he was very reasonable pm me if you want details

[Fidgetsmum]

Thanks - two pretty conflicting bits of advice so I guess I'm none the wiser so far... thanks for the Howden's info. Will look into that too just in case. Price wise were they on a par with IKEA's averagey priced ones?

[bonniebird]

I love my Ikea kitchen, my husband did lots of research into what we could afford and the Ikea one was by far the best value, we have the white high gloss one. He fitted it himself. The kitchen is gorgeous, I also love the innerds for the draws, luckily we have a cousin who owns a marble factory so we got very cheap granite from him. My husband says that the downside to Ikea is that you have to use there work tops unless you have your own made and cut to size, because the cabenits are slightly deeper so if you get a standard worktop it doesnt hang over the edge like it should do.

Also, my husband collected the kitchen himself and had to manage 3 trollys full of stuff by him self, they don't help you load up etc, so be aware of that. Ikea at Croydon has a great display of kitchens, mine is sooo easy to keep clean too :)

[Fidgetsmum]

Thanks Bonniebird. I think we'd have to get someone more 'in the know' to fit the kitchen. My husband is fairly DIY friendly, but hasn't really got the time to invest in making sure he gets it right. Thanks for the loading up on your own advice. I've got a 14wk old baby as well as a 3yr old so I think perhaps we would rather get in the way!

[ellaj]

We have an Ikea kitchen. Putting the units together is a doddle but I wish we'd had the money to pay a professional to do the rest as our DIY finish is not great (down to our skills or lack of them, not the kitchen). When we do it next time I'd probably still go with an Ikea kitchen, put the units together myself and pay a professional to do the rest.

[Fidgetsmum]

Great advice. Thank you. It's very tempting to save money by fitting it ourselves but I think we just done have the skills.

[dave]

Another vote in favour - we moved house last year and inherited an IKEA kitchen in the new place. The snob in me was prepared to be disappointed, but it's actually turned out to be really solid and hard-wearing. Obviously couldn't tell you much about how easy it was to fit etc, but to live with it's been fine.

The other upside is that we've been able to get accessories very easily - things like drawer-tidies etc.

[jills]

Another vote for Ikea. As above, we had 2 sets of builders recommend them. We went for very contemporary white high gloss (with extra height cabinets, great for storage) and I found them better made and cheaper than the others I compared. We never looked back and so easy to clean. Had little tabs instead of handles which was a dream when the little one came - he couldn't get into the cupboards at all.

One word of warning - because we had our guys install they gave us a hard time when we went to exchange the work top (solid wood block - the dark one) as it had split lengthwise a few months post installation. Basically, the washing machine underneath shook it apart, which is shocking, but you could see that it hadn't been glued properly in the first place. They replaced it when we got pushy but next time around I'd get a work top elsewhere. The granite idea sounds lovely...

[The Minkey]

Ikea over Howdens any day. I had a white gloss Howdens kitchen installed in my current place @ 3 years ago. It was at the recommendation of the fitter but I regretted the choice from the delivery issues onwards.

It's just not well thought out design. Simple things like the laminate shelf and carcass edges chip really easily because they don't have that neat little bevel Ikea uses, plus with Ikea you have far more choice with regard to positioning the height of the shelves. All the doors on my integrated appliances have tried to fall off at some stage or another due to inadequate fittings.

Lastly, Howden's blanking plate for the sink turned out to be plastic with a faux metal coating so it didn't take long for the silveriness to wear off and leave things looking a bit pants.

Ikea gets my vote. I'd never get another Howden's kitchen.

[SeanHitz]

Just had my ikea kitchen installed about 2 weeks ago and we are very happy with it. One word of warning, the units go right to the back of the wall, they don't have any space behind for things such as pipes or cables, therefore your builder needs to cut out the back of them to make them fit usually (in old houses anyway). You'll be able to see the pipes when you open the units, it wasn't a big deal to us, but something to consider. The builders will tell you this themselves, but all the builders we got quotes from recommended Ikea kitchens. There are a few doors slightly out of line, but I think this is more to do with unstraight walls than the kitchen itself.

We got a corian worktop fitted by a company in Leeds. We did research online and managed to get it for half the price we were being offered down here. I'd really recommend them as it looks great and was very reasonable.

If you want details of builder and/or worktop people, just PM me.

[aspidistra]

ClareC Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Wouldn't go with IKEA kitchens at all, they are

> not great quality.

>

> Would recommend Howdens, much better quality and

> reasonably priced. Howden store's compete with

> one another on price too.

My builder used to use Howdens (used by a lot of builders)... Then he saw and fitted my John Lewis kitchen... and called his building mates to come around and check it out, he was so impressed. Best kitchen he's seen, he reckons. This was a fairly bottom-mid-range JL kitchen, which he fitted for me.

[Sue]

I was going to get an Ikea kitchen, but when I went to look at them again recently I was amazed at how the quality seemed to have deteriorated.

I mentioned this to the guy who has just done my bathroom and he said yes, I always used to recommend them to clients, but in holding the price steady they have reduced the quality to compensate. He no longer recommends them.

If you like John Lewis kitchens, apparently (judging by posts on various online forums about kitchens which I have been reading avidly) they buy them from another manufacturer rather than making them themselves, and you can get the identical kitchen very much more cheaply by buying directly from that manufacturer. Actually, I think there's two, depending on the range in question.

I don't have the info handy, but if you do a few googles you should be able to find out.

Also google eg "kitchen reviews". There's a lot of info out there.

ETA: Sadly the kitchen I like is from Fired Earth. Anyone know of a (much) cheaper source?!?!?

[Fidgetsmum]

Fantastic advice from EDForumites. Thank you lots and lots. It's helpful to hear other viewpoints before spending money we almost don't have! I've PM'd those who offered contact numbers etc.

Thanks again.

[Sue]

Good luck, and at the end of the day what matters is that you love the kitchen you end up with :)

[twofourseven]

We considered Howdens when we gutted our house - our builders suggested Howdens because they had a 'working relationship' with them. Nudge, nudge!

I've heard good things about them but in the end we opted for Ikea and we are very happy with the price and quality. The one piece of advise though is do not get the work top - wood or whatever else - from Ikea. They are overpriced. We have a mix of quartz worktop from Norbury - great price and great installation - and Oak, which we ordered online and our builders installed it. If you want any contacts then drop me a message. I can recommend a few places.

Good luck and make sure that you make a week available to assemble it. Ikea flat-packs are the typicla mistery, wrapped in an enigma and then in a mystery!

[caz]

I've used Howdens for 2 kitchens and would definitely recommend them. One of the main beniefits is that the units arrive made up so you save alot of time and money on labour costs.There is nothing dodgy about the builders comment re a 'working relationship' ,it just means that Howdens are only open to the trade,you have to open an account to use them.

[Alec John Moore]

We had an IKEA kitchen fitted last year and we really like it. Our builders fix for the fact that IKEA units don't leave room for pipes at the back was to fix a batten to the wall that left room for the pipes and wires. This was OK for us since we had already decided to get a granite worktop which was made to measure, taking into account the extra depth. We used diapol and are really pleased with the whole thing. Our builders would have preferred Howden's because the carcasses come assembled rather than flat pack. We had to spend quite a bit of time helping the fitter interpret the IKEA instructions. We were really pleased with the diapol work top partly because you can calculate the cost using their website. IKEA prices are readily available, for the units anyway, which is unlike Howden's who would only talk terms after they'd come to measure up etc. Hope that helps.

[Fidgetsmum]

Thanks for more advice. And contacts. All really helpful.

[Scootagal]

Put in an IKEA kitchen in our last house - other half and his dad fitted it and it was great....only problem was that when we received the delivery here was only about a third of it there...it took about two months for us to receive the whole lot! But still loved it and got some compensation for the delay so can't complain!