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An Honest In-Depth Review of Our Ikea Kitchen

Are you considering an Ikea Kitchen?   If so you must read my honest in-depth review of my own Ikea Kitchen remodel.

We did a major remodel in the forest house and the biggest project that we undertook was gutting, opening up, and completely renovating the entire kitchen and dining space.  Because it was such a massive project (as well as a large space square footage-wise), we knew that it would require a significant amount of cabinetry and could become much more expensive than the house warranted.  So, we decided to try out Ikea kitchen cabinets for the first time.

An Honest In-Depth Review Of Our Ikea Kitchen graphic.

You can see our full main kitchen before and after reveal here, and our kitchen bar/banquette area reveal in this post. I also shared the details on our Dekton countertops in this post, why we love our Frigidaire Gallery Line appliances here, as well as the information on all of our kitchen lighting and accessories in this post.

We’ve long been huge fans of the Ikea Pax wardrobe system and love the quality of the PAX system for the price.  Our goal was to achieve an inspirational kitchen remodel full of contemporary touches but also to achieve an understated and timeless look. The ability to customize an Ikea kitchen by mixing in statement design features means that just because you save on cabinetry, you don’t have to have a cheap looking kitchen.  My honest review of our Ikea kitchen is that we were able to create a functional, elegant, fresh update to our home for a fraction of the cost of a custom kitchen installation. It just required a lot more sweat equity, which was a price we were willing to pay.

Grey Grimslov Ikea cabinets with a white kitchen island and wood chairs around the island.

We read a lot about Ikea kitchens before taking the plunge and visited the Ikea kitchen showroom in person to scout out the door style that we wanted to use.  I knew that I wanted a solid wood door in a shaker style, which led me to the Grimslov Grey Ikea Cabinet Style.  We loved the soft grey colour and thought it would be a stunning contrast to all of the white in our home.  I will share more about the Ikea Grimslov Grey kitchen cabinet door style in another post, but today I want to share my honest and in-depth review of our Ikea kitchen remodel after living with it for over a year.

A white and grey Ikea kitchen with wood chairs around the island and brass pulls on the cabinets.

Are Ikea kitchens any good?

Yes, Ikea kitchens are good. I believe that Ikea kitchen are a great product for the price. Of course, custom cabinetry is better. But if your budget does not allow for a completely custom, locally built kitchen then I believe that an Ikea kitchen remodel is an excellent second choice. Our remodelled Ikea kitchen functioned beautifully and the cabinetry held up extremely well to everyday use.  It also looked high-end because of our save/splurge approach and people were shocked to learn that it was, in fact, an Ikea kitchen. I’ll write another post soon about how we customized our Ikea kitchen remodel to feel high-end.

A large hood range is over the kitchen island that has a built in cooktop.

Things we love about the Ikea Kitchen System:

We absolutely love the way that you can have a drawer inside a drawer, so that the kitchen design appears much more streamlined and cleaner but still allows you to have several smaller drawers for storage. We also adore the fact that Ikea has developed so many organizers that fit perfectly within their drawers so that everything you need can be well-organized and easily within reach.

Spice jars are in the drawers in the kitchen, plus cutlers is in a wooden cutlery tray. There are lemons in a wooden bowl on the countertop.

The drawer is pulled open showing the wooden cutlery tray with all the cutlery inside.

The pullouts available for spices and for garbage/ recycling are also amazingly functional and I would include those in any kitchen I design going forward. Higher end kitchens likely also have these features, but the fact that you can get such customized organizational features with such an affordable kitchen system is, I believe, the biggest perk of an Ikea kitchen.

A bottom pull out side cabinet that holds the pieces and sauces jars.

A very bottom pull out drawer that has cleaning wipes and sprays inside.

We also love the hardware! And by hardware I mean the soft-close system that is used for doors as well as the sliding hardware they include for all of the drawers. Our friend who helped us install the majority of our kitchen cabinets and helped us tweak our design to  make it look more custom is an expert on custom cabinetry and he said the hardware that Ikea sends is the same high-end hardware he has used on custom kitchen installations.

A corner cabinet with shelves that pull out that holds all the pots and stainless steel bowls.

The parts of the Ikea Section system that we don’t like are the plastic feet and the toe kicks. The plastic feet that the base cabinets sit on feel kind of junky and cheap and next time we would build wooden bases for the cabinets to sit on throughout.  We only built a wooden base for the island in our forest house renovation.  There are excellent youtube videos on building this type of base for an Ikea kitchen, and I’ll be sharing a post soon on how we built a pony wall as well as a wooden base for our Ikea kitchen island.

We also didn’t love the way the Ikea toe kicks attach to the plastic legs and found them to be kind of cheap and junky feeling.  They look fine once they are on, but when we install our next Ikea kitchen we plan to colour match and paint our own MDF trim toe kicks rather than using the ones you can purchase through Ikea.

How much does an Ikea kitchen really cost?

An Ikea kitchen costs a fraction of the price of a custom kitchen, but is probably comparable to many big box stores lower end pre-fab kitchen options. The difference is that, I believe, the quality of Ikea kitchen cabinets, and especially of the hardware that they use for their drawers and doors, is much great quality than you would get with a big box store inexpensive pre-fab design (as I mentioned above).

A small bar area that says brewery on the sign with a wooden shelf with beer bottles on it. Below is a wine fridge and cabinets with clear glass filled with wine glasses and dishes.

We ordered our Ikea kitchen cabinets in person at the store and had them shipped directly to our home for a mere $169 (please keep in mind all my pricing is listed in Canadian dollars and I believe that prices are lower in the US).  So we originally ordered just over $11,000 in cabinetry and because we ordered it during the twice-yearly Ikea kitchen sale, we received 10% back in Ikea gift cards (you receive a higher percent back if you order Ikea kitchen appliances, as well).  We then ended up returning some pieces, so I would say that overall our Ikea kitchen cabinetry cost us right around the $10,ooo mark.  Considering the size of our kitchen and the number of cabinets, I would say that is an amazing space.  In fact, when our contractor (for our new build) came to our home to originally look at our floor plans, he was shocked it was an Ikea kitchen.  He thought a kitchen of our size would have cost about $30,000 for custom cabinetry alone (versus the $10,000 we spent).

There are brass pendant lights in the kitchen.

Are Ikea kitchens really worth the savings?

The biggest thing to consider is installation.  Are you able to spend some time building and assembling the cabinets yourself? Or does your local community or local Ikea have a contractor is fast and affordable for an Ikea kitchen installation?  If not, you may end up spending much more than you anticipated on building, assembling, and installing your Ikea kitchen cabinets and this may reduce your savings to much less as a custom kitchen generally comes fully installed for the price.

There is a small sink below the brewery sign and wooden shelf with brass faucet.

What are the Pros and Cons of doing an Ikea kitchen?

The pros of choosing to do an Ikea kitchen remodel are that you get a good quality kitchen for the price. The hardware is excellent making the kitchen function and run smoothly. Being able to customize your look through tweaks and changes, you can create a brilliantly designed, highly efficient, well-organized kitchen that you love.

The con of choosing to do an Ikea kitchen remodel is that you need to put in a bit of sweat equity. But to many DIYers, sweat equity is not actually a con.  It’s a way to add value to your home and increase your equity by putting in a little work on your own.  Sweat equity is the main way that we have gradually improved our financial situation over the years, one project at a time.  There are a plethora of excellent videos on Youtube with advice on how to assemble and install an Ikea kitchen if it seems like the right path for you.

A small table for two with two chairs, plus a built in sitting area. There is a brass light fixture over the table.

I hope this post helps you as you consider whether or not an Ikea kitchen remodel is the right choice for your home and your family!

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In-Depth Ikea Kitchen Review poster.

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31 Comments

  1. Your kitchen is beautiful. Can you send a link to the cabinet and drawer pulls and knobs? Looking for something similar. Thank you!

  2. Hi Krista, kitchen looks very good. Practical question: did you use standard coveting panels on the sides of top cabinets? Or did you cut the bigger ones to make sure covering panels are flash with the doors. It seems that if we use the standard covering panels and put them right to the wall, the doors are sticking proud a bit. On the other hand, if we make the covering panels flush with the doors, covering panels are not touching the wall, there is a small gap between the wall and the covering panel.

  3. I have pondered the ikea kitchen route, I have been around the high end home building situation for many years as an owner of a profesional painting company, we have seen it all and been involved with multi million dollar homes af the very wealthy, the difference is for them it doesnt matter how much it costs for all the high end stuff ,they just want it and can afford it and they seem to love spending the big bucks to satisfy thier needs and it makes them happy and thats great, after all thats what life is about being happy with your place in this world. Im by no means judgmental, I just live on a different side of the equation, I love the do it yourself thing and get satisfaction from the projects that I undertake in my own home, I look for deals, sometimes find new products on Kijiji that fit the renovation Im working on within my price range, you would be surprised what can be purchased if you have the time to research. The end results look no different from the wealthy customers projects that we would be involved in where they would spend astronomical dollars for the same look or design. There is a caviot to this , I have been around and worked alongside with great interior designers who spec the high end products for thier clients, so I see on a regular basis whats new and upcoming and design trends, but the underlying fact is if you have an idea of well manufactured products (and of course theres a lot of junk out there ) you can achieve the same design looks as the wealthy buyers with a little bit of leg work, I am now getting together my plans for a new kitchen and will certainly look into the Ikea route, I have seen a couple of Ikea installs, and by the time you get your granite counter tops or whatever installed along with good appliances the look is still high end, my advice is do the research and be frugal works for me hope this helps young homeowners

  4. Hi Krista — beautiful kitchen. I’m about to embark on an Ikea kitchen remodel and was wondering if you used the Ikea lazy susan hardware for your corner cabinet, or replaced it with a different model. I’m concerned about the weight I might be subjecting it to.

  5. Ikea kitchens are the worst load of rubbish out there, and they have customer service to match, if you don’t believe me buy one

  6. Hi Krista – This looks absolutely incredible (even more impressive when you see the before / after pictures). I plan to purchase IKEA cabinets as well but would love to learn more about your save / splurge personalization to the cabinets.

  7. I am in perfect agreement about the toe kicks. I am now hoping to get some baseboards that I can install in place of the plastic toe kicks. They even look to be a slightly different color or sheen than the cabinet paint and really bring down the look of what would be a beautiful, custom looking kitchen. I am also SUPER impressed with the rest of the cabinetry and drawers and it looks beautiful. I even installed all the lighting that comes with it as well as had my wall cabinets have the glass doors and it is STUNNING! Thanks for the article.

    1. I have the cabinets. I am waiting to get them installed. Do you feel they are solid. My handyman has offered to build custom cabinets, but I fell in love with the kitchen at the store and the girl who built the design was right on spot.

  8. Hi Krista,
    I love the kitchen. You have great taste as well as talent! So my kitchen is about the same size, maybe not as wide. It a square, window and sliding door in same spot. The island runs he other way.
    I have been thinking about an ikea kitchen but we cannot put it together or install ourselves.
    What do you think it would have cost if you had someone assemble and install for you?
    Not sure if it’s such a great savings if we can’t do it ourselves compared to custom. What do you think? I am in Toronto. Thanks!

  9. Thanks for such a detailed review. I just visited the Ikea store in Miami as we are considering using an Ikea kitchen for an upcoming renovation and your pros and cons are exactly the type of information I wanted to know.

    1. So glad you found it helpful! We are going to do an Ikea kitchen again in our cabin this spring/summer.

  10. Hi Krista,

    Your kitchen looks beautiful. Thank you for the information it is very helpful. I am curious how far your countertop extends behind your range and how it feels sitting there while someone is cooking. I am looking at a similar set up, but worry about spatter from cooking. Any thoughts you have would be greatly appreciated.

    1. Hi Kristy,
      I haven’t written that post yet – but I have it on my list to write it soon! Just as a quick overview, we built a 2×4 wall directly behind the island cabinets. We also put the island cabinets on a 2×4 base instead of using the Ikea hanging system. We attached them to the 2×4 structure behind them. We then cladded out the whole thing with plywood (sides, back) and added moulding to give it a panelled look. I have pictures of the process I’ll share in the post that I need to write!
      Krista

    2. Hi Krista, I also love your kitchen and I’m looking forward to your post how you made the island in detail. Meanwhile do you mind to share what are the bar stools? They are perfect!

  11. Where did you get that storage bench? It matches your Ikea cabinets, but I can’t find one on their website.

    1. Hi Jocelyn,

      We made it using Ikea Fridge Cabinetry – they had one setup in the Ikea I went to that they showed me – I have been meaning to write a post about how we did that. But basically you can use a 15″ deep or 24″ deep fridge cabinet and it will be the right height for a bench or banquette. You can use the bracers they have to add extra support for heavier countertops, and then add a piece of end gable to the top of it. We then had a bench made at a local furniture upholstery shop. Hope that helps!

      Krista

  12. I agree! there’s a range of quality in what Ikea offers and I highly recommend their highest quality hardware. It’s worth the money because their low end hinges and slides will cheapen the overall look and feel of your kitchen.

  13. Hi Krista,
    Beautiful beautiful kitchen. I will be putting in a Frigidaire Double Oven also. I was so glad to see yours in with the two drawers below. An IKEA planner told me I wouldn’t be able to fit two drawers and I would need to allow room for a filler above the bottom 5″ drawer. My oven measures 50.75 just like yours. My two questions are: Was it hard to get everything into the 90″ tall oven/micro cabinet? And do both of your bottom drawers fit? Thanks in advance for your response.

  14. Do you have the details for the pieces you purchase for just the bar area? Is that some pax mixed in or just the kitchen stuff.

    1. Hi Mia,
      These are all Ikea Kitchen pieces – they come in a 15″ depth as well as 24″ depth – the center sink/barfridge cabinetry is standard 24″ depth, but the sides are the 15″ depth tall cabinets. Hope that helps.
      Krista

      1. Hi Krista. I was planning an ikea kitchen fir my house. But my kitchen is very small and I am doing an open concept. I needed planning. Would ikea also plan the kitchen based on dimensions I give

      2. Hello,
        I believe you can make an appointment with your local Ikea – I’m not sure how COVID is affecting that for them, it may be online now? I would call your local store and talk to them in the kitchen section and they can let you know what services they offer.
        Krista

  15. Your kitchen is beautiful, I love everything about it! We are thinking of doing Ikea as well, does the store have someone who can install if that is what we need? and if so, does that make it too costly? Also, what is your floor? How is is standing up to traffic? thanks!

  16. We put our first IKEA kitchen in 17 years ago. We drove up to Canada because that was the closest at the time. Ended up changing our original desired color because they were having a sale that day. But thats ok because that color is back in style now. Just sold that house and cabinets still look new and function well. I remember when we did it everyone told us we were nuts that the cabinets wouldnt last 50 years. Who wants 50year old cabinets? But 17 years later still good. Since then I have installed IKEA in 2 other houses of ours plus my Moms plus 4 rental units. It s the extra details that make them good.

  17. Has anyone tried to install an Ikea Kitchen in a manufactured home? My unit was built in 1976 and to say the kitchen is ‘dated’ is to say that Moses was ‘middle aged’ today.
    Does Ikea also provide design services?

  18. Your kitchen is gorgeous! We are wanting to use this style ikea cabinets in the off white, but I’m not seeing a sink base like yours, which I absolutely love. Was this one of the customizations you did? If not could you point me in the right direction? Thanks!

  19. I put in my IKEA kitchen in 2017 & it is holding up strong, still such a joy every day. Before taking the plunge I read scores of blogs & reviews like yours, so I’m sure this will help others. The high JD Power customer satisfaction rating was huge to me, as was the warranty.

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