This will be starting from scratch with new strapping and boarding and plumbing and electrics so we are bound only by the basic dimensions of the room, and can put secure battens up behind the boarding for mounting wall cupboards etc.

Won’t include fitting as the builder and I will do that ourselves.

So really my only questions are is the quality decent, is the price reasonable for the quality you get, and what are their own appliances like?

(The current kitchen was from Howdens and frankly it’s shite, although blame for that may lie to some extent with the fitters, and I’m fairly sure it will be a cheaper end Howdens one).

My sister had one. It was lovely, and cost about a third what you’d have expected.

That’s the sort of sort of answer I’m looking for. I wonder if they can close the thread at this point 🙂

Lots of friends round here have them as we are close to the store. Don’t think I’ve ever heard a complaint, several people have bought more than once after moving house etc.

Of course I didn’t live with it for long. However I’m a sucker for aesthetics, and every time I go in there (IKEA, not my sister’s kitchen.. she moved anyway) I’m struck by how much more attractive they are.

Not sure if it’s still the case, but I remember when I looked a few years ago IKEA kitchen units were a proprietary size, or at least not the same standard size you would buy elsewhere. This meant if you ever wanted to replace the doors in the future with something different, you couldn’t go to B&Q for example and buy replacements, only IKEA doors will fit. It may have changed now as it was maybe 8 years ago.

We put one in as a “cheap” stop gap 5 years ago. Still looks good.

Will probably use Ikea again if we finally decide to remodel the house.

We fitted one about 8 years ago (an oak one), and it’s only just starting to show its age in a few places (around the sink). All carcasses are fine and no doors have fallen off!

We fitted all the units ourselves but got a chippy in to do the worktops.

Can’t comment on their appliances as we went for Neff.

We’ve had ours for over 4 years. Fitted it myself.
Have been really happy with it. No problems installing and no complaints 4 years on.
I thought it was really reasonably priced and they also offered interest free credit on it.
Just about to move house and we will get another one for the new place.
Can’t comment on the appliances as I didn’t buy any of those.

My tuppence worth.

We have a Howdens kitchen in the “kitchen”. Really good quality, it’s 14 years old and doesn’t look over 2. Very well fitted though, and we’ve looked after it and not abused it.

We also have some IKEA units in the utility room. Very good for the money. Solid and it gets a bit of abuse. I’d buy more IKEA when the kitchen needs redoing.

Very happy with ours. Took an old one out and was able to reuse quite a bit of it, new one went in easily and has been good so far. Open pricing makes life a lot easier. You can swap bits in and out and see what impacts on the price. No need for Howdens made up discounts. Warranties are considered good if you need it. Only have one appliance, a built in microwave and that is fine but microwaves usually are.

Easy to DIY fit especially with their rail system. Just need to be wary of the lack of service void. Not a big deal if you are starting from scratch as you can put the plumbing where it needs to be.

Mine’s three years old, it’s been rock solid and has barely a mark on it despite heavy family use. One panel was damaged when delivered but it was changed without hassle. Watch out for the lack of service void at the rear – there’s no space at all (except for sink units) so your services need to be low level under the units or chased into the walls. Means your cupboards and drawers all have 100mm extra depth over everyone else’s though so it’s worth a bit of faff to move services if necessary. I was happy with the price, though I didn’t shop around extensively because I just didn’t have the appetite for trawling kitchen showrooms! Applicances (double oven, microwave and hob) have all been fine – think they’re Whirlpool rebranded as Ikea. The only thing I’d have done differently is got the stainless sink elsewhere – it scratches and marks a bit too easily – I think you’re better looking at a Franke or similar.

Ikea units don’t have the service void at the back of the units like others do so be aware of that.

Make sure you buy all the doors you will need at the same time as they occasionally withdraw certain types meaning you can’t get that extra door you might need.

I’m very happy with mine and i would certainly buy again.

Agree with Molgrips. There seems to be very little difference in the carcases across all kitchen suppliers from IKEA to whoever… We are on our second one after moving house.

Spend the cash on what you see like doors and worktops. Take your time building it and fitting and its great.

Dont forget that if you live near an IKEA, a lot of ex display electricals can be picked up in the bargain section near the tills… as well as extractors, sinks, taps etc etc…

Electricals are own branded Whirlpool etc etc and have been very reliable for us (fridges / freezers / dishwashers / cooker)

My sister did have the IKEA own appliances and FWIW they were always nice to use and looked good. The diswasher was more solid than our Bosch one currently.

So really my only questions are is the quality decent, is the price reasonable for the quality you get, and what are their own appliances like?

My kitchen is Ikea, and has sustained A LOT of abuse since first installed 6 years ago. Other than the cupboards needing a wipe-down, it is still going strong, and when the time comes for replacement, I would certainly consider going there again. I bought the whole thing interest-free for 1/3 the cost of what some other companies were charging for equivalent-ish stuff.

Two minor words of caution, though:

1) Some mechanisms can be fussy (such as the pivot for one of our corner cupboards. The other one works fine, but in the first, the two levels spin together rather than spinning independently of one another. I suspect this is because my kids played with them.

2) The plumbing work that comes with the sink (or whatever) is shite. Just toss the pipes in the recycling bin, and go get some proper plumbing fittings from a specialist shop.

Cheers, this is encouraging. MrsTGA has her heart set on IKEA (seduced by the showroom, obviously). I have no objection based on what I’ve seen but I do want solid well made stuff.

Re Howdens, as I say, I think in our case there is more to it than ‘Howdens stuff is crap’, it’s just put me off them a bit for this time round.

we are in the process of choosing a kitchen supplier now. Ikea seem to come out best on the price to quality ratio. You can get better but pay much more for something that will last longer but many these days seem to think a kitchen has to change with fashions. Some of the the design and function elements of Ikea kitchens are better than most other suppliers, however you are limited by their own standard size (nowt is interchangeable with other suppliers. I’d avoid Ikea appliances and always go for the best you can afford.

Agree with the comments on Howden, I’d add Wren B&Q and others. However though not cheap John Lewis kitchens are very good (having had one).

The only way to make sure a kitchen of whatever cost is any good is to have it fitted by someone who knows what they are doing and cares about the end product.

I have an Ikea kitchen, mostly its great but there are a few things that have failed over the eight year life. All little jobs so more annoying than anything else but given it was probably half the price of most alternatives I would not hesitate to buy again.

A decent kitchen is probably 50% in the fitting and finish, 25% is the detail on things like hinges and draw sliders etc (i.e. if all these little bits are crap the end result is a bit crap – I think Ikea is ok and at least easy to fix for budget stuff) and the final 25% is in the quality / design of the practical bits such as the sink, taps and work top – we didn’t get these from Ikea.

I’d avoid Ikea appliances and always go for the best you can afford.

Aren’t they just proper appliances with the label replaced by the Ikea logo?

We got both our fridge and our cooker as part of our kitchen, and both have been flawless. In fact, our cooker, which has a bit of a Rangemaster Classis look about it, is unlike anything I’ve ever seen anywhere else.

We very recently fitted an ikea kitchen.

Really pleased with the quality and ease of fit.

One thing that I can’t stress enough, if you’re having an integrated dishwasher, buy an ikea one. Their cupboard doors are taller than standard, and do not play well with standard dishwashers unless you buy an adapter kit to attach the door which is now discontinued and only available through strategic spares.
Again, buy an Ikea dishwasher!

Other than that, we’ve got non-ikea appliances. Whirlpool oven / microwave and Smeg induction hob (if you want smeg stuff have a look here, it comes from italy and is generally around 2/3 the price, we got our hob from there, delivery was fairly long but not a problem if you’re fitting a kitchen in the mean time!)

Oh, and we got worktops form worktop express. Again, highly recommended.

Lack of service gap isn’t a problem, our pipes were run in the wall to come out in the back of the cupboard under the sink and all electrics are under the floor and pop up at the back of the relevant units, isolators are located in cupboards to keep the walls looking tidy.

If you need any specific advise give me a shout, or if you want to come have a nosey at ours (we are in York, don’t know where you are) let me know.

we had one fitted 2 years ago. It’s pretty good, but our fitter wasn’t the best so a few issues. We got all the appliances from them, so far the dishwasher has been replaced under warranty and the fridge freezer is about to be replaced under warranty. The washer dryer has a faulty door mechanism and is next on the list. The stainless hob has got very scratched and all the setting indicators for the gas ring controls have rubbed off.

If we were doing it again we’d maybe go elsewhere, but Ikea stuff was a good price, and to be fair, the warranty processes with appliances hasn’t been too painful so far..

I fitted one to a freshly plastered room last year.

A. Metod is meant to make it easier as you hang everything on a rail. This is for base and wall units. Only works if your room is 100% square. If the walls are out it becomes an issue. Our house is 140 years old and the corners ain’t 90°. Still; did it and it looks good.

B. metod means you can remove units in next to no time and slot others in.
Ikea’s previous system “faktum” was in production for 25 years. Metod will be around for ages so in 10 years when you want to refresh you can easily change it.

C. No service areas in the base units. I knew this so I set the pipes back into the walls.

D. The quality is good. No issues.

E. The units are deeper than standard units. The wall in my gable end is out, this meant I had to buy non IKEA worktop and use a cut down breakfast bar top to provide enough depth to meet the wall and provide adequate over hang.

F. The appliances are whirlpool all but in name. We had dishwasher, fridge freezer, washer, oven and hob/hood. All have 5 year guarantee.
The induction hob is awesome BTW.

We love it. Cost 3950 all in. Fitted in a week with no experience.

I know you’ve got the answers you wanted, but if you want to look at an alternative, I can recommend DIY Kitchens.

I’ve fitted ours from them and the quality and service is excellent. If you’re anywhere near the showroom (Doncaster/Pontefract way) it’s worth calling in for a look.

Yes as above. We’ve seen Chelsea rental properties with standard white IKEA kitchens in and they don’t look out of place. Just double check measurements etc as I heard there could be compatibility issues with any existing units / sockets / room sizes.

I fitted our Ikea kitchen 13 years ago and it still looks good and we’ve had no issues with drawer runners or hinges.

Watch out as IKEA kitchens don’t have a service void at the back for pipes, cables etc. They are also a strange size so keep this in mind if you plan to get the worktops from somewhere else.

Have a look at DIY kitchens as an alternative, they are the DIY arm of ultima. I know a few people who have used them and been very happy.

My dad is a carpenter/joiner who has fitted lots of them. He says they’re ok which in anyone else’s language would be really good as most other kitchen manufacturers he describes as s***e. It’s all about the carcasses apparently.

Just a quick heads up to some in this thread, Ikea offered to hold stock for Factum kitchens for 2 years after it was replaced. That two years runs out this June so if you have niggly bits or need the odd draw slide it might be a good time to deal with it. I suspect you’ll still be able to get certain bits for much longer, though

Thanks. Points noted about service gap and appliance. Not keen to scrap my 1yr old Bosch dishwasher but then I’m not prescious about it being integrated. Wonder if there’s much call for second hand appliances?

I’m happy to look at alternatives so thanks for those suggestions, although when the home secretary has made her mind up…

+1 recommended

I recently did our utility room (about 12′ square), all from IKEA.

The scoping/ordering exercise was good and easy and the lady knew what she was doing. Everything arrived correctly and all fitted easily.

We got in a carpenter friend to fit the worktops.

We’re buying another for a granny annex we’re currently doing, and will be fitting one when we replace our kitchen next year.

Our IKEA kitchen is 10+ years old, and showing only minimal signs of wear and tear. Very impressed. I was working in a place with a bespoke kitchen fitting company recently; the guys said that IKEA cannot be beaten for price, and that the quality is as good as anything you can get without going down the fully bespoke route. They said quite a lot of their business was from rich people who are simply too snobbish to buy IKEA. Ultimately, it’s just chipboard carcasses with veneers/paint finishes, and maybe solid wood doors. The materials do not change the more you spend (unless you start at the really cheap end).

The builder who did my kitchen thought the Ikea boxes were better than the rest. I got him to fit boxes and then make the doors and worktop from scratch and so a cheap kitchen looks like a bespoke kitchen in French Grey (F and B). Excellent handles from Hafele.

Yes I have seen some pictures of one’s where people have put bespoke doors on IKEA units.

I have one, it’s great, really happy with it. Everything fits, everything works, everything looks like it goes together. The storage is so much better than all the competitors which we saw, and it was far far cheaper.

Only problem we had was with the borderline retarded fitter, who missed out some critical steps with fitting which caused some issues with the worktop and fridge which now cannot be resolved without ripping the lot out.

Looked at many other options and went with IKEA in the end. Been in a year now and can’t fault it, their appointed installation team were top too, really helpful. Went for all Bosch appliances rather than IKEA’s own and again no hassle. Word of advice though, when you go through your consultation at IKEA speak to someone senior who knows what they’re doing. Having someone really anal about the spec of ours helped no end, he picked up several specification errors the original girl had made which would have been a hassle to sort on site had they got that far. Luckily he picked them all up and corrected at order stage. Glad I didn’t try to install myself seeing how the installation team worked. Took then 3 days, would have taken me 3 weeks!

Fitted our IKEA kitchen (1st time for me) about 12 months ago with the new METOD “rail” system and I thought it was very good. As noted the rail will need packing etc. where walls aren’t straight but ours weren’t too bad.

Agree with most of the above but the void is about 8-10mm rather than being none existent so you can get away with electrical routing without disturbing the inside of the carcass but certainly not plumbing..

We got the IKEA bespoke worktops as we wanted a breakfast bar and these are manaufactured in germany – they’re really very good and all the joints are cut and ready to just bolt together with biscuit joints underneath. Again – the pre-prepped worktops assume you have perfect 90 degree angles in the corners etc.

Only thing I would re-iterate from above is get the ikea integrated dishwasher. We got a load of Siemens stuff cheap through friends and family discount but IKEA urged me to get the dishwasher from them. I was dubious at first but after fitting the IKEA dishwasher I realised anything else would have been a king sized pain in the arse (tall cabinets with short kickboards mean a sliding mechansim is required).

Good luck with the project.

Absolutely no probs with Bosch integrated dishwasher so you don’t have to go IKEA. We sourced all the Bosch stuff all from AO, at a cost roughly comparable to IKEA’s own stuff, but it looks and feels much better quality.

We emailed the specs of what we were planning to buy to the fitters prior to the installation date as a double check all would fit. All went in seamlessly and without issue, including the dishwasher.

Agree with the previous comments. We have the older Faktum kitchen and I fitted it myself apart from the worktop and cut-outs. We went for oak worktops from worktop express rather an the Ikea option as they were thicker and came in better sizes. Also used a Franke sink and tap as we didn’t like the Ikea ones.

The units are great. Not sure what the new rail system is like but when I fitted mine to my old Victorian house with less than true walls I got a load of plastic wedges from screwfix that helped massively with levelling things off and shimming units out to true.

On the 3 kitchens I’ve fitted we’ve set the units off the wall with a batten – a worktop 50-100mm deeper than standard is a lot more useful. Also gives you a service void on an ikea kitchen.

Extra deep worktops are easy to find. You also need oversized end panels if you have tall units alongside low level cabinets.