That's a Nice $1,400 Kitchen
If you're planning—or have recently completed—a kitchen remodel, chances are you've considered IKEA for products, if only fleetingly. After all, when the fancy European brands can cost tens of thousands of dollars for cabinetry alone, it's tempting to turn to that big blue retail behemoth and save a bundle of money. But while the savings may be compelling, there're always the questions: Does an IKEA kitchen actually look good? And is it really that cheap? The answers are both yes, according to IKEA employee Terry (a graphic designer for the company) who recently put his employer to the test and redid his apartment's kitchen entirely with IKEA goods by himself—all for under $1,400.
Terry recently submitted his project on the Dwell website, with a only a short explanation and a couple of pictures. We were intrigued, so we called him for more photos and background on the story.
When Terry moved in to his studio in an old 1955 building in San Francisco, the existing kitchen was dark, depressing, and outdated. He got permission from his landlord to do work, then talked to a contractor about the scope of the project, who advised him to do the job himself.
With the help of a friend, Terry ripped out the entire kitchen one Friday after work, which took 4-5 hours, then moved on to ripping out the carpet. The rest of the kitchen was installed by Terry over the course of three and a half weekends ("working 10 hour days," he clarifies).
Everything in the space is from IKEA with the exception of the rice cooker, toaster oven, and the original fridge in the kitchen. Apparently, IKEA even sells stoves and hood vents, so those appliances, along with cabinetry, bamboo flooring, countertops, drawer pulls, etc. is all from the big blue store. Clarifying that he's no handyman in his spare time, Terry says that all the products were easy to install; the cabinets hang on a rail system that's drilled into the wall studs, and the countertops screw right in. An instructional DVD came with the cabinets, for additional information.
To be fair, Terry does mention that he gets a small discount of 15% as an IKEA employee, helping to trim costs even more. And apparently IKEA has an as-is department, where cabinets and other pieces from store "sets" are put on sale (which are available to the public as well). But even without that discount or additional sale items, his kitchen could easily be replicated for under $2,000.
Frankly, for all his efforts in making such a nice IKEA showpiece kitchen, we feel Terry should be compensated for his boosterism of his employer.
For interested parties, here are the products that Terry used:
Akurum wall cabinet frames
Lansa door and drawer handles
Imperativ back splash panels (stainless steel)
Emsen double sink
ENSKÄR faucet
Tundra click laminate flooring (Maple color)
IKEA stove and hood vent
Terry recently submitted his project on the Dwell website, with a only a short explanation and a couple of pictures. We were intrigued, so we called him for more photos and background on the story.
When Terry moved in to his studio in an old 1955 building in San Francisco, the existing kitchen was dark, depressing, and outdated. He got permission from his landlord to do work, then talked to a contractor about the scope of the project, who advised him to do the job himself.
With the help of a friend, Terry ripped out the entire kitchen one Friday after work, which took 4-5 hours, then moved on to ripping out the carpet. The rest of the kitchen was installed by Terry over the course of three and a half weekends ("working 10 hour days," he clarifies).
Everything in the space is from IKEA with the exception of the rice cooker, toaster oven, and the original fridge in the kitchen. Apparently, IKEA even sells stoves and hood vents, so those appliances, along with cabinetry, bamboo flooring, countertops, drawer pulls, etc. is all from the big blue store. Clarifying that he's no handyman in his spare time, Terry says that all the products were easy to install; the cabinets hang on a rail system that's drilled into the wall studs, and the countertops screw right in. An instructional DVD came with the cabinets, for additional information.
To be fair, Terry does mention that he gets a small discount of 15% as an IKEA employee, helping to trim costs even more. And apparently IKEA has an as-is department, where cabinets and other pieces from store "sets" are put on sale (which are available to the public as well). But even without that discount or additional sale items, his kitchen could easily be replicated for under $2,000.
Frankly, for all his efforts in making such a nice IKEA showpiece kitchen, we feel Terry should be compensated for his boosterism of his employer.
For interested parties, here are the products that Terry used:
Akurum wall cabinet frames
Lansa door and drawer handles
Imperativ back splash panels (stainless steel)
Emsen double sink
ENSKÄR faucet
Tundra click laminate flooring (Maple color)
IKEA stove and hood vent
Posted by: Amara Holstein on May 7, 07 at 09:00 AM PDT
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Posted by t on 10/20/08 10:45PM PDT
my home is in new port richiey florida ..how and where do i find i kea in that area
Posted by zina on 10/05/08 02:25PM PDT
my home is in new port richiey florida ..how and where do i find i kea in that area
Posted by zina on 10/05/08 02:25PM PDT
They look great but how well do they hold up? Do they seem sturdy enough to last at least 3-4 years?
Posted by Lisa Kominek on 10/03/08 02:22PM PDT
If you start with one of the simpler ones, it's easier to get the hang of the instructions, i.e., try a wall cabinet before one of the big banks of drawers. When we put ours together, the people at www.ikeafans.com were really helpful and even answered questions during the morning that we were assembling and hanging cabinets.
Biggest key thing to remember: put the drawer divider in the 30 and 36" wide cabinets BEFORE installing the countertop. It screws in from above.
Posted by ro on 09/13/08 10:47AM PDT
If you are a bit handy, ikea is really easy to assemble. good quality and low price, so you can take the few hours it takes to assemble it yourself
Posted by Dave on 07/18/08 08:47PM PDT
What is the exact name of the door style?
Posted by Joe on 03/03/08 06:49PM PST
I'll take this "generic" IKEA kitchen over the original "unique" kitchen any day of the week. Sometimes old and drab is just that.
Posted by JustMike on 10/13/07 12:19AM PDT
Have you ever put together an Ikea cabinet? I can put them together in about 5 minutes if I don't stop and watch TV along the way.
Posted by McF on 07/05/07 03:07PM PDT
Have you ever put together an Ikea cabinet? I can put them together in about 5 minutes if I don't stop and watch TV along the way.
Posted by McF on 07/05/07 03:07PM PDT
Original kitchen had much more of a unique design. Would have been cool to see something that had played on the original design. Nothing special about a generic IKEA kitchen. But that's just my 2 cents.
Posted by James on 06/23/07 11:04PM PDT
Ikea always takes me forever to assemble. I think the cost of labor should be included in the calculation which raises the price of this kitchen.
Posted by Sarah F. Cox on 06/13/07 02:52PM PDT
The cost of labor should not be ignored. Ikea takes forever to assemble.
Posted by Sarah on 06/13/07 02:51PM PDT
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