Are you considering an IKEA kitchen but aren’t sure if it’s the right way to go?  Jason and I have installed 4 IKEA kitchens in the past 5 years, have seen 3 wealthy families choose an IKEA kitchen over other options, and have helped another friend design + plan her IKEA kitchen on a budget.  Read on to see 12 reasons why an IKEA kitchen can be the solution to all your problems.

#1 – P R I C E

An IKEA kitchen is affordable.  Hands down, it is probably one of the cheapest options out there.  If you are on a budget, look no further.  You will not be compromising on style, design, features or quality when you choose an IKEA kitchen.  And I’ll let you in on a little secret: If you can manage to wait until March or April to do your kitchen, some years IKEA will have a 20% off sale.  Now, with 20% off, not only can you afford to do your kitchen, but maybe you can afford some super cool upgrades or a fancier cabinet door. Can you say bonus?

#2 – QUALITY

These cabinets are well made.  They are heavy duty.  This isn’t the flimsy white pressboard that your mom bought you for your bedroom in 1985 that sagged after 3 years of holding a shelf full of books.  These cabinets are thick and strong.  The shelves would take a lot to bend. They are made to hold heavy plates and the like. The drawers use metal glides and strong bolts. I have accidentally fallen on them, kicked them, snagged my belt loop on the drawer handle while walking by (more about drawer pulls in a future post) and these cabinets have stood up.  Jason has slammed the drawers and doors (or tried to) in an angry moment and still – no damage.  You don’t have to worry about quality.

#3 – S O F T  C L O S E

Yup, you guessed it.  IKEA’s new upgraded line, Maximera, offers soft close doors and drawers.  This is SOOOO worth it.  Although they do sell an even less expensive line that doesn’t have these features, let me tell you, you want these features.  And not only because it’s nice and it feels high end and it will increase the value of your home or rental and you are getting something that is normally super expensive for next to nothing…but because it will decrease the wear and tear on your cabinetry and help prolong their lifetime.  We’re working with a budget here, right?  And you certainly don’t want to be redoing the whole kitchen in 5 years, so go with the Maximera.

#4 – S M A R T  D E S I G N

IKEA is famous for coming up with innovative little details that make its products appealing to the masses for less money than other retailers.  This totally applies to their kitchens.  Did you know that the founder of IKEA actually invented flat packed, assemble it yourself furniture?  No wonder they are so good at it. IKEA’s kitchen cabinets and drawers are intelligent, and after doing 4 of their kitchens and a laundry room, I still haven’t tried every option of cabinet they offer. Their drawers work off of a 3 size system, small, medium + large. Mix and match to create the storage solutions that work best for you, without sacrificing design.  How do they do this? Hidden drawers.  You can make all the exteriors look the same size, while hiding multiple different sized drawers within.  They give you a guide for assembly and everything has a number, if you are organized and label all of the boxes, assembly will be a breeze.

#5 – G L A S S  D O O R S + O T H E R  F U N  F E A T U R E S

IKEA is no slouch when it comes to design, so they know you want glass doors and open shelves incorporated into your kitchen design and they have a solution for each.  You can choose whether you want glass shelves or white shelves inside your glass door cabinet. You can add all kinds of towel bars, hooks, and hanging storage solutions that will save you on space and only display what is beautiful, or put ugly things away into gorgeous little containers.

#6 – G A R B A G E  S O L U T I O N S

Speaking of hiding what’s ugly, every new kitchen should include a hidden garbage drawer.  And IKEA makes it easy to make this one fit 2 full size garbages back to back, or a size appropriate selection of garbage cans and recycling containers to fit your needs. Whether you want this under your kitchen sink, or in the center of your island, you will love the pullout garbage solutions.  Bonus, they always leave space for a small drawer at the top if you like, so you can have knives or other utensils handy.

#7 – D R A W E R S,  D R A W E R S,  D R A W E R S!

The modern kitchen designer has learned that drawers hold MUCH more than cabinets with shelves inside. Not only are they easier to fit more items in, but they pull out for easy access and less stress on the body when working in the kitchen.  You won’t believe how many more things fit in drawers than in cabinets. And IKEA has created a super versatile system that allows you to choose drawers in the base cabinets, drawers that sit directly on top of your countertop, drawers that hide inside of pantry doors, and even drawers that hide inside of, you guessed it, OTHER DRAWERS.  You need to go to IKEA and check out their kitchen section if you aren’t familiar with this. They are pretty cool.

#8 – V E R S A T I L I T Y

The cabinet sizes come in a range of 12″ to 36″. The real options start at the 15″ size. The 12″ option is there, but unless you NEED a 12″ cabinet in your design, I would skip it.  Try to design your kitchen as if the 15″ size were the smallest available.  The depth of drawers are 5″, 10″, or 15″. This makes the drawers super versatile.  In one base cabinet, you can fit 5 small drawers, 4 small drawers and one medium drawer, OR 3 small drawers and one large drawer, OR 2 small drawers and 2 medium drawers, OR 2 large drawers, OR one small, one medium, and one large drawer! Not only that, you can arrange them any way you want. Sink cabinets offer options for farmhouse sinks or regular ones. Cabinets are available for over the fridge, over the stove, to hold a microwave, with doors that hinge upwards, or a super cool 42″ corner cabinet that eliminates the old lazy Susan option.

#9 – I N S E R T S

IKEA has come up with a ton of choices for organizing the insides of your shelves and drawers.  From plate stackers to lid organizers to drawer dividers to utensil holders, knife storage, tool storage and even spice solutions, they have thought of everything. And they have a solution for every budget. The white plastic option is your budget friendly way to go.  But if you really want the beauty and style of your cabinet insides to stand up to what you are seeing on the outside, they have the gorgeous and hardworking bamboo line. Consider using every single option they offer. I did and I don’t regret it for a second. We have renters all summer and I constantly get compliments on how well organized our kitchen is, and how easy it is for them to find what they were looking for.

#10 – C U S T O M I Z A B L E

Sure, IKEA offers a line of handles and knobs that are well made, stylish + work perfectly with their kitchen system, but sometimes the handles and knobs can be a dead giveaway that you did an IKEA kitchen, and if you don’t want everyone to know instantly, consider using a different line of hardware or buying your countertop, sink or faucets outside of IKEA. This can really set your kitchen apart and make it unique. Not only that, but if you are the least bit handy or have access to a friend or relative who has woodworking experience, you can cut down the bases and doors to create custom solutions. There is a whole world out there made up of something they call IKEA hacks. This is when people take an inexpensive IKEA item and transform it to work for them in a different way, creating something new and gorgeous in the process.

#11 – Y O U  C A N  D O  I T

If you have the energy + time, you CAN definitely do this yourself.  I have put together lots of furniture in my life but I am NOT a professional. I did not have experience putting together drawers and I had never built a kitchen. Jason and I built all the drawers, cabinet bases, doors, wall cabinets, everything, with my mother and sister. My dad helped us hang the wall cabinets and create custom reclaimed wood toe kicks. When my sister’s fiancee (who is a contractor) was hired to install an IKEA kitchen, guess who he called to help him install it? I recommend watching You Tube videos first to make sure you understand what you are doing. Learn what the little pictures in the directions mean. Start with the easy ones, cabinets with doors. Work your way up to the bases with drawers, and save the ones with hidden drawers for last. And I cannot stress this enough: Work in teams of TWO! You cannot do this well for the first time by yourself.  Even after doing 4 of them, I cannot do it well by myself.  It is easier, less frustrating, and safer if you do it with a partner.  If you want nothing to do with installation, hire a professional.  They will recommend one or you can find your own contractor.

#12 – S T Y L E

These kitchens LOOK beautiful.  They can be designed to fit into any decor style, and there are options all the way from super modern and glam to very traditional. You can even combine some of the styles with other styles for a feature wall of cabinetry or to define a space. Their colors are on trend.  Trying to save money? Consider using a different drawer front on all your island cabinets, or do the lowers in one material and the uppers in another.  Use open shelves instead of uppers and save yourself on wall cabinets.  Best of all, when totally done and assembled, they look as good or better than a custom kitchen.  They are gorgeous, and they look expensive.

I hope I have eased your mind if you were wavering on whether or not to actually go out and buy an IKEA kitchen.  I have had great experiences so far and I wouldn’t hesitate to do another one.  If this is any testament: We installed the exact same IKEA kitchen in our new farmhouse that we used in the trailer.  The trailer was done as a flip. We were on a budget, and that’s why we ultimately chose IKEA.  But after living with it and LOVING it, I wouldn’t even look elsewhere. I knew I had a solution to all the things I wanted in a kitchen, all in one gorgeous, INEXPENSIVE, solution! Check out our trailer kitchen remodel here.

I really think the hardware is the biggest dead giveaway that a kitchen is an IKEA kitchen.  And I am not saying it’s a bad thing if people notice your kitchen is from IKEA. I  just recognize that in the hardware department, IKEA has maybe 10 types of handles + knobs, and that’s not a ton of choice.  If you are going for a unique look, consider shopping elsewhere for your hardware.  I just couldn’t bear to put these links in this post next to all these gorgeous photos, but here are some of the items we used in the Farmhouse kitchen to personalize it, along with a couple suggestions I would also consider if going for a unique look in your farmhouse kitchen: