Are you considering installing an IKEA kitchen in your home? Is it good quality and is it expensive? How about customization and how long it will last? We’ve had our IKEA kitchen for 7 years, and today I'm answering all your questions in this IKEA kitchen review.
When we built our home in 2013, we wanted it to be beautiful and functional. We didn’t want to spend a whole lot on the finishes. That’s where an IKEA kitchen came in - it was a great-looking and organized kitchen option for us, but the price was right.
I designed our kitchen myself using the IKEA Kitchen Planner on their website, which I found relatively user-friendly. Since then, I’ve helped design a couple of other IKEA kitchens for friends and family using the Planner and it’s done the job well.
We decided to go for a design where the cabinets went all the way to the ceiling. I mixed-and-matched some black wood cupboard fronts with some white ones for a unique look. I still love the look of our vintage industrial styled kitchen, and it’s held up wonderfully for us and our three kids.
Since we installed our kitchen, the IKEA kitchen system has changed a little, but it’s still very similar to ours.
Watch my IKEA kitchen review 7 years later here:
Here are some answers to common questions I receive about an IKEA kitchen:
Are IKEA kitchen cabinets good quality?
We’ve had our cabinets for 7 years, and they still look great and work perfectly. I know quite a few people that have said the same about their IKEA kitchens.
What are the cabinets made of?
IKEA cabinets themselves are made of MDF, but there are several different door options. Some are wood and some are laminate.
Are IKEA kitchen cabinets expensive? How much do they cost?
IKEA kitchen cabinets are a great deal. We didn’t pay more than $10,000 for all of the Ikea cabinets in our house. We used the Ikea kitchen cabinets not only for our kitchen, but for our laundry room and two bathrooms as well! It will depend on which style of door you choose, but they’re all affordable compared to almost any other kitchen cabinet on the market.
Can the cabinets be painted?
You can paint IKEA cabinets - even the laminate ones - but it’s a lengthy process. You’ll have to make sure you prep the surface carefully with sanding and priming, and seal the paint with a durable top coat. My mom painted her IKEA cabinet doors before installation, and they look beautiful.
Can you install an IKEA kitchen cabinet yourself? Will IKEA install your kitchen?
If you are even a little handy, you can install an IKEA kitchen cabinet by yourself (with the help of a friend or family member or two!). The cabinets themselves are simple to put together and can be done before-hand. Hanging the cabinets is a little trickier, but then installing all the door and drawer fronts is easy again! I’ve installed IKEA cabinets myself. If you don’t want to install these yourself, you can hire IKEA to install them for you. However, our experience is that you will have to do most of the finishing or customization work that you want. You can even ask an IKEA kitchen designer to design your kitchen for you if that job makes you nervous, too!
The IKEA Kitchen Event
If you’re in the market for an IKEA kitchen, wait for their Kitchen Event! They usually seem to have it 2-3 times a year, and you can get money back in gift cards to use on appliances or other home furnishings from IKEA. It’s a great way to potentially save even more money.
Why an IKEA Kitchen?
I’d recommend an IKEA kitchen to anyone that wants to save money on their kitchen, but that needs something very functional.
One of my favourite things about an IKEA kitchen is all of the interior slide-outs in the cupboards and drawers, and then all of the accessories IKEA has that can be added to the interiors to make them even more organized. An IKEA kitchen is a wonderful option for a lot of people!
I hope you found this IKEA kitchen review helpful! If you have any questions or comments about an IKEA kitchen, please don't hesitate to comment below.
PIN ME:
Minnette
So how did your white wash stained butcher block countertops turn out? Did you keep them? (The pictures look a little grey, so I wasn't sure if you'd made a change) And did you use birch when you used the white wash?
Mariele Storm
So helpful, thank you! I can't believe how brand-new they look after 7 years. 🙂
Linda
Hi 👋🏼 did you get their appliances? If so did they hold up well?
Sarah - The DIY Mommy
Christina's appliances came from the Brick, here's a post about them here: https://thediymommy.com/our-kitchen-makeover-with-black-stainless-steel-appliances/
Laura Robinson
What did you use for the backsplash?
Sarah - The DIY Mommy
It's Marble! You can read about it right over here: https://thediymommy.com/carrara-marble-slab-panel-backsplash-black-white-kitchen/
FAITH
What are the dimensions of your island? The kitchen is beautiful!
pool excavation Auckland
Thank you for sharing about these ikea kitchen review 7 years later with us, these will be really helpful to many.. I love reading this blog; it talks so much about planning a great idea about it. Keep sharing such informative articles in future, will be appreciated.
Chris
I agreee your kitchen looks amazing. In my opinion you are so lucky you didn’t choose their dark grey gloss kitchen. I did and they are horrendous! They are so easily marked with greasy fingers and difficult to clean to a streak free finish. I alway used mild soap and a soft cloth as recommended yet they are full of scratches. Any stubborn marks are almost impossible to clean with mild soak. I also have duo doors and surprisingly the white gloss ones are very easy to clean and hardly a scratch on them.
Donna
I like the glass doors. Any reason....long term you might not recommend them?
Shelly
Hi there. We are looking to buy the black Lerhyttan cabinets as well. My mother-in-law says that black cabinets will show grease and is trying to change my mind 🙂 do you think the black cabinets show more grease?
The DIY Mommy
Hi Shelly! Christina loves her cabinets, and doesn't find they show more grease - wiping them down periodically with a micro fibre cloth does the job!
Isabel
Kitchen looks amazing ! Was the 10,000 for the kitchen cabinets and installation ?
The DIY Mommy
We installed the cabinets ourselves.
perfectapk
Thanks for sharing this article and helping us with information
Sharon
I have the black Lehryttan cabinets and have only cleaned with mild dish soap/water mixture and a microfiber cloth. But they are now looking dull and have lost that beautiful sheen. How do I buff them to get that back? Because they are black stain, I don't want to damage them.
The DIY Mommy
To avoid damage it would probably be best to contact IKEA for their recommendation.