# IKEA Kitchens or Lowe's ???



## pcgirl54 (Jan 15, 2009)

Coworker just bought a house that needs a new kitchen. Young family with a baby. How do these kitchens hold up?? They have a very limited budget but also do not want to have to replace it in 5 years. Lowes or Ikea???

Their friend who is a carpenter is going to do the installation. They are buying silestone counters.

Thank You


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## neash (Jan 15, 2009)

A very good friend of mine who is a kitchen designer with Home Depot warned me against Ikea kitchens. She said they do not hold up well, and need replacement in less than half the time of real wood kitchens that you could buy at home depot or Lowes.


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## rlblack (Jan 15, 2009)

I am a Realtor- just sold a home with a 15 year old IKEA kitchen cabinets(best quality they have) that looked brand new- at all the showings the prospective buyers thought they had just been replaced-   I have also sold homes with 4 year old top of the line Kraftmaid- (brand sold at both Home Depot and Lowes)- that needed to be replaced.   From my years of experience with home selling-  the quality matters, the care given matters the most. If traditional cabinets are purchased that are not to "modern" and do not show the age- and they take good care of them- all brands will hold up for many years.  rlb


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## Malibu Sky (Jan 16, 2009)

I have an Ikea kitchen...put it in about 2 years ago.  Looking at it, no one would ever know that it is from Ikea.  Our house was built in 1963 and when we sell it, someone will tear it down and rebuild, so I figured that I would not get our money back if we put a lot of $$ into cabinets. 

Since the cabinets cost 1/3 of what we were going to spend, we upgraded to a SubZero fridge and nice Kitchen Aid appliances...and really nice granite counters (a pattern with a grain cut...more $$ than normal).     I have had not one problem with quality, they still look brand new, no sticking or alignment problems.

OK, there is one minor draw back, the drawer boxes are plastic...not wood but since they are a more modern style...it works.

If you would like pictures, I would be happy to e-mail you some....just let me know


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## optimist (Jan 16, 2009)

Malibu Sky said:


> OK, there is one minor draw back, the drawer boxes are plastic...not wood but since they are a more modern style...it works.




When we did our kitchen renovation years ago, I looked for european style cabinets purposely because the drawers are plastic lined. They are SO MUCH easier to clean. Dirt seems to get embedded in the wood grain and you can never get it really clean after a few years.


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## Ginny (Jan 16, 2009)

We put in an IKEA kitchen last summer. Esthetically we wanted a clean, modern look. We did some research in Consumer Reports and the IKEA cabinets came out well in their tests, comparing various brands of of cabinets, (the report would be in last year's issues). 

We hired a contractor who specializes in IKEA kitchens (found on our own, not through IKEA). He was invaluable because he came up with the design, worked with us on minor changes, and was familiar with their product line so he knew how to fit all of the components. We didn't have to deal with their catalog, sales staff, customer service, delivery, or installation. Echoing Malibu, we strategically spent more on the counters (quartz composite) and less on cabinets, backsplash (subway tile) and flooring (12" tiles) because the counters would have the most impact. We went with higher quality cabinet hardware. 

We couldn't be happier with the results. So, we'll see. I'm more worried that stone countertops will go out of fashion than the cabinets will look worn soon.


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## xzhan02 (Jan 16, 2009)

We put Ikea kitchen (-stove) in our basement by ourselves.  We are not particularly handy but have assembled other Ikea bookcases and closets before.  It was easy after the first one and it looks a lot better than our real kitchen that's supposed to have builder's custom made cabinets.   Ikea drawers are  slow closing with tons of cool accessaries.  If you like contemporary style, you can't beat IKea's value and quality.


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## rabelgirls (Jan 27, 2009)

Thanks for the info.  We are considering doing a kitchen remodel this year and I am seriously considering IKEA as well.  However, there is not an IKEA store near me so, it will probably be more economical to go with Lowes or Home Depot.


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## Mydogs2big (Jan 27, 2009)

Ikea Cabinets look great and are inexpensive!  I love them for these qualities, however, if you dent the "wood" doors or fronts, you cannot use steam and an iron and a little more stain to fix.  Instead the dent makes the "wood" appear like many layers of paper? 

I still have new stainless appliances in their boxes and in the garage because I'm still looking at cabinets and have not been willing to part with my hard earned money for the re-model yet. They've been there 3 years!

After much research and comparison for the most economical/quality/ease etc.
Between Shenandoah, Thomasville, Premier, Kraftmaid, Woodmark, Ikea, Diamond and Harmony  I have decided that I will choose Woodmark (Home Depot)  They are not high-end, they are not super cheaply made, you don't have to assemble them, but they are still very budget friendly and pretty well made.


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## Ginny (Jan 28, 2009)

We bought the IKEA Akurum cabinets with solid wood door frames. Like anything else, IKEA has a range of cabinet price points. We went with the higher end, which are made out of birch.


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## mikey0531 (Jan 28, 2009)

We went to the Kraft Maid warehouse in Ohio and bought all the pieces individually.  It took several trips to find what we wanted.  But we had already designed the kitchen at Home Depot -- so we knew what we wanted.  We also priced the kitchen we wanted at Home Depot and buying pieces directly from the Kraft Maid warehouse cut our costs by 2/3.  My husband and a friend put them in.  We've had them for 5 years and love the cabinets - they look great.  We get compliments on them all the time.

  People came from all over the place to this warehouse -- lots of people from other states.  

Debi


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## Malibu Sky (Jan 28, 2009)

Mydogs2big said:


> however, if you dent the "wood" doors or fronts, you cannot use steam and an iron and a little more stain to fix.  Instead the dent makes the "wood" appear like many layers of paper?




...but the cost to replace the doors is very economical.  We have a few stainless doors, below my cooktop and they are showing some streaks, from drips off the stove.  I am considering replacing them, it will cost about $120 for two new doors, can't beat that.


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## tlwmkw (Jan 28, 2009)

We have Ikea cabinets in our laundry room.  Very easy to install (and also to remove without having to do a total demolition job) and they've held up really well.  They are all based on the same cabinet so the only real difference is the door and trim pieces that you get- that's why they are less expensive.  Hope this helps in your planning.


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## Ginny (Jan 29, 2009)

Malibu, have you tried a stainless steel cleaner on your stainless cabinet doors? 

I had some marks on my stainless dishwasher; didn't come out with soap and water, but using a little stainless cleaner (which came from Sears appliance dept), they came right out.


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