Does anyone have an Ikea kitchen?

[jaskie]

We don't have an IKEA kitchen and I have heard mixed reports about them, one thing I do like about IKEA that they are reducing their use of toxic chemicals in their products. They don't use formaldehyde in their kitchen cabinets.
Formaldehyde off-gassing is a huge indoor air quality issue. It is a suspected carcinogen and has been linked to learning disorders in children. The biggest formaldehyde offender is particleboard and paints & finishes. It is currently used in thousands of products as an adhesive, bonding agent and solvent. In order to reduce emissions in the home specify a formaldehyde free MDF or plywood as well as low VOC paints & finishes. Unfortunately they can be a bit more expensive. If your budget does not allow for formaldehyde free MDF or plywood then the best ways to lower the level of formaldehyde in your home is to:
* Allow products to off-gas: Before bringing any formaldehyde-containing products into your home, allow them to off-gas outside the home. Leave the new products in your garage or ask the manufacturer to leave the product unsealed in the warehouse for a few days.
* Ventilate: By increasing ventilation you can lower the concentration of formaldehyde. This may be accomplished by opening windows or bringing in fresh air through a central ventilation system. Fans can be used to circulate the fresh air.
* Control the climate: Formaldehyde is water soluble and reacts to temperature changes. This means that as the temperature and humidity go up so does the amount of formaldehyde released from a product. By keeping the temperature and humidity low, you can decrease the amount of formaldehyde off-gassing into the air.

[YoYo]

Trish

I have two friends who have Ikea kitchens, one put it to gethr themselves, one had a tradie do it for them (along with everything else). My MIL has had a 'proper' kitchen done, and you really can't tell whose is the ikea kitchen and whose isn't.....I can bet that MIL spent a lot more than my friends did though.

I think (personal opinion) that if you don't have loads of walls that things need to go up against (as in it's more of cupboards under benches etc....know what I mean) then it shouldn't be too bad with an ikea kitchen, but when following wonky walls, which are in everyones' house, that is when it starts getting more difficult.

I know if (WHEN ) I get to renovate my house, I'd go for an ikea kitchen, and then spend the money on nicer bench tops and tiles ...... just to top it off!

Good luck with your decision....I must say I'm extremely jealous....I'd Luuuuuurve to renovate! x

[Erin_25]

we are just about to renovate our Kitchen and Bathroom, if you want a 'kit kitchen' there are lots of places you can go through other than just IKEA. If you google it, lots of people are doing it now.
We've had serval quotes and looked at heaps, have heard mixed stuff about IKEA and have also bought several items from them before only to get them home (we live 6hrs from nearest IKEA) to find stuff dented and scratched. I'd hate to open my new kitchen stuff up and find that.

We are now going through Bunnings! you can go online and look at what you want and plan it, they will then give you a quote. You can pay on the ph (great when you live remote) and don't have to pay balance til its ready for delivery (again they will deliever to us 4hrs away!!!) We can put it in ourselves, just getting benchtop made somewhere else. Our quote is appox $4500 for a new kitchen...not bad at all.

[Beach Mama]

Just wanted top pop in again and see how you were giong with the decision making Trish? Have you booked anyone?!

Also wanted to add that we didn't have one issue with scratches or anything like that with our kitchen, plus we also got a new bed, 3 wardrobes and they were all fine too, and if they weren't, as much of a pain as it is, we know we can take it back easily. Forgot to add in my original post that Ikea have a 25 year guarantee as well. Happy renovating!

[~Trish~]

Thanks everyone for your input

Erin - We'll have to check out Bunnings too, they sound very reasonably priced!

Tan - We still haven't locked in anything yet. We went to a place in Boronia who do flat pack kitchens too and they looked great. We also got a quote from a cabinet maker and were gobsmacked! The quote is is around triple the price of us DIY'ing it . We will get one more quote from my mum's friend who does kitchens and weigh it up from there. I think the cabinet maker was pretty unrealistic after talking to other friends who have had their kitchens done professionally. DH drives a company car and we think he saw us rocking up in an expensive car and thought we were loaded or something . We are a single income family (apart from my very small business income) with three kids for goodness sakes! We need cheap LOL!

We are actually going away on a 6 week caravanning holiday in about 2 1/2 months time, so I think we'll wait until we get back now. It's too stressful to try and organise it all before we go.

Thanks again everyone

[jaskie]

Have you looked at auction houses? I have seen large kitchens (with stone bench tops) go for around the $1200 mark at fowles auctions in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne (obviously depends on demand at the auction). I don't know what quality would be like and you would need to know your exact measurements but it might be worth considering if your budget is tight. You can also pick up new appliances if you need these as well. We got a rangehood that normally retails for $800 for $200 with nothing wrong with it.

[Rivlas]

I am watching you Trish do all the work for me, thank you.

I need to get my kitchen done so am reading all these replies with interest. We will have to get someone in to do it as DH does not have the time so will have to factor that expense in.

[~Trish~]

Have you looked at auction houses? I have seen large kitchens (with stone bench tops) go for around the $1200 mark at fowles auctions in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne (obviously depends on demand at the auction). I don't know what quality would be like and you would need to know your exact measurements but it might be worth considering if your budget is tight. You can also pick up new appliances if you need these as well. We got a rangehood that normally retails for $800 for $200 with nothing wrong with it.

That's a great idea, thanks for the suggestion .

Rivlas - We are currently considering getting a flat pack kitchen from Kitchens U Build in Boronia. We went there a few weeks ago with our kitchen dimensions, chose what style of kitchen we wanted and they emailed us a quote as well as a 3D diagram of what the kitchen would look like, we were very impressed! Their quote was very similar to an Ikea kitchen, but we liked that they are local and extremely helpful (so if we got stuck we could call them!). Apparently they can organise someone to install it for you for $1000 - I personally think it's money well spent, but I'm trying to convince DH right now haha! Oh, and apparently if you order a kitchen this month, they throw in $400 worth of accessories .

[EdisonCheug]

i really like the Ikea style, which shares a simple living attitude.
but to be frank, i don't think it has a high quality.