ᐅ IKEA Kitchen Quality and User Experiences?

To quickly return to the topic of IKEA, I have ordered inner drawer runners to test whether they can be used with an IKEA kitchen.

Real wood fronts on a limited budget are quite challenging, at least for kitchens from mass manufacturers (except Ikea) – that’s what we found – but of course, I don't know how it is with a carpenter.

There are also differences with real wood fronts. The substrate material, veneer thickness, type of wood used for the front and back layer, edging, and ultimately the surface treatment all vary. Do not confuse this with solid wood, which is a whole different level.


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The cabinet components at IKEA are just as good as those from kitchen manufacturers. They all use particle board and laminated panels (the materials visible inside the cabinets). These parts generally aren’t expensive. The costly elements are the fronts and sometimes the visible side panels (for example, at open ends). IKEA charges fairly for these as well, especially if you choose their higher-quality components. The advantage with IKEA is that you can avoid haggling and precisely know the total cost. For example, 10 glossy white doors for a kitchen cost €600, while the same doors in real wood are €800. Then you can quickly decide if the €200 extra is worth it without having to listen to unnecessary explanations or spend a lot of time calculating and asking about individual prices. That’s not the case at kitchen studios, where price differences are often unclear and rarely documented anywhere.

For appliances in an IKEA kitchen, it’s best to order them online rather than buying the appliances directly from IKEA.

We planned and ordered a kitchen ourselves last week. Delivery is scheduled for April 27.

We chose Ikea kitchens for several reasons:

1) We’re not hobby chefs; for us, the kitchen is more of a functional space. In other words, we don’t have high demands.
2) Obviously, the quality is probably less than that of a Nobilia kitchen or similar brands, but I am convinced that Ikea kitchens offer excellent value for money. You get a lot for what you pay. When you look at and touch Ikea kitchens in the store, you notice that it’s not just a Billy shelf but something of higher quality.
3) It’s a question of price, and to be honest, for fully planned kitchens with the same layout, I would have paid at least €3,000 (approx. $3,300) more at Küchen Aktuell, Porta, Höfner, kitchen studios, and others — I really felt like I've been everywhere 😱 — sometimes even €6,000 to €7,000 (approx. $6,600 to $7,700) more. I know it’s not a perfect comparison, but kitchens are hard to compare.
4) On principle, because the kitchen marketing and sales tactics really annoy me. I don’t like buying anywhere where the salesperson treats me like I’m clueless. Only the small local kitchen studio convinced me — no bait-and-switch with “50% discount” and the like.
5) With Ikea, I know exactly how much every screw costs. Elsewhere, you usually get a “too good to be true” offer that you can only review in detail after signing the contract.

Subjectively, we weighed the pros and cons and decided on Ikea for the reasons mentioned above.

I’m happy to share an update after one month in daily use, around April 27.

Neige schrieb:
I just want to point out that there are definitely differences in quality, both in workmanship and in the materials used. IKEA delivers kitchens almost like an assembly line; the customer’s options when it comes to kitchen cabinets are limited. If you want to realize special requests, it involves some DIY work. Many kitchen manufacturers have the advantage of being able to customize according to the customer’s wishes, and a kitchen carpenter is even more flexible. But that costs money. So if you are satisfied with IKEA’s range, you are certainly not making a wrong choice.

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By the way, I completely agree with you on this. If you have unusual dimensions or specific distances, you have to accept compromises with IKEA or be prepared for them. Although IKEA offers a very good selection of sizes, if you want to plan a bit more individually or achieve certain corners and edges, you have to improvise.