If nothing else, read the final paragraph which outlines the true cost of a kitchen reno. For all you weekend warriors, I would encourage you to think again. You will drag your project out many additional weeks if not months. And if, in the end, it isn't up to code or isn't looking that good, you will end up pissing away thousands trying to save hundreds!
The above is just my 2 cents perhaps in an attempt to justify my own approach to the project.
We recently bought a $13,000 + kitchen (not including the $4,500 install) from Ikea. These folks are NOT ready for prime-time as kitchen remodelers. Not by a long-shot.
I'll just bullet-point the defects (and as I go through these remember that my observations/opinions are based on doing a complete remodel. If you are only buying some appliances or a cabinet or two, you might be perfectly happy.)
1. Ikea closely guards their contact info, meaning they make it near on impossible to contact the store you got your design from or purchased from. All published numbers routed to a central call center and those people are very reticent to give an individual store phone numbers. They sometimes offer to leave a message with the store you patronized
.
None of the store employees have a voice-mail box or email. If you have an employee draw up a $20,000 remodel plan for you and if you need to consult with that person afterwards, you have to rely on the memory of the person you do reach (assuming you can get the phone number of the store and the kitchen dept ext) to relay your message to your designer. Or you can trek to your store and hope your designer is at work that day, Since know body seems to know any other employee's days off.
2. The Ikea designer and ordering website is a complete POS. Unfortunately, in my experience, this is very typical of European-hosted websites. EU corporations have no idea how a consumer website should function and are, apparently, reticent to hire American developers to get the job done properly.
My experience: Ikea boasts of having a cloud-based app where you can design your own living space (i.e. kitchen, dining room, living room, etc). In truth their cloud software sucks. Does not accept my verified login credentials in MOST situations. On the rare occasions that it does (accept my login credentials), it will not fully load my previous designs.
So what's the point?
3. Word of caution for you weekend warriors: if you create a design on Ikea's website, don't count on being able to retrieve it and turn it into an order.
If you place an order on Ikea's website you will not be able to "backorder" any "out-of-stock" items!!! Rather you will only be offered the items currently in-stock. You need to keep checking back in order to secure the out-of-stock items you require!!! Wow!! The only way to place stuff on back-order is to order in the store so hopefully you live close!
Here's how our Ikea experience went: we needed a major reno. We attended one of Ikea's kitchen remodel seminars at one of their stores which was only about 5 miles from our house.
Paid Ikea to send out a contractor to take all measurements. Cheap insurance.
Made a design appointment and was paired with a very knowledgeable and capable Ikea employee. Discovered later that we were not provided any way to contact this employee for making changes, etc.
Placed our order at the store. Discovered that they would only accept a debit or credit card for payment. No paper of any kind (personal check, cashiers check, money order, etc). Good luck to most people who are trying to get their bank to approve a single-day $14,000 withdrawal (although they give you plenty of warning about that).
So all in all, this has been a MOST unpleasant experience. Their installer/GC was top-notch. They performed many more functions outside of installation and performed flawlessly but each Ikea location employs their own installer/GC so your experience may not be comparable to mine.
FINALLY: Pay no attention to Ikea's claim that a certain 10 x 10 will ONLY cost you $X,XXX amount of dollars. WRONG!! Here's how it really breaks out: My cabinets, a double-oven and a microwave cost approx. $13,000 (without countertop). The Traemond install was approx. $4,500. I opted for concrete countertops and that was $5,000. Now I also engaged Ikea/Traemond's GC to perform the electrical, plumbing and painting modes. Those totaled $ 14,500 plus. read more