Majjie's Blog

I've designed more IKEA kitchens in the last six months than I have in the previous five years. I guess that's due to the economic situation. Everybody's looking for a bargain. There's no doubting that IKEA kitchens are cheap ... and they're also putting effort into expanding their market share. I wrote about the IKEA approach to kitchens in Part 1 of this blog, back in November last year (after they invited me to visit their display at the Grand Designs Live show at the NEC).

CAD pictures of one of our recent IKEA kitchen designs - using Adel Yellow-White doors

So what about designing with IKEA kitchen units? Would I recommend using them to design your kitchen? Well, it does basically come down to the money. If you can afford a more expensive kitchen, then you'll find that there are other brands that give you more design flexibility. If the low cost is your main priority, then IKEA is a good choice. Their units do provide some interesting design opportunities, although I do have a few quibbles with some of their size options. Their low prices - as for most budget kitchens - are partly due to the limited sizes and choices available but, in IKEA's case, they're also due to their absolutely huge buying power.

As most people probably know by now, IKEA don't use the same standard sizes for their kitchen units as most UK suppliers. There is no void built into the back of IKEA units, for pipes and wires, for instance (I believe Swedish houses have the services built into the walls). You need to run the pipes in your kitchen along below the base of the units, at plinth height (or get your builder to do so) - or you need to bring the units forward (in front of any pipes) and use extra deep worktop. The second option is probably more difficult not just because you need the extra deep worktop, but because IKEA end panels (or cover panels, as they call them) are all standard depth, they don't come oversized.

CAD illustration of a kitchen design using IKEA Lidingo doors

The standard IKEA base and wall unit height is 700mm (instead of 720mm); the plinth height is 160mm (rather than 150); and the tall wall unit size is 920mm (not 900) ... giving a standard tall unit height of 2110mm (as opposed to 2120) and an extra tall unit height of 2330 (rather than 2300mm). Most UK budget kitchens, though, don't offer extra tall units at all ... you normally have to move up a step in price to get that option.

One thing to be careful of, is using a built under double oven ... you may find it difficult to fit the oven into the 700mm height. They're designed to fit into the standard UK base unit height of 720mm and most are attached by brackets to the units either side. If you really want a built under double oven, check out the Belling models - which are only 703mm high - or look for one that has it's own adjustable legs (although I've not seen a model like that for some time - and even then the bottom of the oven is going to be lower than the level of the base units).

One of my biggest criticisms of IKEA units, is the fact that they only do white carcasses ... although that's true of many budget kitchen ranges. Have a look round one of their kitchen showroom sections and you'll see little strips of white between the doors, where the carcasse is showing. Decide whether or not that would bother you - and, if it would, then how about an all white kitchen? Or a yellow-white one? (cream to you and me). The white wouldn't be so obvious then.

IKEA's best selling kitchen style is the high gloss Abstrakt White - as in the CAD illustrations above 

The depth of an IKEA base or tall unit is 600mm, rather than the standard 560mm of most UK kitchens, although the difference isn't as great as it seems because that 600mm includes the thickness of the door, whereas the 560mm doesn't. It still means that you can't use standard 600mm deep laminate worktop with IKEA base units, though - because you need a small overhang at the front. IKEA's own standard worktop is 620mm deep. The maximum length of that standard worktop, though (in laminate or in solid wood) is only 2.46 metres at IKEA. Good quality UK laminate worktops are 3.6 or 4m long, which means fewer joins. If you want to use UK worktop, buy the smaller, double edged breakfast bar size (usually 665 or 670mm wide) and cut off one of the finished edges.

One very good product at IKEA is their custom made - Personlig - worktops. They come in several finishes but the laminate is the one I'm thinking of. It comes in a maximum length of 4 metres and in thicknesses of 38 or 76mm, with a choice of edging strips. You can introduce curves and more complicated shapes to your worktop - to make your kitchen look really special - although they are, of course, more expensive than the standard sizes.

A custom made IKEA worktop with multilayer wood effect edging

IKEA wall units are a generous 370mm deep (including the door) which is considerably deeper than many UK wall units (some of which are only 300mm deep, including the door, and are too shallow for big dinner plates). They also do that same 370mm depth as an option for some of their base and tall units - which makes for some interesting design options. In particular, there are 400, 600 and 800mm wide, 3-drawer base units and 400 and 600mm wide, 5-drawer base units at 370mm deep ... which can be very useful in a small kitchen (see picture below). IKEA's drawer systems and runners are made by Blum (an Austrian firm providing good quality, industry standard accessories) - but they're made specially for IKEA - it would be difficult to get drawers with standard Blum soft close runners to work well at that depth.

The drawers in this tiny kitchen are IKEA's shallow, 370mm deep units - whilst the lime green doors are a different kitchen brand altogether (see below) 

Don't forget that you can also have wall units fitted as base units - just buy extra legs. That gives you even more options, including slightly taller, reducd depth base units - using the 920mm high wall units. That worktop would be too high (at 1080mm) to work on comfortably but it's a great height for storing small appliances, like toasters, and general clutter, such as fruit bowls and bread bins (away from your main working areas) ... and it gives you that extra bit of storage space.

 tall (920mm) IKEA wall units fitted as a peninsula area between two doorways

The widths of IKEA units also tend to be different to those offered by UK budget kitchen ranges. The most common width for UK units such as sets of drawers, tall larders and glazed wall units, is 500mm. IKEA only do a 500mm width in standard single door base and wall units. Their standard widths for drawers and larders is either 400 or 600mm ... and they do double door units at 600 or 800mm wide. They don't do a standard 1000mm double door base unit. They also don't do a 450 wide door (except in stainless steel) and they don't do 300mm tall larders, their narrowest is 400mm. Use a 500mm wide door, for a slimline dishwasher, with a slight overlap at both sides - if you have the space - or use the steel one.

It can seem quite restrictive, using IKEA units, but once you get used to their unit sizes, the options are more varied than with some other budget kitchen ranges. Get one of their kitchen brochures (even if you're using the online planner) and have a good look through the units available, then go back and have a look at the units on display (I'm hoping your nearest IKEA isn't too far away!). There are some interesting options for sink units - with drawers; there's an 800 base unit with a single drawer above two doors; there's a 1200 wide wall unit and a 1200 wide larder - both with sliding doors; and there are 800 wide double door larders at 370mm deep.

The lack of a 300mm wide, slimline larder and a 450 door; the limited corner options; and the very restrictive cover panel sizes - all irritate me. I don't like, for instance, having to join an island or peninsular back panel every 600mm (although you can sometimes disguise the joins by using extra doors as panels - budget permitting - have another look at the pictures above). And I don't like having to use tall cover panels, if I want a base cover panel to extend to the ground. On the whole, though, I quite like IKEA kitchens - compared to some of the similarly priced alternatives.

one of IKEA's own displays - at the Grand Designs Live show - illustrated the use of Abstrakt White wall units as shallow base units

Also don't forget that IKEA sell their "Faktum" carcasses (which they call "frames") separately from the doors and that the carcasses are supplied as flat packs - so they're easy for a good fitter to modify. If you want, for instance, a midi-height oven housing for a double oven, with pan drawers under the oven ... you can buy the tall carcasse with just the drawers and drawer fronts and get the carcasse cut down (although check on the ventilation for the oven - and be careful about matching the height with any adjacent units).

Another option is to mix and match. Use IKEA units, but buy in some extra units with contrasting doors - in standard UK sizes - where the limited sizes of the IKEA units proves to be a problem. Just be aware of the different sizes and that standard units won't line up. The lime green doors in one of the pictures above are from a more expensive UK kitchen range (Solari from Achieve Stylish Living) - the two 1245h x 300w doors were needed to hide a combi-boiler and all it's pipes (an IKEA 600 wide door would have been too inconvenient to use) - whilst the little 150 wide pull-out base just fitted neatly between the fridge-freezer and the cooker (and IKEA don't have a 150 wide door). There are also two 450 lime green doors the other end of the kitchen - for the sink and a slimline dishwasher (not enough room to use two IKEA 500 wide doors).

I've even designed a kitchen using IKEA doors but with made-to-measure carcasses - sourced elsewhere - that way you can, for instance, have IKEA oak doors on oak effect carcasses. The kitchen below is in a new build, very modern house with an open plan kitchen ... there's a scullery next door with a lot more of the essential appliances and storage, and a big sink. I love the little cubby hole at the end, for the dog (to be built by the joiner) - my design but not my idea - it was requested by the owner.

CAD illustration of a kitchen using IKEA's Ulriksdal doors - with black plinth - and made to measure oak effect carcasses sourced elsewhere

Use your imagination and ingenuity to design an IKEA kitchen - and persevere, even when the IKEA online planner doesn't like what you're doing. Alternatively, you can, of course, get someone with a more flexible CAD programme to come up with a design for you ... an independent kitchen designer let's just say ...