Sven Lavine Architecture I think Ikea cabinets can look good if done right, and the right countertop is used. The quality is quite decent considering the price. The only issue I've seen with contractors is that Ikea cabinets need to be assembled, which ends up eliminating a lot of the savings if you pay your contractor to do it. Not sure what Ikea charges, you'd just have to figure that into the equation. Some other alternatives are becoming available though. Not sure where you are located, but Porcelanosa has some very nice products.

cpaige29 I am located in Baltimore, i see that Porcelanosa is in Bethesda and Rockville. They look on the pricier side though. Thanks for your input!

Sven Lavine Architecture They are better constructed than Ikea. I am pretty surprised at how affordable they are, depending on the door material choice - there is a huge range in price there. Many of the kitchens shown on the site have pretty fancy countertop work, which can cost a lot. It could be worth a phone call, or maybe a visit.

Carolina Photo To Go LLC I am not an Ikea fan. Just a look at their products sing lower quality to me. I realize some people cannot afford custom; but, Lowes and Home Depot have better quality in my opinion. And, you might be able to negotiate with other Kitchen shops now b/c some people have said that business is falling off b/c of the "fiscal cliff" and Christmas shopping.

Karen Tiede Art Rugs Do you have a good Habitat Restore nearby? I'm within range of four different Restores; two have great kitchen cabinet stock and two don't. YMMV. Probably worth driving around to as many as you can visit (or call) to see what's there. The older the part of town serviced by a Restore, the better the cabinetry will be.

Even if the Restore's in a newly-built area full of new subdivisions, the cabinetry in there will be at least builder-grade, which is probably more robust than IKEA. Talk to your contractor about installing used cabinets first, I suppose. Plus, you can always buy new doors and / or paint the cabinets.

nevadan I am rehabbing a rental house and plan to use IKEA cabinets and have my contractor install them. Are they harder to install than other kitchen cabinets?

Sven Lavine Architecture The problem is that they come unassembled, vs cabinets from most other sources which come assembled ready to install. Once assembled they go in pretty much the same way.