That looks like an Ikea thermofoil like mine. If so, it will not last. I have been very careful and gentle with mine, and it still has not lasted.

classicart - We have been very pleased with the Ikea cabinets and have experienced NO signs of peeling. Doors, hinges, drawers, glides, etc are all SOLID and performing as expected too.

We went with Ikea, in part, because their kitchen cabinet line ranked highest the J.D. Power 2015 Kitchen Cabinet Satisfaction Study for the past two years. Perhaps only time will tell, but we very pleased with our decision so far.

Best of luck. I just noticed mine has peeled off much of the finish near where the steam from the coffee pot is.

mputzier - I know that most of this discussion has been about your kitchen but I'd like to ask you about the paneling above the opening into your kitchen. I see wood paneling in the before picture and it looks like there is still paneling in the after picture. Did you paint it? Would you mind sharing a picture? I'm facing the dilemma of removing, painting or enjoying the warmth of 1 wall of cherry paneling. Thank you

what a great sink!

Fantastic! Please send more pics when the rest is completed.

Fresh and inviting. I love the table angle.

Very nice job - much improved & more enjoyable to use, I'm sure! It's a good & balanced design. White and stainless will never go out of style: they're neutral & provide a base upon which all else can be successfully layered.

I've grown to prefer high gloss painted finish over high gloss membranes & foils for several reasons:

1. As noted above, they peel over time.
2. Foils can get dinged, both during construction and with normal daily use. Once that happens the integrity of the seal is broken, and the whole door has to be replaced. Paint can be repaired.
3. It's not very environmentally friendly, either in the manufacturing process or end of life cycle.
4. Fingerprints.

The high gloss painted option isn't as mirror-like a finish as the foils, but it's reparable and doesn't have the fingerprint issues foils do. The other nice thing about paint is the number of color options - even just in the whites range - is huge!

One last thought:

Ikea will always be the right product for some projects: very constrained budgets, people who aren't in a hurry, and/or DIY fans.

That said, one size definitely does not fit all! Use your noodle & get what's right for you. Don't forget the invisible element of time - both in how long the construction takes and the longevity of the product.

Disclaimer: For 7 years I independently designed & installed about 80 kitchens with Ikea's old AKURUM system. I'm not at all a fan of the new SEKTION/METOD system. The introduction of SEKTION led me to create my own modern cabinet line with the best of all cabinet worlds rolled into one line.

What a difference. It looks great.

In the last 26 years I've designed about 20 to 25 IKEA kitchens. None of them have ever peeled. My own IKEA kitchen is about 11 years old and doing just fine. Of course these were all the original AKURUM series and not the new SECTION series IKEA now sells so that might be the problem. I have not done one using the new series. What I liked about the original series was that everything that moves was Blum hardware and metal so as far as function goes, much less likely to fail. Obviously water is the enemy of any cabinet so if there are issues with spillage or leaks, any cabinet is going to have issues. My wild guess is that there is an issue with the supplier's adhesives used for the door veneers. IKEA is usually pretty good about correcting the issue once its on their radar. This is not the first time they have had problems. I hope that all of you that have had issues can get it resolved. Its frustrating for sure. The good news is that replacement of defective doors is easy. Pop one off, pop on another one. As for the design, looks like they now offer a $200 planning service perhaps in lieu of the convoluted software.

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Mputzier, I feel compelled to mention the great shots you shared. They actually show a true transformation. I can see it really is the same kitchen. As most people show before and afters and don't share the same location of the room. Kudos for that in itself! Also the kitchen looks absolutely amazing. It has a contemporary feel yet traditional with the white cabinets. It could be mistaking for a commercial space...Nice job!

Great!

I would love to cook, eat, and just spend time in that kitchen! Love it!

It's all lovely, but my favorite and most helpful thing is the owner's willingness to share details. That and the same vantage point photos. A post like this is far more helpful than all those that make me feel like I'm just flipping through a magazine.

Nicely done! More contemporary than my tastes, but very attractive. I looked long and hard at Zephyr hoods, but they didn't make one that could be mounted 36" higher than my high-BTU rangetop on an island.

It appears that you have a tambour door cabinet. Is that from Ikea and what is it made from? Does the door roll up smoothly?

Good work on kitchen!

Nice upgrade. The pull-out pantries look very useful.

Beautiful job...who knew Ikea could look like this!?

janabanana - The roll-top cabinet is the Avsikt from Ikea, but is from the Akurum line and not the new Sektion line. The rolltop is very smooth and we love it. Our Vitamix is on the bottom and closing the door really helps dampen the noise.

eageree - Not sure what you are wanting to know about the paneling. It was actual tongue and groove boards and original to the house. It was stained with a polyurethane-type finish. We sanded the finish to rough it for painting and then covered it with an oil-based white paint. We then had to caulk a few of the joints in the grooves between boards and then applied a second and final coat of paint. It has held up very well over the past 7 years.

Just wondered if you had a picture of the completed painted paneling that you would be willing to share. If not, that's ok. I understand

Simple yet exquisite. I like it.

Looks great. I'm curious if the railings would be code compliant in every city because of the ladder effect. Kids can easily climb them.

Apologies if I missed the answer but I love your floor tile - what brand/style? Thanks!

Kate Alexander

FLOOR
Florida Tile - Aventis line - Eclipse 24x24
http://www.floridatile.com/products/aventis

Grout - TEC Power Grout in Raven
http://www.tecspecialty.com/products/grouts/advance-performance-grout/Power-Grout-Ultimate-Performance-Grout.html

BACKSPLASH
Premium Mosaics - ARABESCATO CARRARA 1x3 HONED
http://www.msistone.com/arabescato-carrara/brick-pattern/

Sorry, I could not find the backsplash grout information.

Looks great. Love the step down cupboard height around the stove fan. Think I will do the same for my Reno. Great work

Worth the wait!

Very, very nice. My sister and I just bought a fixer upper, mid-century that we are going thru right now. We also chose IKEA ... mainly due to the fact that due to the kitchen's small size, I just couldn't go with the traditional frame-over-panel type cabinet doors. We selected a slab finish for simplicity, chose a GE Monogram counter fridge which will blend in with the cabinets as well as IKEA's integrated dishwasher that uses the same slab front. The kitchen is so small that using any other finish would mean a choppy, building block look. Kudos to your selection of cabinets which will weather time very well over the trends. I will post pics of our "pocket home" when we get it all together. Definitely will be an empty nester's "lock and leave" home in Florida.

a little bit claustrophobic at the range hood. The hood is hidden by the side cabs which don't really fit with the overall design. Open up your stove area when you have such a nice hood.

I LIKE it a LOT! Great job!

A wonderful job. What did you use for your backsplash? Its beautiful!

My condolences.

mstavenner - BACKSPLASH
Premium Mosaics - ARABESCATO CARRARA 1x3 HONED
http://www.msistone.com/arabescato-carrara/brick-pattern/

Looks great, it's nice to know you don't have to break the bank in order to achieve inspiring results like these

so how have things been going with this so far? We have to redo our place due to water damage and the whole kitchen is going to. Now it's crunch time and we have been surprised with many, seemingly good options from local to Home Depot to IKEA. Which I guess IKEA has presented the biggest concern because of the mixed reviews.

Where are you located, may I ask?

would you mind giving me a ball park of what you spent on the IKEA part of the kit?

Looks great guys, good job!!

People .... I have done some larger IKEA pieces. I am no novice, but won't claim pro either. The key to success with any of their packages are patience and persistence. Don't force or rush anything and when the instructions fail in their clarity (and they will) use common sense or ask for help. It will all come together well if you give yourself the time to move along the assembly learning curve.

nice job! i also went with IKEA with my kitchen renovation.. it has been 2 years now and i am still very happy with it :)

Love your kitchen, have you thought about a round table?

While my style is very different from this, I really appreciate the new layout and how you opened the kitchen to the adjoining room--massive improvement. Like another poster said, those stainless railings make me nervous as well--just take great care when you have children visiting.

Stunning and love the openness!

Fresh, clean and love the backsplash and rich coloured flooring to ground the space. In my own kitchen reno, I opened up the exterior wall with full wall windows pretty much as you did and I love it! I feel more connected to the out of doors, to the birds and weather etc.. Good that you removed the sunporch that must have boxed you in. Lovely! Bravo!

It's really pretty !

People, there is a company call semi hand made doors located in CA. You can google it and is just the fronts for IKEA kitchens, and I think is a great idea in my opinion, you will spend a little more but then you can have quality fronts, if you don't like the IKEA look or have concerns about them. There is a blog about it kitchnn or something like that.

Great transformation!

What a beautiful transformation. I hope you love your new space.

I invite you to follow our architectural design firm for
some more inspiration as you move forward with transforming your beautiful
home.

Nice! Love the transformation.