For a rental house I would go for solid and durable, whatever brand that might be.

I'm in a "discerning" area and when we moved here, we were just happy to find a larger house to rent while waiting to find a house to buy. As long as the kitchen and bathrooms were clean, I never cared what brands they used in the rental. There aren't usually many rental houses in these areas.

My next door neighbor's house, complete with swimming pool, probably has a market value of $1.5M. When he bought the house about 5 years ago, the first thing he did was remodel the kitchen. He demo'ed the very nice 10-year old custom cabinets, and put in what appeared to be high end, Euro-style cabinets that looked terrific. When I asked him who made them, the answer was "Ikea."

Walked through a spec built $5 mill open house a few weeks ago and IKEA cabinets would have been much better than the junk they put in there. Yep, white shaker! It makes you wonder what else they skimped on that will really matter in the long term.

We are pretty discerning people who spent a long time living in areas where ikea is often the most practical solution (small walkup apartments in urban areas). It just depends on what you are buying. Even at ikea there are different levels of quality. You can’t buy the cheapest option and expect it to be great. You also can’t expect particle board furniture to last through a move or much abuse.
But, for the average person who treats their things with decent care, the stuff works just fine.
Their ektorp couches have held up great for us and we love that they are slipcovered (washable). All of our visitors love the guest bed but it’s just an ikea mattress on an ikea frame with top of the line ikea textiles-same as we used in the master bedroom. The cheapest line of stand-alone wardrobes and the simple side tables, on the other hand, barely made it 6 months.
And, I adore their kitchen cabinets and appliances in particular. Much more function-focused than most American companies and honestly not that cheap compared to the Home Depot options.

evdryst-

Another thing to consider with Ikea is that their cabinets come with extended limited warranties, you know they are likely to be around well into the future, and that there is so much standardization in the design that you would have an easier time finding replacement parts with Ikea if you ever needed them.

IKEA only has a 25 year warranty. The standard in the industry for even mid grade cabinets is a lifetime warranty. But people can’t tell the difference between a 2 year unenforceable warranty on cheepchinesecrapola and a lifetime warranty that would actually replace a whole batch of cabinets 10 years down the road when the bad batch of paint came to light.

"IKEA only has a 25 year warranty."

I suspect after 25 years one may want to put in new cabinets. I also question how many people own a house for 25 years. Or expect to find a custom cabinet maker they used still in business.

I'm not arguing that Ikea will provide as good quality cabinets as a custom cabinet maker who will charge 5 times the price, but, for many people, Ikea's name brand and 25 year warranty might be more than adequate, and at a decent value to price ratio.

I also learned long ago not to spend a lot of money on top-of-the-line quality outfitting a rental....

We've used Ikea vanities/sinks/faucets without problem. They had the advantage of having one in a nice form factor for our tiny powder room.

If they have what you like, get it. Otherwise, discern elsewhere. We've found some really pretty stuff at Lowe's as well, but by and large most of their store branded stuff is crap (don't even get me started on their Utilitech crap).

'If they have what you like, get it. Otherwise, discern elsewhere. "-great answer:) love the opening post and all the comments..nothing to add, really, except for when we were house hunting-and checking new construction, for which they want plus minus million dollars, non-descript houses on a tiny -tiny lots with stupidest layouts ever, since very discerning area I guess lol-frankly I'd rather they put there IKEA instead of what they put there. It's like all they care about is color de jour.

Also, some people have a magic, to me, ability to trash any cabinetry, or just about anything, for that matter..I truly hope your renters will be different.

I'm going to go discern at IKEA after work, to see if the white oak vanities look as nice in person as it does online. Wish me luck!

evdryst-

Good luck. Please report back. All the rest of us discerners are interested to hear how it goes ;-)

I was never in an IKEA till I moved 10 mins from one 3 years ago. I was excited as I heard people talking about how wonderful the place was. Went twice to the store to give it a fare shake. Didn't like any of the products and haven't been back since.

I've been looking at the white oak and the walnut cabinets and like them a lot. (You are aware that they are not real wood, right?)

Having said that, I'm in a very discerning area, and my friend's bank assessor was very impressed by her "Italian" kitchen cabinets (IKEA high gloss).

Now, if your renters are really discerning, you could spring for the flatsawn walnut from semihandmade, ranges from 190.00-- 470.00 for a complete Godmorgon vanity cabinet. Or perhaps the barnyard oak.

https://www.semihandmadedoors.com/products/gm

The nice thing about IKEA is that you can easily replace the drawer fronts/doors in case your renters abuse the place.

So I went walkabouts in IKEA last night. Headed straight for the bathroom cabinets, so no comment on the rest of it. (This was after work, so I needed to get in, get out, get wine. You know how it is.)

First thing I noticed was the sink I liked the best online (braviken) was not white. Had a look at the description online and it's made of a "scratch resistant surface." There were sinks that were actually white (like the odensvik), and online description says "ceramic".

As for the cabinets, not the white, nor the high gloss white is actually white. Eeeh imo it looks old and yellowed (unless you have a bathroom with fantastic natural light then it'll look just like in the brochures at a certain time of the day, probably not when you're using it). The drawers are also a bit rickety, but so would I be if people yanked me around day in and day out. The colors were ok (except for the whites that aren't white). The "wood" ones definitely do not look like real wood, but they're ok too. The high gloss grey is my favorite, but sadly won't go in the bathroom that I'm planning.

This is not just IKEA, but goes for any vanity with a side to side drawer. I've never owned one of them before, and never thought about it, but if I'm doing my makeup I won't be able to get my face near the mirror without closing the drawer. So what do you do? Grab all your stuff and put it on the counter? Open close open close the drawer? Put your stuff in your hubby's drawer? I know which one I'm choosing.

End result: I'm getting the white oak and odensvik sink (if I'm not distracted by nosoccermom's link), but would definitely not buy anything from IKEA sight unseen.

In terms of makeup- I’ve always lived with the same type of pull out drawer. I honestly didn’t realize there was much of an option. I always mount a magnifying pull out / telescoping makeup mirror because I HATE leaning over wet counters trying to get close enough to the mirror. And I put all my makeup in a bag or an acrylic tray that is easy to pull out and put on the top.

I've also always had a pull out drawer, but to the side, not right in front of my thighs (doors usually went in front of my thighs). Good tip on the magnifying mirror, although those things get more terrifying the older I get.

I see no problem in thinking about IKEA this way as they are things that they sell that are not 100% top quality but as with anything you have to weigh what you are willing to forego in exchange for money spent. That said I get very tired of people dissing IKEA. During our kitchen remodel it was obvious the snobbery we ran into from everyone to contractors to remodeling vendors. We are definitely style minded but also not stupid when we see value for our money. Our kitchen is IKEA Brokhult and looks amazingly sleek and modern. We just remodeled a bathroom with Breviken double sink and high gloss white cabinets. Looks fantastic. Nothing lasts forever these days and in our opinion IKEA puts a darn good product there for the money.

Did the off-white of the sink and cabinet bother you? Or maybe you didn't have it against other white stuff?

Mayanl5 - exactly. We needed one kitchen base cabinet to fill in a tiny seating ‘nook’ in our kitchen, since we weren’t ready to redo the whole thing. Went to Ikea, picked up what we needed, installed it. Done. Decent usability and easy to do and it looks nice enough. Ikea was just what we needed.

evdryst-Not sure if the lighting in IKEA was throwing you off but the sink and the high gloss white are by no means yellowy at all. Very bright white. We had looked into the dark gray gloss but thought it was too dark and went with the white. I think it has a cleaner look now that it is installed. The unit is on a wall with white subway tile and it all looks white. We also have the high gloss white upper cabinets from IKEA in our kitchen for almost 2 years and there absolutely no yellowing.

I've also got the make-up on the counter and mirror situation. In my plans for the master bath renovation, I'm going to be putting in a cabinet like this. It seems like it'll solve a host of issues, including having the makeup right there below the mirror. My sink will be at the other end of the counter. I'm going to have a pull-out hair drying station below it. (sorry I can't give credit to the person who posted it - I just copied and put into my files):

mayanI5, thank you for the insight. The white situation is so strange! When we went to IKEA there were sinks that were definitely white (the ceramic ones), next to sinks that were off-white (the scratch-resistant material). The difference was distinct when they were next to one another. Additionally the high gloss white and white cabs looked off-white against the ceramic sinks. You must be right about the lights IKEA uses. You have LEDs, I presume? I am tempted to buy a cabinet to see it at home under my own lights. In fact, I'll do that. One way or another we'll solve the Mystery of the White IKEA Cabinets (MWIC)!

I can't shed light on the mystery of the IKEA whites, but we put an IKEA vanity in our daughter's bathroom a few years ago figuring it would be an inexpensive and temporary solution and we'd swap it out for something better in time. Instead, we've actually really loved it, and we're planning to put one in her bathroom in the new house we're building. For kids particularly the Odensvink with the sink integrated into the counter is great, as it makes cleanup a breeze. Even our interior designer, who usually works with 100% high end custom cabinetry says they frequently use IKEA vanities in kids' bathrooms.

I say go for it! The Braviken sink is definitely brighter but it's not something that bothers me as it is the definite focal point of the unit (btw so easy to clean too). We have LED recessed lighting which is bright. Otherwise natural light is poor during the day. Walls are a rich cobalt blue and floor medium gray. All the whites (tub, toilet, tile, IKEA unit) really pop in there.

Ikea cabinets will give you the most storage for drawer-type vanities. I looked at everything, and nothing, not even the $2000 ones could beat the storage capacity of the Ikea one. I have the smallest one and it holds sooooo much. love it!

I am planning on IKEA regular kitchen cabs in some of my bathrooms because I want the taller height.

So this is not about the Godmorgon line of specific cabinets.

But - for "regular" box type cabinets in a kitchen (or pulling double duty in a bathroom) the installation of plumb and level contributes SO MUCH to the overall feel of quality it can't be underestimated. Doors and drawers that we racked and won't line up, gaps, poor layout, missing trim pieces, etc all can make VERY high end cabinets look like crap. So - pay attention to the details and it will pay benefits in the look and feel of quality.

Friends installed Ikea vanities in two bathrooms after shopping around everywhere, even travelling hundreds of miles to check out custom cabinetry. Their conclusion was that the Ikea price/quality ratio couldn't be beat and like Cindy, they found the Godmorgon storage capacity outstanding. They're so pleased with their choice that they convinced me and saved me all the shopping around. They're both engineers, btw, and quite discerning when it comes to their home.

(Grannysmith18, I think that picture is from "Lily's bathroom", done by Wow Great Place, here on Houzz.)

Hello! I ended up getting IKEA for the bathrooms, but not the white cabs (I got walnut and white oak). Built one set yesterday and as I was (verrrrrrry carefully) turning in screws and those cam thingies some of the veneer lifted around the holes. So that was disappointing, but they look good and more than $1,000 cheaper than another vanity I was eyeing online. I will save even more on the master vanity.

I saw a house on Redfin that looked like it had an IKEA kitchen so decided to go check it out. (Address 7715 Henefer Ave, 90045). It looked really good (and white!) I was opening and closing stuff and some didn't want to close properly. May be an installation problem.

I think I'm sold on the bathrooms, but the kitchen, although cheaper, is still a significant expense, and not something I'd want to replace in 5 years' time. How much would a medium sized IKEA kitchen cost with/without countertops? My custom kitchen was $16k for solid wood custom cabinets (incl lots of rolling shelves etc) plus $5k for quartz countertops. (Attaching a photo for rough idea - don't judge, we're in the middle of the reno!)