Keenellen, read all of this thread, particularly the last post:

[https://www.houzz.com/discussions/ikea-axstad-a-new-cabinet-door-stylewhite-shaker-dsvw-vd~5579711?n=33[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/ikea-axstad-a-new-cabinet-door-stylewhite-shaker-dsvw-vd~5579711?n=33)

(ETA I mean the post by pippabean, in case the thread gets more replies before you read it.)

IKEA kitchens get a lot of love around here for being reasonably priced and very well made. Don’t despair. Do some more research past this one post and go visit an IKEA (if you have one close enough) to see them in person. My SIL put the IKEA closet systems in her multi-million $ home out west and had nothing but praise for their quality and durability. Many others on here, with upscale homes as well as “regular” homes, have used IKEA in more than one kitchen and have been pleased with the quality. Do some more research before giving up and throwing in the towel.

IKEA kitchen cabinets are fantastic.

IKEA kitchen cabinets are pretty good! If you're willing to put in the effort to assemble them and stuff, they are really hard to beat. The up-front pricing that you can't get from a typical cabinet retailer has its own value. The interior accessories are the best ever and ridiculously affordable.

Yes, the melamine doors are melamine doors. Okay. If you're in the melamine price range these are awesome. The cabinets themselves are going to be better than just about any other melamine-doored cabinets out there.Buy some extra door fronts for the sink and other high use areas and stick them on the top shelf of the kid's closet. There. Future proofed.

IKEA sells a lot of crap. Their kitchen cabinets are not crap.

It will be bright, fresh and clean and will certainly help you sell faster when the time comes.

For someone on a limited budget, I would suggest having one of their solid wood doors professionally painted with a conversion varnish rather than buying thermofoil, or buying third party doors.

Thermofoil does have longevity and wear issues. But third party suppliers will be substantially more costly than using the available IKEA products as the basis for a custom finish.

Keeneileen: definitely do IKEA over Cliq. And that 7K budget will go far, don’t you worry. Here’s the $7K IKEA kitchen in my last house, prior to crown and toe kicks. (We didn’t get those installed until we were moving, and, in the chaos, never got new pictures. Also, our house sold without even listing it.)

I have yet to see any of the anti-IKEA pros post a comparable-cost kitchen.

@Fori They actually do sell crap kitchen cabinets - it's the Knoxhult line, and I think that level is what the IKEA snobs are thinking of when they think of IKEA.

The Sektion line (which is what most everyone uses) is very solid - and the door quality is what can make or break it. You can upgrade the doors to solid wood with another vendor easily - but some of their doors are also very nice.

The Ikea kitchen I put into our rental house (with custom doors), below. We did an Ikea kitchen in our first house, circa 1997. The house has been renovated and sold multilpe times since then and the last listing I saw, from a year or so ago, had the SAME IKEA CABINETS we put in long ago. Ikea kitchens last. They come standard with soft-close doors and drawers. They are GREAT.

One of the Kitchen forum's all-time favorite Ikea kitchens,

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/2678448/finished-kitchen-circa-1840-working-farmhouse-ikea-budget-reno#n=107

We just installed one and have been very pleased with it. It was a compromise that works for us.

More Ikea kitchens from GardenWeb's Finished Kitchens blog (which I don't think has been updated for a while),

http://finishedkitchens.blogspot.com/search/label/Cab-IKEA

Wow, thank you so much for these supportive comments everyone. Sorry for going MIA for a bit, things get crazy with three kids under 3. Looks like I have some more reading to do but I’m feeling much better about the IKEA option.

I did get a quote back for Conestoga cabinets for a similar layout to the IKEA kitchen I’ve planned and it came to $7,900 with less drawers and interior organizers. The drawers and the pull out pantry are what I’m most excited about, so that won’t work. It’s just the issue of IKEA doors that I need to figure out.

Painting a wooden IKEA door sounds interesting and it isn’t something that I had considered. After getting an astronomical quote for Semihandmade doors, I had written off the non-IKEA door option but painting an IKEA product might get around that. Hm, much to research!

Love your kitchens, btw, Hillside House and Stacey Collins! That’s the neutral look I’m going for.

@Stacey Collins Do you remember what style door you put in that 1997 kitchen? I'm curious if a foil had that kind of longevity, or if it was a wood or painted style.

Keeneileen: Semihandmade isn’t your only option. Here’s a thread where I compared the bids I got from them plus two other door companies: [Barker Doors vs. Semihandmade vs. Scherr's in IKEA kitchen : RESULTS[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/barker-doors-vs-semihandmade-vs-scherrs-in-ikea-kitchen-results-dsvw-vd~5182903)

Personally, I wouldn’t paint an IKEA door. Barker Doors, the ones I ultimately went with (in my current remodel), come ready-to-paint. With an IKEA door, you will need to prep it for paint and remove the factory finish before you do anything, and the price will be higher. I just don’t see the benefit.

@keeneileen I had custom shaker doors made by Cabinet Door World. I got quotes from Scherr's and a few other places as well. The ones I got were barely more than the Ikea doors, painted. I'm not sure I'd recommend them though, we had several problems.

Painting already finished IKEA wood doors only needs a proper scuff sanding, just as if you were painting an existing installed kitchen. It’s the exact same number of steps as painting unfinished. There is no need to sand to bare wood.

You would still need to scuff sand and prime the unfinished, even if they advertise being ready to be finished. The biggest advantage is that if you mess anything up, you just go buy another door from IKEA, with no custom boring for the hinges needed. No shipping wait, or expense either.

Please don't despair because a few "Pro's" are anti-Ikea. Have they offered you any workable solutions? It's easy to criticize with general statements but I do not hear them talking from personal "Ikea" experience.

Many of us have years of Ikea experience, including those that have already commented. Ikea is a great solution for your situation and budget. Why shouldn't you have a nice, usable kitchen for the five years you will live in your home prior to selling? A nice, bright Ikea kitchen will help your home sell faster and you will get to enjoy it. It's well worth your $7K reno budget. I have done 4 Ikea kitchens and not one person in the 6 years since my first one, has even identified any of them as Ikea. It is a non-service of the Pro's to offer discouraging comments to those that do not fit in their niche.

The Cook's Kitchen offers a good solution if you want white wood, but I'm pretty sure that it will fall outside of your $4,000 cabinet budget if you have them painted professionally. I have not seen the Axstad in person yet, but it's composition is the same as the Grimslov which has been around for a long time. I really would not put any worry into this. If I were in your shoes I'd choose the Axstad, Grimslov, or Bodbyn as a solid door choice. I wouldn't bother with replacement doors or painting since you won't be staying.

My Ikea Akurum Lidingo and Ramsjo ($4,650 including freight delivery), almost 6 years old.

My daughter and I built her small Sektion Bodbyn kitchen 2 1/2 years ago ($4,300). Here's a pic before it was finished.I put Akurum Adel Beech in two rentals 6 1/2 years ago ($2,500 each including freight delivery). I took this pic last summer between renters. They cleaned up beautifully, have no damage, and still look new.
My favorite hack, undersink trash, recycle, and storage. Created using all Ikea parts.

Love my pantry!
I have had zero problems with any of the doors I chose nor the cabinets. No chips, dulling, peeling - nada! And they clean very easily. Good luck with your project! I hope you post your latest layout!

Did some more looking into our door options based on everyone’s advice. A professionally done conversion varnish painted finish seems to be the most reliable - and expensive - option.

In hopes that we could just do the Axstad door for less trouble, I went to IKEA today to get a sample Axstad drawer front, and was actually pretty surprised by the finish. It’s very matte, almost velvety. It’s not even remotely plasticy feeling, to the point where I’m a little worried it won’t clean as well.

I’m going to do some testing on it, but here are photos compared to the Grimslov. It’s definitely a bright white; my walls are Twinkling Lights by Behr with a yellow undertone. The Ikea kitchen rep said that they’ve sold a lot of sample Axstad doors already and they don’t even have the doors displayed in the store yet.

The new bright white Axstad door is very pretty. I like the color and the style. So glad Ikea is adding a clear white to their line of door styles. I just installed Grimslov white wall cabinets and base pullout in my laundry room. I like the Grimslov, but I would have preferred the Axstad. I say go ahead and get the Ikea cabinets with Ikea doors and storage options. Many many people have an Ikea kitchen, and they are pleased. Also many high end builders have been installing Ikea in my area, Mid Atlantic. As with everything, you will find good and bad reviews. Your kitchen will be lovely and new.

FWIW my sister is a realtor who put Ikea cabinets in her own kitchen even though she could afford better and can buy some Chinese imports at wholesale prices through her friends ( she puts those in houses she's selling because her older clients expect wood boxes ). She just likes the Ikea cabinets. She likes the look and all the drawer organizers and she installed them herself. She sees and sells a lot of houses so she knows what's out there and still chose Ikea.

I don't think Ikea are the best cabinets but they aren't the worst either. If this is what you decide to go with I think the new Ikea cabinets and a fresh coat of paint could work wonders in an old kitchen in terms of both looks and functionality.

If you want one of Ikea's wood doors might I suggest the gray Lerhyttan which is birch with a pale gray stain? If your kitchen gets a lot of sunlight the gray might be less prone to yellowing than white.

* I'm going to use Barker Cabinets for my own kitchen because it's small so it needs custom sizes and I plan on being here a long time. You might want to consider those too.

@keeneileen I'm sorry, I realized you were asking about the very old kitchen, not the one I just did that I posted pics of. Disregard my last answer to your question! The door front that has lasted since 1997 was the birch flat panel door, I cannot recall the name but it was pretty popular I believe. They don't have it any longer. it was flat panel with a birch veneer.

Is the grey Lerhyttan back?

https://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/recall/LERHYTTAN/index.html

And to bbtrix: The Lidingo/Bodbyn are acrylic paint, the old Ramjo white were a white stain, I believe. The Grimslov are foil.

Just wondering whether there's any feedback on durability of the old Adel or new Grimslov doors.

Lerhyttan comes in a choice of black or pale gray. The pale gray was discontinued temporarily because of quality control issues but is back now.

nosoccormom, I didn’t have a question about those cabinets, maybe someone else did. I have each of them in my properties. My Ramsjo is Black/Brown stain. Refer back to my post about my Adel in my rentals. They were beech and are very durable. They are almost 7 years old and still look brand new with the abuse of renters.

@ bbtrix is your countertop from Ikea? It looks amazing! Also - are you still loving your cabinets?

@tee8, yes I still love my cabinets and they still look new. None of my four kitchens used IKEA countertops. Mine are Danby marble and black walnut.

bbtrix thank you for the quick response. So many people look at me funny when I say I'm considering Ikea cabinets. I'm almost 100% certain that we will use their cabinets when we get around to gutting our kitchen. Did you have to do anything special to have the countertops supported? I've read that the Ikea cabinets aren't the best for countertop support.

They are fine for countertop support. Where are you reading that?

I've read it on other reviews, not on this thread.

@keeneileen did you install your IKEA kitchen yet?

I used Ikea cabinets (and custom doors) with a quartz counter with absolutely no issues at all. Ikea themselves sell standard quartz (and stone?) countertops, so I am sure they are plenty strong.

I have heavy marble and 1 3/4” thick walnut island. If the cabinets are properly installed there won’t be a problem. Can you give links to the hearsay?

@bbtrix I honestly would have to dig for it. Not sure it’s even on HOUZZ. I think it was referring to the sink cabinet with the metal rail on it?

But good to know the cabinets can support heavier material. I LOVE the walnut. How hard or easy is that to maintain?

I don’t see how making this change wouldn’t increase the value of your home? I think they look nice and a lot of first time home buyers buying smaller homes don’t demand luxury but want something that looks nice and updated (but is functional). As someone who bought a starter home last year

@AMS We installed in July! Went with the IKEA Axstad after all with no regrets. On pause for the moment but I posted our progress so far. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5851240/progress-on-ikea-axstad-kitchen-backsplash-lighting

@tee8 I shopped for every type of countertop imaginable - granite, soapstone, slate, quartz, marble - and no one hesitated at an IKEA install. We have the 36" wide sink cabinet and one installer told me he actually takes the rail out because it allows you more room to scoot the undermount sink forward. They're more worried about the cabinets being level than anything.

Whether a new kitchen will increase your home's value completely depends on where you live. When we lived in DC, if you were in a $1m basic row home in decent neighborhood, you could spend $25k on a new Ikea kitchen, plus paint the whole home, and probably increase the value of the home by $100-$200k. Now we live in Florida and home renovations are always a losing proposition. You only do it for your own enjoyment.

keeneileen how did the testing go on your doors?? what did you use for the testing?

@tee8 I tested tomato sauce, berry juice, coffee, and rubbed on dirty hands like when my kids come in from the backyard. All sat overnight and wiped off. Some of the dirt was stubborn but a white pencil eraser got it off. We’ve also been using the cabinets for four months and nothing has stained yet.

@Jacquelyn that's great testing. So good to know it didn't stain, but strange that the dirt was the most stubborn. Would think the tomato sauce would've been the worst.

@Jacquelyn can you inform what size fridge you have? Is it counter-depth or standard?

@tee8 It’s counter-depth and has plenty of room for our needs

@Jacquelyn ugh - I figured. we have a monster 36" depth LG 4 door refrigerator. I would love to switch to counter-depth, but my husband doesn't want to spend the extra money.

What model do you have?

I have the LG LFXC22526S. Maybe you could sell your current fridge? I was amazed at how big a difference those few inches make in how much the fridge sticks out. Or you can do what I did and talk about the kitchen so much that your husband stops listening and lets you buy whatever you want 😂

@KEENEILEEN too funny. We actually have an LG too and we love it. It's just a BEAST for our tiny kitchen. Thanks for sharing the model. How do you like it so far? Or have you had it since before your remodel?

keeneileen also, did you have a standard sized fridge before this counter-depth model you currently have? does it save a significant amount of space?

@tee8 We just got this fridge for the remodel and it’s working great. We wanted the in-door ice and this model has that without making the left hand door feel too bulky.

We had a standard depth side-by-side from the 90’s before buying this one. It only stuck out a few more inches but I think it makes the kitchen feel totally different to have everything flush. In the tight U layout, every inch counts.

Space-wise I much prefer the top/bottom fridge! I have no idea if we gained or lost cubic foot storage but it feels like everything fits so much better.

We used Ikea probably 12 years ago at our cabin, and they still function flawlessly. Yes, it's time for a door upgrade, but guess what?? I can just replace the doors!! Easy peasy! We also used Ikea for our main house reno, and fancied it up with quartz countertops and backsplash tiles that go to the ceiling. Many people have asked who built our kitchen, because it's so nice. It is really nice, and really affordable.