No pictures.

Also, who are your contractors? I am installing Ikea cabinets and my walls are not equal, but with some attention, it's working well. But impossible to answer your questions without pictures.

Thank you @Ig222, I just uploaded the pics for reference. We did not go with IKEA's installation team and we regret it now. We just googled nearby contractors that work by the hour. From a far, it's not too bad! But up close is where you can really see the imperfections.

Thanks @User, any suggestions on where to start? Do you think we need to uninstall the cabinets completely?

You probably need to uninstall the cabinets, but if your contractor used Ikea's cleat system, it should be easy. This said, a lot of problems seems to be finishing problems, so you need to have a contractor that knows how to deal with these issues. Your contractor seemed to be over his head with that.

Based on the pictures, there are a variety of big and small mistakes in how they installed the filler pieces. Frankly, they just don't seem very detailed oriented or used to thinking about how to best ensure that cut edges won't show in the final product.

Depending exactly how cheap these installers were, I frankly think you got what you paid for. Some of issues abutting the wall could be fixed with colour matched caulk or by caulking and then painting the wall again. I'd add cover panels to the side area under the glass cabinets, to cover those bare edges, and probably redo the deco strips under the cabinet since they shouldn't have been mitred. It's not a huge amount of money in materials, but there's no way these contractors will be able to get it right if this was the first attempt. If you're at all handy, these are things you could painstakingly do yourself. You'll always care more about your kitchen than any (reasonably affordable) kitchen installer.

Thankfully they did @Ig222 and I agree, way over their heads. Unfortunately, we're not too familiar, either. We took a chance with them and I think it's going to cost us in the end.

Thank you @sparkshooter I couldn't have put it better myself! For one, we definitely got what we paid for, which will end up costing us in the end. We thought about caulking and will most likely have to go that route, considering that wall just isn't straight, so that was not entirely their fault. I also agree that the bottom strips need to go! I'm just terrified of the damage that's been done, underneath the cabinet when they screwed them in. My husband and I are not handy at all and are will to pay to get the job done, I just don't know how I should go about finding people familiar with this work. We've discussed our renovations with several contractors and every single one of them cringe when they hear the word IKEA, which is what led me here! I can't be the only one in NYC that went the IKEA route in their kitchen :(

There’s a girl (well, a woman) who lives in Jackson Heights and has posted on here (she also has a very informative blog!) about her IKEA kitchen. Of course I can’t remember the name of her or her blog right now, but if you Google “ikea kitchen jackson heights” you should be able to find her/it. I’ll see if I can find it, too.

Renov8or,

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5700371/kitchen-reveal-white-shaker-paonozzo-marble-ikea-scherr-s-nyc

Here's her blog,

https://renov8or.blogspot.com/search/label/kitchen

The key to Ikea, if you can't do it yourself (which is where the savings really lies) is to hire someone who has Ikea experience.

For our new house, I wanted Ikea vanities in the bathrooms but the plumbing required is so different from the usual in North America that my plumbers in back of beyond rural Canada, and even my contractor husband, were convinced that they would have to butcher the beautiful full drawers, which was my entire goal. I ended up printing off an entire tree's worth of blog posts and other how to's, and making them watch endless YouTube videos, before they started doing the plumbing. Basically Ikea Swedish re-education camp for recalcitrant North Americans.

If the contractor has no experience and is not amenable to learning, run away, far and fast.

@Sammy Thank you! I knew I couldn't be the only one. @beckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally YES!! Thank you for the link!! That kitchen is the Pinterest kitchen renovation of my dreams, that I was referring to. Unreal, it makes me want to gut my entire kitchen, all over again! You're absolutely right, experience is everything. The hunt for new contractors, continues..

renov8or is a beautiful kitchen, but remember the doors are not Ikea.

This said, I think that if you find somebody to redo the different trims following @sparkshooter's ideas, yours would be great as well. You may have to buy some more panels and decostrips to redo what is missing and cover the sides of the cabinets on both sides of the glass cabinet, but this is a few hundred dollars. Be sure that the cuts are straight. You probably do not need to gut it.

renov8or is a beautiful kitchen, but remember the doors are not Ikea.

Which means the contractor is not only adept at installing the Sektion carcasses, but good with another manufacturer's doors, as well as the various trims and fillers needed to meld the two. You want someone in NYC who is experienced with Ikea and excellent with attention to detail.

Here's how renov8or found her contractor through Sweeten, which might be worth a look, Bianca. There might be someone even better for your purposed, who knows?

https://renov8or.blogspot.com/2019/04/our-kitchen-was-featured-on-sweeten.html

https://sweeten.com/before-after/kitchens/integrated-white-kitchen-jackson-heights/

Thanks for posting the link, @beckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally!

You're welcome! I love that kitchen, esp the backsplash.

I would cover the gaps with trim - ikea should have that - quarter round , shoe molding , small crown etc lots of options at Home Depot or Lowe’s esp in white

@Ig222 Yes, it's obvious her budget was way over mine, as well. Lol. Agreed, I am for sure going to have the trim redone and I'll be doing my research this time around. Thanks!

@beckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally I just signed up and hopeful I'll find someone will to help me redo parts of my kitchen. Thank you!

You're welcome, Bianca. I hope you find someone good to help you, and that you get the kitchen you want. Good luck, and please keep us posted!

@Bianca sorry you're going through this. FYI - I'm in Brooklyn going through the same mess you are in not having anyone trustworthy, handy or detail oriented for my renovation. I found that Houzz link that was posted above with the amazing NYC kitchen (by renovator) where they did the Ikea kitchen and custom doors. I contacted the contractor they used (his details were posted in the thread) - a lovely guy BUT his MINIMUM labor charge is 25k and they are not interested in coming in mid-project and fixing other peoples mistakes. I don't blame them. Doesn't help folks like us though. Anyway, just wanted to share and save you some time and heartache (I actually got my hopes up that I found someone good) UGH!! NYC :(

Oh noooooo @Rachel L I’m sorry you’re in the same boat! It’s extremely frustrating. I have to thank you for giving me the heads up because I was actually looking for the info. on who those contractors were! I just never came across it. I definitely don’t blame them. Best of luck to you with your renovations and fingers crossed that you find the right ppl that best fit your needs. I will update on here should I find anyone that I believe is worth recommending but with the money we have already spent and the quotes we‘ve also received, I think we’re going to have to just wing it 😩

We are remodeling our kitchen and building our own cabinets. Our walls were terribly uneven, so we evened them out by mudding and sanding the walls until they were even. That would mean you'd have to remove the one cabinet and then have to repaint the wall. Not a terrible job, but it can be messy. Now, depending on how big of a gap that is under the cabinet, you may be able to hide that with a backsplash. As far as the gap along the ceiling line, you may need to use a wider header so it touches the ceiling, otherwise, you'll get lots of nasties up there. Sounds like you got lots of advice. Hope you find the solution that will fit your needs and not cost you lots of money. Good luck.

i'm gonna follow this thread. i'm installing axstad as well and have a few gaps that needs fillers, my contractor said they'll add the fillers, crossing my fingers 🤞🤞 it turns out well!! the kitchen designer didn't account for symmetry on my design so my contractor adjusted my cabinets and ended up with gaps

Thanks, everyone. Here's a small update. We added panels below the cabinet with the glass doors. I'm still getting use to it but I believe it's an improvement.

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