Customize Your Kitchen For A Fraction Of The Price

Recently, the New York Times posted the article JUST THE KITCHEN YOU WANT, BUT FOR A LOT LESS MONEY. It gave some sound advice on how to customize your kitchen for a fraction of what you may have thought you’d need to spend. Instead of the possibly 6 figure revamp to one of the most important rooms in your house, the article goes into details about how to cut costs, as well as what the steps are in the process from ideation to completion. 

The biggest ode was to IKEA. Their infrastructure, according to many interior designers and manufacturers, is top-notch. By using IKEA products as the overarching skeleton, and using custom cabinetry for the more visible features, you can save tons of money without jeopardizing the integrity of the product. While this may sound cheap or unrealistic, sources say that IKEA uses the best hardware for their products, including real wood and hinges and drawer sliders that are from Blum, which is the same brand of hardware that many custom cabinetmakers use.

The article then goes into the process that a homeowner should take when ready to customize their kitchen, summarized below:

Step 1. Find your inspiration

Magazines, design books, and online resources like Pinterest are your best friends in finding the inspiration for a kitchen you’ll love. This will help you decide if you like an island, open shelves, doors or drawers. You have to do your homework!

Step 2. Create a preliminary layout

Square footage is a thing, so get your ruler out and see what you have to work with. Ikea has an online kitchen planner that you can use once you understand the space that you have. This will be very helpful, regardless of your design expertise. 

Step 3. Contact a door company

Once your preliminary design and style is figured out, you can work with a door company to help complete the finish you are looking for. A custom door manufacturer like Reform, Semihandmade, Kokeena or The Cabinet Face can work with your Ikea drawing with the Ikea front and side panels on. Don’t forget to include handles so they can see where the door should be hinged. Transparency is the key here, as small adjustments are almost always required, so don’t go buying the Ikea stuff until you are eye to eye with the door manufacturer.

Step 4. Place the orders

Once the kitchen design is finalized with the door manufacturer, it’s time to order the parts. The experts recommend that you provide a complete kitchen design to the retailer while asking the IKEA sales associate to remove the finishing components from the order. They won’t take it personally. 

Step 5. Install Cabinets and Doors

You can do it yourself! According to the experts, it’s actually a pretty straight forward process that doesn’t require much experience. However, if there is any hesitancy, you can easily find a contractor to help for an affordable price.

Step 6. Finish up

Sometimes, it’s be best to leave some of the finishing touches up to professionals. Plumbers and electricians should be consulted to finalize the product you’ve been working towards.  

There is also the opportunity to upgrade the look of your kitchen further with counters. Ikea sells several types of these at affordable prices from wood to laminate. 

For all the facts, take a look at JUST THE KITCHEN YOU WANT, BUT FOR A LOT LESS MONEY from New York Times for the complete article.