Why Custom Kitchens Are Better Then Ikea Kitchens

In the world of building and renovating homes, we try to do as much custom work as we can, not just because we want to but because it turns out better in the end for the client.

One of the most frustrating things with people today is that they have been led to believe that the best way to save money is to buy an Ikea kitchen and have it installed to save money over having a custom kitchen built and installed.

Let's get the money thing out of the way to begin with, everyone thinks that custom kitchens are so expensive and that's why they go and buy Ikea kitchens. The cost to actually buy the kitchen is cheaper up front from Ikea compared to the cost of a custom kitchen but that's were the savings stop. 

When you shop for Ikea kitchens the prices they give you are the basic prices and there is nothing fancy or unique about it. You have to purchase all the hardware for the doors separately either from Ikea or from another source. Custom kitchens come with all the hardware in the price and are also installed by the kitchen supplier. 

The biggest cost of an Ikea kitchen that no buddy tends to think about is the cost of the assembly. Most people think that Ikea kitchens must be fairly easy to put together and install. Take it from me, we have assembled and installed Ikea kitchens for clients as part of a renovation and the cost of this ends up being very high. The fact that they are hard to put together and there are always pieces missing means that you loss precious time running back to Ikea to buy or return cabinets. Because Ikea kitchens are not designed and make for your house then they take longer to install. It becomes difficult when floors are out of level, walls aren't plumb or you have to alter a cabinet to fit a space it wasn't designed for.

Every time I install an Ikea kitchen when I total up what the homeowner spent and my cost for my employee's to assemble and install it the cost ends up working out to within 10% of the custom kitchen.

What are you giving up just to save 10 or less percent on your kitchen? A lot, custom kitchens make use of every single inch in a kitchen. Because a custom kitchen is made just for your kitchen there are little things that can be fit in to what an Ikea kitchen would consider wasted space. Things like spice racks, cloth drawers and specialty corner cabinet hardware that don't require a lazy suzanne to be installed giving you amble storage.

One of the biggest things that you are giving away for less then 10% savings is the quality of the overall kitchen. Custom kitchens last as long as you are going to own the home, Ikea kitchens are usually in need of repair and replacement in less then 10 years. Why spend so much money when you are going to have to start repairing it in less then a decade.

Your kitchen is one of the most used parts of your home, you should be making a proper investment in it. Forget the Ikea kitchen, spend that extra 10% and get a custom kitchen.

Rob Abbott

Village Builders Inc.