TESTING-Toned Trendy Kitchen Design with Customized IKEA Cupboards

A elegant kitchen design with mushy whites and wooden, flat-paneled doorways and customized IKEA cupboards.

For those who’re beginning your first IKEA kitchen and really feel overwhelmed, you’re not alone. First-time IKEA clients typically do initially. Between navigating the IKEA House Planner; researching kitchen design and kitchen cupboard choices that fit your imaginative and prescient (and finances!) and — when you’re DIYers — understanding easy methods to correctly set up your IKEA cupboards, there’s loads of IKEA idiosyncrasies to be taught. That is very true in case your kitchen wants a variety of customization. Luckily, when you collaborate with design professionals, chances are high you’ll really feel like an knowledgeable when your kitchen mission is full.

This was what occurred for IKD buyer Adam from Omaha, NE, who — alongside together with his spouse — renovated their beforehand outdated and inefficient kitchen format right into a European-style IKEA kitchen with many customized storage choices (together with a number of of IKD’s signature kitchen cupboard “hacks”) and a putting heart island perfect for household meals.

“I knew from my on-line analysis that I most popular an consuming space on the island and seating on two sides of the island. We additionally fell in love with the minimalist model. That’s how we determined we wished a streamlined, built-in look with the Miele oven and microwave combo and the tall cupboards and the pullout spice cupboards for loads of storage choices,” Adam says.

He provides that he chosen IKEA cupboards as a result of he favored the standard of IKEA’s BLUM {hardware} and the flexibility the SEKTION system gives by way of customization and group in addition to accessible third-party customized door entrance choices. After discovering IKD on-line and with a finances of $50,000 (together with $10,000 put aside for brand new home equipment), Adam labored with IKD designer Daniel to renovate the household’s very outdated kitchen (suppose a lot of wasted wall area and inefficient storage and workflow). The group mixed IKEA’s SEKTION kitchen system with customized stable slab Maple door fronts from Plykea for the bottom and tall cupboards and stable slab Plykea Fenix door fronts within the Bianco Kos coloration, seen on the higher cupboards to deal with and conceal the Kobe Vary Hood above the 36″ chrome steel IKEA AVBRANNING fuel cooktop ($849).

To enrich the design theme, which Adam describes as “a really light-weight Scandinavian look with uncooked wooden and white cupboards,” he chosen IKEA MAXIMERA drawers; a Thor kitchen wine cooler; IKEA STROMINJE LED countertop lights; an IKEA MITTLED LED kitchen drawer lighting with dimmable sensor; a 32″ (w) x 19″ (d) x 10″ (h) undermount sink from Kraus; a 36″ Bosch chrome steel fridge; a Bosch dishwasher; Silestone Ethereal Nightfall counter tops in a suede end and an IKEA VAXMYRA LED highlight for all cupboards (besides the 20″ (h) higher cupboards), amongst others. The design additionally options a number of customized cupboard choices, together with an IKEA SEKTION base cupboard spice pullout for further storage, and an IKEA SEKTION base cupboard trash pullout that includes IKEA MAXIMERA low and medium drawers. This unbelievable transformation (together with the IKEA complete cupboard worth ($6,329) and all further gadgets ($751.49) worth) solely costed Adam $7,080.49.

Let’s see how Adam’s kitchen got here collectively!

Trusting the Course of

Adam and his spouse had been full novices after they started their kitchen.

 “We began with the IKEA planner software program and had an honest mockup however there was all the time a nagging feeling that we didn’t actually know what we had been doing or that we had been lacking one thing. We’d by no means performed any sort of residence renovation mission so your complete course of was a step-by-step studying journey, which was very intimidating,” he explains.

Adam provides that Daniel designing the kitchen meant that the format was not lacking any obligatory parts, so he and his spouse gained confidence that the inspiration and kitchen design had been stable.

Overcoming Obstacles

The household had very particular wants for his or her kitchen renovation.

“We insisted on a big island with sufficient area for cooking and a seating nook. Daniel maximized the dimensions of the island based mostly on what our area would permit and gave us a base cupboard format that offered seating for 4 folks. Our household eats breakfast on the island each morning,” he says.

With a lot wasted wall area of their authentic kitchen, the customized IKEA cupboards additionally wanted to offer ample storage. The cupboard wall higher alignment is 84.5″ plus 20″ with stacked cupboards for a complete cupboard peak of 104-1/2″. Between the highest of the cupboard and the ceiling there may be additionally a trim that’s 2-3/4″ to fill out the area. Now it’s successfully a wall of storage for small home equipment and pantry gadgets — excellent for getting ready household meals collectively! To do that Daniel modified the course of the unique small island and eradicated the prevailing peninsula which opened up more room for the counter tops and the IKEA SEKTION base cupboards with the Plykea maple door fronts. The completely different IKEA cupboard sizes allowed the design to increase the tall cupboards above the Bosch fridge to the highest of the 107-1/4″ excessive ceilings. [Designer note: Adam opted for the Bosch refrigerator rather than a complete built-in look based on his budget.]

The slab maple door fronts do create a minimalist impact that enhances the stable slab Plykea Fenix door fronts in Bianco Kos seen above the cooktop and well conceal the Kobe hood with false fronts. Plykea was additionally in a position to make use of a CNC router to offer hidden channels for the lights on the underside of the higher cupboards. The identical was performed with the stable maple open shelving.

“The wall with our fridge/oven is principally a stable wall of cupboards aside from the home equipment. It’s certainly one of my favourite issues and it performs nicely off of the in any other case easy island and cooktop wall within the design. Plus we’ve got tons of storage!” he says.

Different merchandise featured embody: White IKEA FORBATTRA toe kicks; an IKEA UTRUSTA hinge with built-in damper for kitchen; IKEA countertop help fixtures, galvanized; and (18) further IKEA SEKTION legs.

Island Type

Upgrading the middle island was key to this format. The unique island featured two 18” (w) cupboards and a 12” (w) cupboard — not almost sufficient area for correct storage or household meals.

So as to add further storage and the seating appropriate for household meals within the new island, completely different base cupboard sizes had been used. To the left of the sink, there may be the 12″ (w) x 24” (d) spice rack and an 18″ (w) x 24” (w) trash can. In the meantime the sink base cupboard is 36″ (w). On the appropriate facet of the sink, there may be the Bosch dishwasher and a 30″ (w) x 15″ (d) base cupboard. On the brief L-shaped facet of the island is one other seat, and to the left facet of the opposite seats (on the lengthy L-side) is a 36″(w) x 15″ (d) x 30″ (h) base cupboard that faces the bar space.

A Dry, House Bar (no sink)

One other request was a separate dry bar with a beverage fridge and open cabinets, tiles and artwork on the highest.

Daniel designed a dry bar that complemented the remainder of the kitchen together with an espresso machine and the 24″ Thor wine cooler. True to Adam’s wishlist, the bar space has photographs and paintings displayed on open wooden shelving and extra storage choices from the stable slab Plykea Fenix door fronts in Bianco Kos featured on the bottom and tall cupboards. This space options one of many kitchen cupboard modifications, or “hacks,” devised by Daniel to create customization choices. Particularly, the 18” (w) x 24” (d) x 30” (d) SEKTION wall cupboard frames had been customized lower to 18” (w) x 20” (h) x 24” (d) with the intention to create a streamlined look. [Pro tip: Adam was able to splurge on the wine cooler because the couple sold their old cabinets and countertops for $3,000!]

Customized IKEA Cupboards

Customization was a giant a part of this minimalist kitchen.

Cupboard modifications are featured on the wall of storage, because the customized IKEA cupboard body lower to 18″ (w) x 24″ (d) x 20″ (h) was used to realize cupboards that prolonged to the ceiling peak, reminiscent of on the prime of the bar space in addition to to the left above the fridge. In the meantime the cupboard body used as pantry storage was customized lower from 36″ (w) x 15″ (d) x 20″ (h) to 36” (w) x 15” (d) x 18.5 (h). The final “

DIY Recommendation

Adam has some expert-level recommendation for different new IKEA remodelers.

“Don’t skimp on the design course of. For my part, $500 is greater than definitely worth the worth of admission to make sure that you aren’t making any devastating errors. There are such a lot of potential pitfalls you possibly can’t probably pay attention to till you’ve constructed one (or 100) of those kitchens,” Adam says.

Different ideas he shared embody:

1. He drilled his personal holes within the rail when obligatory if the pre-installed holes didn’t line up nicely with the studs in a given space.
2. Double examine to make it possible for each IKEA cupboard is sq. after you construct it and earlier than you nail within the backing.
3. To be sure to don’t hit electrical or plumbing within the wall, you possibly can drill out take a look at holes in every stud cavity and use a USB endoscope hooked as much as a telephone (accessible at Amazon) to look inside to search out out the place any pipes or electrical wires may be.
4. Use masking tape when chopping cowl panels on the desk/miter noticed to forestall tear out.
5. A instrument he used for putting in cowl panels was a precut piece of wooden that was precisely the thickness of the cupboard door materials. This ensured that the quilt panels lined up flush with the cupboard doorways after they’re put in and gave him a constant measurement for understanding how far the quilt panels ought to stick out earlier than clamping them in and screwing them down.

“It feels so good to have made this mission occur from begin to end — with a bit assist from our pals at IKD — and now we’ve got this completed product that also takes my breath away to have a look at and use. It actually modified how our household makes use of the home in so many optimistic methods. And with all the data and abilities we’ve gained within the course of of constructing this mission occur we really feel like we will flip any given room on this home into something we will dream up,” he says.

As you possibly can inform, Adam actually realized loads throughout his IKEA kitchen rework. For those who’re prepared to start out renovating your IKEA kitchen, our group is right here that can assist you get began — and get comparable outcomes