To say our original kitchen was ugly is an understatement. I’m talking beyond outdated. The space was downright dilapidated with cabinets that were missing shelves, no drawers to speak of, a stained cardboard tile ceiling, and a mottled coat of baby blue paint. The flooring consisted of cheap speckled tiles that you glue down- most of which were stained or cracked. I hope I have painted a vivid enough picture for you, as I wasn’t clever enough to get any decent before pictures. However, please take a moment to gawk at the scene I present to you now. My husband was able to locate a few pictures of the kitchen from just prior to us moving in.
So, on to the good part. The part where we destroyed the ugly duckling and bought a new, prettier duck, which we will call the Ikea Sektion Kitchen featuring Bodbyn cabinet fronts. As usual, Ikea’s names are completely meaningless until you go to buy that item, at which point you have googled it (and it’s related products) so many times that it is burned into your brain and you feel confident that you are now at least 1% fluent in Swedish.
I bought my Ikea kitchen basically a month after they completely revamped their kitchen line from an older system to the newer Sektion system, which meant that there wasn’t a lot of information or pictures out there to help me make my decision. However, I plowed forward with the kitchen makeover because (A) I was 6 months pregnant and not about to have my baby born into a world of fugly kitchens and (B) the annual Ikea kitchen sale was going on for only a few short weeks and I was determined to get that 20% discount.
We are planning to install open shelves on that nice blank wall.
After obsessively measuring every wall, door, and window over and over again, I plugged in the measurements to Ikea’s digital Kitchen Planner on my home computer and set to work planning which cabinet’s would fit where. This part is very important as it will help sort out what you can and cannot include in your kitchen well before you go in to place your order. After I was satisfied with my design, I went into my nearest Ikea and brought up the design on one of their computers dedicated to this task within the kitchen department and reviewed it with a very helpful member of the kitchen department. These people are usually stationed in that department exclusively and know what will work and what won’t. As long as you have your measurements down correctly, they can prevent any potential errors in your design.
Once the kitchen components were delivered it took a few weekends worth of work to fully assemble and install the cabinets, which was completed by my husband and his dad who happens to be extremely good at building things. If you think you’ll need it, Ikea does offer installation services as well, which I probably would’ve sprung for if it was just me.
Gotta love those extra tall upper wall cabinets.
TALL GLASS DOOR BODBYN UPPER WALL CABINETS
Some of the notable features in this amazingly gorgeous and well-thought-out kitchen are the glass-fronted upper wall cabinets, which show off my colorful collection of dinnerware beautifully. If you want to get really fancy, you can even opt for lighting within the cabinet (also offered by Ikea) to really make your items sparkle. I went with the tallest option for the upper cabinets, which is 40-inches high, because I love the look of it. However, if you prefer, you can also get this style in a standard 30-inch height.
This incredibly large Sektion drawer cabinet can house most of my bulky appliances.
PULL-OUT DRAWER LOWER CABINETS
The lower cabinets are almost all pull-out drawers, which is actually super amazing because you aren’t always crouching down on the floor, rifling around a dark cabinet to get to something buried in the back. Trust me, this will revolutionize your time in the kitchen.
Two standard kitchen-sized trash cans fit in this tall drawer from Ikea. Trash bags and other supplies fit in the hidden pull-out drawer above.
Another hidden gem in this Ikea kitchen, is the tall pull-out drawer, which houses two top-notch trash cans (also from Ikea). No more unsightly garbage receptacles cluttering up the kitchen. The drawer, like most of the lower cabinet drawers from the Sektion line, features a hidden drawer at the very top that can be pulled out when the main drawer is open. In this one, I can hold a roll of trash bags, dishwasher tabs, and microfiber cleaning clothes. In others, I keep sharp objects, knives, and other things I like to keep hidden from my toddler.
The Renlig Dishwasher is covered with a front panel that matches the cabinets.
INTEGRATED RENLIG DISHWASHER
Another feature that I love in this kitchen is the dishwasher that is hidden by a front panel that looks just like the cabinet fronts. That’s right! It blends right in with the lower cabinets for a seamless look. Ikea sells the panel (which is really just a cabinet door) separately from the dishwasher so that you can use your own, however you must have a “panel ready” dishwasher that will allow a cabinet front to be installed over it. To make things easier for me, I decided to purchase the Renlig Dishwasher from Ikea so I knew the panel would fit perfectly. Little known fact: Ikea’s appliances are manufactured by Whirlpool, which has a pretty solid reputation and the dishwasher did not disappoint. I love this dishwasher! It cleans well, has ample space for our needs, and according to my mom, it is the quietest dishwasher she has come across. Ikea for the win!
DOMSJO FARMHOUSE SINK + GLITTRAN FAUCET
Nestled between the dishwasher and trash drawer is this adorable farmhouse style kitchen sink from (you guessed it!) Ikea. The ceramic sink I chose is called Domsjo and features two bowls but they also offer a similar option in a smaller one bowl design. While I absolutely love the style of this sink, this is the one issue I have had with the kitchen so far. I broke the sink. Yes, it was as dramatic and awful as it sounds. For two years I have used this sink without a problem, however, a few months ago I was washing an absurdly heavy two-gallon ceramic pickling crock (you know, the cool old-timey looking things) and it slipped from my hands and cracked the sink straight through. After I recovered from my shock and terror, we went out to Ikea and repurchased the same sink, vowing to never wash that cursed crock again. Removing and reinstalling the sink was fairly simple to our immense relief and thankfully the sink isn’t super expensive either. BUT, I do recommend taking extra caution when washing heavier items, such as crock pot inserts or enameled cast iron, in this sink. You may even consider getting a rubber mat to put down in the basin when cleaning these items. As for the faucet, it is also an Ikea item called Glittran and I love the classic styling of it, although they do carry a decent selection of other styles as well.
ENERYDA HANDLES + KNOBS
All of the drawer handles and knobs are Ikea as well and I opted to do a mix of the Eneryda Handles and Eneryda Knobs depending on the cabinet. They are sturdy and have a nice finish to them making them appear much more expensive than they actually are.
In case you are new to kitchen remodeling like I was, here is a helpful tip. All Ikea cabinet doors and drawer fronts come as a solid door with no holes in them, so you must decide where you want each knob and handle and drill a hole for them yourself. As usual, Ikea has thought this through and developed a neat drill template to help guide you.
FRIDGE + STOVE
We decided to keep our old stove and refrigerator in order to save money, however if you are going to be purchasing a new refrigerator as part of your kitchen remodel, I highly recommend getting a counter-depth refrigerator. When I bought my refrigerator I was young and naive and got the biggest fridge I could afford. Little did I know that it would stick out like a sore thumb and not blend in as seamlessly with kitchen cabinets due to the depth. But, because I didn’t want to see the bumpy grey sides of our fridge, we bought an extra big panel of the same material the cabinets are made from and cut it to size to cover the visible side of the fridge. We also had to bump out the over-the-refrigerator cabinets a bit in order to have them flush with the fridge.
Caesarstone Quartz Countertops in Frosty Carrina, purchased through Ikea.
CAESARSTONE QUARTZ COUNTERTOPS
One of my favorite parts of this kitchen is the countertop. To my surprise, Ikea has quite a selection of countertop options included a very affordable butcher block wood, which I considered until I laid eyes on this stunning quartz countertop in “Frosty Carrina” that looks a lot like marble. The quartz countertops offered by Ikea are actually manufactured by Caesarstone, a leader in the countertop industry, but you purchase through Ikea along with the rest of your kitchen (and, yes, get a discount if you catch one of their awesome sales). This was by far the biggest expense of the kitchen, but, oh my, was it worth it. Quartz is actually more durable than marble and it resists stains very well. Wine, juice, and coffee are commonly spilled on our counters and clean up is super easy. If I do encounter a particularly stubborn stain, a bit of Bar Keeper’s Friend (my favorite soft scrub cleaner) takes it off in a jiffy. The countertops are cut to measure by a local contractor, who then delivers and installs it for you. I found this process to be very well coordinated by Ikea and I am so happy with the results.
We kept our supremely old stove for now, but eventually would love a newer model with a range hood.
TRIM + TOE KICKS
If you want you cabinets to have a more custom-built look, you can purchase some molded trim from Ikea in the same shade as your cabinetry. We actually did buy this trim, but for whatever reason, never installed it. I’m still holding out hope that one day we will get around to this, however I’m pretty happy with the way the kitchen looks now. Another option you should invest in is their toe kicks which are installed after your cabinets are in place in order to cover up the gap between the cabinet and the floor. You can even purchase a grated vent to install in the toe kick in case your heat source is covered up by cabinets.
RANARP PENDANT LIGHTS
I also purchased two light fixtures from Ikea for our kitchen, opting for the low-key Ranarp Pendant Lights, which are incredibly affordable. A smaller one is hung over the kitchen sink and the larger one is hanging down in the center of the room over the tall table we use as an island.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, I am incredibly pleased with the quality and durability of our Ikea kitchen. The drawers all feature a soft-close mechanism so that they close gently, which is great with a toddler around. The cabinet finish has held up well over the past two years and it very easy to clean. But beyond the quality, what I love is how well-thought-out every component is. The Ikea team even designed drawer inserts specifically for the Sektion kitchen line including food-safe storage bins, several utensil drawer inserts, devices to stack plates in lower drawers, and a variety of recycling bins.
There are too many additional cool features to talk about in this one post. However, if you like this review, and want to see more of our Ikea kitchen, let me know and I will do another post with a look inside all of our drawers and cabinets.
