I went to Ikea yesterday, waited in line for 20 minutes (forget about it on the week-end!), finally sat down at the computer (PC why do you taunt me?) and tried to recreate my kitchen plan on their software. It takes patience and precision because after 45 minutes I wasn't too far along. I got discouraged and left before finishing. I think I need to rethink this whole Ikea thing or borrow a PC and do the planning at home with a nice bottle of wine. Problem is, if your kitchen is an odd shape or size or needs custom pieces, you're kinda screwed.
As for the quality of Ikea cabinets, I'm pretty convinced that they're just as good as many other suppliers. They use Blum systems for the hinges and drawers, they have a 25 year guarantee and they cost about half the price. You can go to this link which a friend of mine sent me (merci Françoise!) to read about satisfied Ikea Cabinet owners.
Buying Ikea Cabinets is a grueling process but if you have the time and patience and the know-how to install them (Ikea can also provide that service or perhaps an experience contractor can do it too), you can save a lot of money on the cabinets enabling you to put in stone countertops and a nice backsplash which will really give your kitchen the WOW factor.
Not so good :
Better :
What you see on the right of the picture is the frontal view of the adjacent wall. At the bottom, upside down is the island.
