There had been some indication that the semi-annual IKEA kitchen sale was to become a thing of the past. Too many people waiting for the sale, which led to slow sales in the other parts of the year, or something like that. But apparently someone saw the light in the Netherlands (no mean feat in winter) and the sale is back, mod babies. So if you have been waiting and pondering and tweaking that planner schematic for the last year or so (I know who you are) now is the time to leap.
Everything is 10% off with a purchase of $2,500. Buy two appliances and the discount increases to 15%. A third appliance gets you to 20% off the whole shebang. Not too shabby.
We can have the philosophical debate of preserving the original vs. updating, but this is really for the folks who have already crossed the line from the land of the strict restorationists. There are some great original MCM kitchens out there, but not in most of our houses. And while I admire the custom work done by Henrybuilt, Kerf, et al., the fact is that I am on a budget. And I know most of you are, as well. That is what led me to IKEA.
You'll recall that this is what we started with back in the dark days of 2009:
And through Ikean elfin magic (with my own sweaty pixie dust and that of the mister and my dad), it was transformed into this:
We purchased during the fall, 2009 sale. All of the cabinets and hardware came in at around $2,600. You really can't beat that. So, there it is. Your IKEA testimony for the day. I don't know that there are a lot of IKEA kitchens in Birmingham yet, but it is totally doable. If you've got any questions about it, shoot them to me. I might even consult with you in return for chips and a bowl of queso. The sale runs through May 1, so hop to it!
Hi, I know you published this Ikea post quite some time ago, but I am hoping you might be able to give me some advice. I am also in Birmingham and am strongly considering an Ikea kitchen, but haven't been able to find any firm numbers about installation costs or even installers in Birmingham. Did you install your kitchen yourself (it looks great, by the way), or did you hire local installers? Would love any advice you might have!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Cathleen
Cathleen, we did it about 95% DIY (countertops and final plumbing were the only pros involved). Our installation cost for the cabinets was a big fat ZERO. I was freakishly focused on layout and cabinet selection. I tweaked and planned and wondered and tweaked some more for probably six months before I was happy and knew exactly what I wanted. DH and I (with some help from my sweet dad) did all assembly and installation. It's definitely do-able if you're at all handy and have patience. It also helps if you don't have a lot of prep work to do. (We did, including some framing and blocking and drywall and wiring, but we're comfortable doing that stuff). We didn't move any plumbing, gas, or ducting, which helped. We also had two straight shots of cabinets, so weren't having to deal with corners and a multitude of non-plumb walls, etc.
DeleteWe had a van at the time and drove over and put in the order and picked up all of the pieces in one day. Some pieces were out of stock (large panels, toe kick) and those were shipped directly to our house later. Our dining room became the designated lay-down area and we simply lived in the "warehouse" from October, when we picked up the boxes, to Thanksgiving, when we started demo.
If you don't already have one, a power screwdriver (the ones that look like little drills/guns) will come in incredibly handy for tightening all the screws and cam locks. Have you been to the Ikea Fans site? If not, definitely explore there. They're a ton of help.
There may be local folks who will install, but I don't know that they will "get" the IKEA system. They may discount the idea of the hanging rails, etc., and try to apply more traditional methods (screwing cabinets into the wall). You don't want to let them do that, so make sure you are comfortable with their methods.