I have had an ikea kitchen in the house here in the vaucluse for 12 years.
It is a rental property that sleeps ten, so I figure that with over
250 people staying here each year, for over 12 years it has definitely taken all of the wear extremely well.
All parts, drawers and hinges are great, the appliances have held up fairly well under the ‘abuse’ (smiling)
In the US Ikea kitchen actually got the best rating possible from Consumer Reports and they are pretty hard nosed.
The one we installed in our first house here in France (1993) is still in tip-top shape I was told a few minutes ago.
No 2 (1998) same
No 3 2005 same
The one I have now (6 years old) looks like new and remains a joy.
Yes, I am très IKEA after falling on my (financial included) face with an Almilmo kitchen.
Not sure if its snobbery or not like their modern look as an engineer i had to go into their various stores around the uk and to kill time if i had to wait walked around to look at the gooddies on sale some i liked others far to modern for my taste having said that we will go to Toulouse soon to look at their bedroom furniture as price and quality is top now we are poor and living in France though we were always poor and living in the uk
I don't have an IKEA kitchen . . . but would like to agree with Kathleen's comment that there is a degree of unnecessary snobbery around against IKEA.
We needed to buy a fair amount of new furniture on a limited budget when we moved out here, so we went to IKEA. All the items were self-assembly but felt solid, strong and well-made compared to other 'flat-pack' stuff I've bought in the past, and the assembly instructions were excellent. We've had dozens of comments about how comfortable our beds are (we run chambres d'hotes) and some surprised looks from people when they find out they came from IKEA.
Personally, I think that if YOU like what IKEA have to offer, then go for it! It's all a matter of personal taste! As to whether it will last for 25 years, well . . . I don't know BUT if it costs half the price of one made by an artisan and only lasts half the time, you've lost nothing, and it may last just as long, if not longer!
After 12 years, still satisfied with an Ikea kitchen.
We had a very expensive kitchen installed in the UK and it was starting to fall apart after five years. It also included integrated Ariston appliances - the oven door had to be replaced three times, the fridge three times, the freezer once, the dishwasher twice etc etc. We are 'living with' our french kitchen as it desperately needs to be replaced ( I think it was a cheapy from Lapayre) and I think we will go the IKEA route as our three gites have them and they seem to have stood the test of time and guests. And I do like the song in the advert!!!!! (joke, in case anyone thinks we would buy for that reason)
Lots of people want a solid wood kitchen as did we, so we had one made in the UK and brought it over, cost us a fortune but it really looked the part in our 200+ year old French house its lasted 9 years so far though for 7 of those it was only used for 1 month every year but had to withstand grandchildren, friends and relations who were very heavy handed, the mistake came when we asked a British carpenter working in France to make another unit in the same style which he did at great expense, problem was after 12 months the doors shrunk the sides split, basicaly the unit fell apart it was made from unseasoned wood, after waiting another 12 months and threats of legal action he made another which looks as though its been made by a first year apprentice, wood does not take kindly to kitchen heat so very careful thought, choice of wood and a good carpenter that really does know what he is doing
Well the 12 year old boy you found to put it together will now be 37 ..so you will have to take any problems up with him.
Mine is nearly six years old now and is as good as new. I had no problems building and fitting it myself and the only discrepancies of fit were due to out of square walls.
There are no signs of wear, nothing has broken and I see no reason why it shouldn't last another six years. I am here full-time so it isn't in a holiday home. It's not the first Ikea kitchen I have installed and I would buy another if I needed to. I tile my worktops so can't comment on those.
Much Ikea stuff is well designed, of good quality and reasonably priced. I have long thought that there's a fair bit of snobbery towards the company.
opinions have balanced out now - it does seem that quite a few of you have had good success with your IKEA kitchen...possibly still an option if we bought our own appliances & worktops then
Thanks everyone -I guess I would like a classic solid style which will last (it will have to survive 3 girls through their teenage years - so I expect it to last in the long term for around 20 years) - I like wood and granite so that's what I'd like to go for in my ideal world and I wouldn't want to change it in 5 - 10 years.
We're having one of those 'ridiculously big open plan kitchen/living spaces like on Grand Designs' as described by my father in law (which made me giggle as he hadn't seen our plans) I do enjoy cooking and I have a number of gizmos which I intend to hide in a big cupboard but which are ready to use at an instant & which I can close the doors on so I don't have to look at them/the mess after I've been creating!
On a side note - I've been watching the little paris kitchen and it's amazing what she manages to squeeze into such a small space, though the clutter would quite honestly 'do my head in'.
At the moment in the London apartment we rent, we have a 'little london kitchen' which was designed for people who eat out.. It is titchy and we had to buy some sideboards from IKEA (which have been excellent so far as long as you don't put anything heavy in them) to store most of my kitchen items & ingredients as the kitchen is too titchy for a family. All the worktops are covered in my mixer, juicer, microwave, bread machine - things I use daily so can't put away, as a result I do most of my prep on the dining table. So....I dream of my next big kitchen where I can prep and see the kids at the same time.
I'm interested in people's view on Lapeyre - is it like B&Q or better?
They are brilliant - but who would want a kitchen to last for 25 years?
25 years doubtful but easy to install and cheap and cheerful.
Because of the price
Why would anyone want to install an IKEA kitchen in their French home anyway?
I have had a Lapeyre kitchen for about six years now, wooden units and beech worktop and it has lasted very well. I have friends with Ikea kitchens and they seem pleased with them too. I had more problems with my oven, I bought a Scholtes wall oven which was really useless, it burnt everything and it was impossible to make cakes. I recently changed it and the difference is unbelievable. I would never buy Scholtes again as I also had problems with a dishwasher from them (now replaced) and their fridge (freezer door keeps breaking). Unless of course appliances are now supposed to last only five years
@ Pam - that's the same for us, we want a solid wooden kitchen that will last for years. I think we'll have to try to find the money somewhere so we can get a joiner to do it.
I like IKEA kitchens, and have never had any real problems with them. We had one fitted in Scotland by professionals, but we checked and verified all the bits and pieces beforehand and we did the planning so that everything fitted and went smoothly. Our builders said No at first because they were in recovery from a nightmare up the street where IKEA had planned something that wouldn't physically fit, and lots of bits were missing. With us, naturally, everything was fine and kentucky.
We find that their use of space and their range of bits and pieces is also good.
In the fitting you need to do things a little differently because they don't waste 5cm at the back of every unit, but as long as you know that I don't see a problem, it's just a question of technique.
I don't see why they shouldn't last, perhaps it depends on what you choose. I do find the drawer boxes incredibly solid.
Regarding IKEA in general, there's good and bad. You just need to shop there with a reasonably critical eye because there are certainly things that are excellent in amongst some dreadful rubbish.
Any views on LaPeyre kitchens? we've fitted 2, a laminate one which is great and one bought with 'raw' wood doors which I painted myself. The frame of 1 of the base doors opened out and a second one the frame's wood actually split, the upper units are fine, - was this due to cold when the house was empty over winter? (cellar below kitchen). So my question is - is it worth buying more base doors and painting again or will it just happen again?
As an architect who worked lots in the residential sector, including bespoke and developer work, I observed that over the years a kitchen has become like a car, something that is frequently changed after a few years. It's become a designer, throwaway thing. Many is the time that a really expensive kitchen has been dumped (often towards an poor architect's home, merely because it's not the latest idea. I have seen waves of slick urban kitchens, pine kitchens, shaker kitchens, fully fitted kitchens, unfitted kitchens, shabby chic kitchens. Formica was a range, then woodblock, tiled, granite, even stainless steel worktops (my house 1971!). In France anything seems to go. British women frequently have vast kitchens with amazing gizmos but many don't know how to provide a decent meal using freash and seasonal food. A french kitchen is often extremely small and quite tacky. If your kitchen is open to your living areas it needs to be in a level of smartness, and tidiness, very different to a separate dedicated kitchen. We have stuck to a small shabby chic kitchen, a variety of paineted timeber and some natural timber purpose built cupboards. It's right cosy! Perhaps it's the sort of dream I had of life in France in the 50s and 60s. Personally I would not go with Ikea as first choice. You will be in a kitchen that could be absolutely anywhere and I suspect that it will date visually before it expires physically!