Brownstoner Reno
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July 18, 2005
Kitchen Cabinets With Doors
The Ikea "Hallarum" cabinet doors were mounted on Friday. We're pretty pleased with how they look--we'll see how they hold up though.
Comments
small detail but what are you doing for cabinet pulls? my husband and i never found any we could agree on and so we let it go- actually the upper cabinets are easy to open so we may leave it clean but the drawers are another issue.
Posted by: lisa at July 18, 2005 9:38 AM
must admit, I'm not loving the kitchens. but to each, their own.
Posted by: Anonymous at July 18, 2005 10:39 AM
Is it the cabinet choice you aren't loving or something else? What Ikea finish would you prefer?
Posted by: Brownstoner at July 18, 2005 10:46 AM
I'm lookin into Ikea cabs now and am leaning towards Tidaholm, Kalsebo or Backebo. Did you use an Ikea recommended installer or your contractor?
Posted by: John at July 18, 2005 12:30 PM
I don't love the square boxes on a wall look is all. When I redid my kitchen I bought a large set of pantry cabinets circa 1910 that had been salvaged. I stripped them and had them put in all for about 8k.
Posted by: Anonymous at July 18, 2005 1:00 PM
We'd prefer that as well (sounds perfect, in fact), but all the cabinets for both kitchens cost us around $2K.
Posted by: Brownstoner at July 18, 2005 1:24 PM
i think these are nice, given your budget constraints. it's not really a "too each his own" situation when you've got a bottom line...
Posted by: Anonymous at July 18, 2005 4:15 PM
We did the Ikea cabinets in our kitchen and are extrememly happy with them. We did the white gloss (not a fan of veneer). We love them. However, make sure that if you put handles on the doors to plan out their ability to open. On one of ours it butts into the microwave (above the stove) and only opens about a third of the way. We had already drilled the holes and installed all the doors at that point. Oh well, overall we are very satisfied. If you can you should install them yourself, Ikea makes it incredibly easy to do and you can save a lot of money.
Posted by: Rusty at July 18, 2005 8:41 PM
btw, of the wood finishes I'd have to say that I like yours better than any of the other Ikea ones I've seen.
Posted by: Rusty at July 18, 2005 8:42 PM
Could someone direct me as to where to look for Ikea kitchen products online. When I look on www.ikea-usa.com all I see for kitchen cabinets is the "Akurum" cabinets. I'm looking for something for our rental kitchen that is nice but inexpensive.
Posted by: Anonymous at July 18, 2005 10:55 PM
you have to go to the store to see the whole range
Posted by: Anonymous at July 19, 2005 9:17 AM
Akurum is the only kitchen "base" that they offer-then you have an option for the cabinet fronts. I just looked on their website (which is never very helpful) and they don't show, that I could find, all the door choices. I picked up the kitchen brochure when I was there and it's much easier to see all the options. You can view it online:
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/virtual_catalogue/catalog_splash2.html
Posted by: Anonymous at July 19, 2005 9:32 AM
nevermind, I don't think you can see them in the online brochure...
Posted by: Anonymous at July 19, 2005 9:35 AM
It's always a to each their own situation. I like this kitchen well enough (was not the first poster), but I would have invested more money in the kitchen and less in the central A/C or the bathroom. I love to cook -- I cook everyday and entertain a lot -- and a nice kitchen is important to me, but of course, others would have different priorities.
If this were a small studio apartment, I'd hear the bottom line story more clearly.
Posted by: Anonymous at July 19, 2005 10:23 AM
The central A/C is probably our biggest misgiving at this point. Not sure it's worth it $-wise, and it will only hurt aesthetically. That said, if we were ever going to do it, this was the time.
Posted by: Brownstoner at July 19, 2005 12:08 PM
how much did the central A/C cost?
Posted by: Anonymous at July 19, 2005 12:37 PM
to the anon poster from 10:23,
keep in mind that this is our TEMPORARY kitchen and that the bathrooms will be there long term. We love to entertain and that is why we laid the 2nd floor out the way that we did. When we can afford to take over the parlour floor, the kitchen will be large and central, with the kinds of details that matter to us, but tend to cost quite a bit.
Posted by: mrs.brownstoner at July 19, 2005 1:08 PM
but temp for 5 years+, right?
Posted by: Anonymous at July 19, 2005 2:13 PM
Impossible to say, but not less than 3 and hopefully no more than 5-7. We'll see.
Posted by: Brownstoner at July 19, 2005 2:32 PM
Wow, this is a tough crowd to please! These are the types of decisions that we all have to make, and I find it interesting to follow along for the ride.
Posted by: dt at July 19, 2005 6:59 PM
yes, next time please just kneel and swoon please.
Posted by: Anonymous at July 20, 2005 10:37 AM
Eh, we can take it!
Posted by: Brownstoner at July 20, 2005 1:06 PM
FWIW I think getting the best functioning AC installed as unobstrusively as possible is a high priority. This is the right time to do it and central is the way to go. Thru wall and window units will block too much furniture and light respectively so the choice is fully ducted central, high velocity mini-duct or ductless split as you did. With the latter you don't lose closet and other useable space (full size duct work would have robbed you of so much space that this could not be a sensible option) so IMHO you did the right thing.
I assume your misgiving is the decision you made for ductless vs. mini duct high velocity. In which case, the only downside I can see is the actual fan units aesthetic qualities, or lack thereof. You are disguising them pretty well so I don't see that as a biggie
Posted by: VDH at July 21, 2005 11:51 AM
Our real misgiving is that we spent over $30K on it! Suppose it's a good point that we saved space using ductless. We'll see how well the system cools the house--that's the real test.
Posted by: Brownstoner at July 21, 2005 3:00 PM
Did you use any of the Ikea glass cabinets? I am ordering Hallaram, too, but combing them with the Akvits (sp.?!) glass and aluminium. Did you consider mixing the styles up a bit?
Posted by: Anonymous at July 25, 2005 12:12 PM
We did see them and they're cool, but since this is a small kitchen i just wanted a place to put things away. I have a pet peeve about visible clutter and it's combined with a tendency to clutter, so i need to hide things. Also, our china has a pattern and i think that glass cabinets only look good when you have something very neutral and orderly in them. especially as you will be looking at the kitchen from the dining table...
Posted by: mrs.brownstoner at July 26, 2005 9:26 AM
Have had IKEA cabinets for 2+ years and unless you are a brute with them they hold up really well. They dont dent and wipe clean w spray cleaner. A great buy.
Posted by: dhut at August 9, 2005 4:45 PM
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