- Saving money on kitchen cabinets frees cash for custom touches
By Frank O’Brien
 A contemporary kitchen in this Commercial Drive house includes Ikea cabinets in high-gloss black and red with stainless steel doors. The contractor claims the price difference, when compared with custom-made cabinets, was in excess of $20,000. This encouraged an upgrade to a Viking cooktop, plus granite countertop and backsplash. The $3,800 blown-glass chandelier was nearly as expensive as the Ikea cabinets.  The trick is to have the Ikea cabinets installed by a professional and use the money saved to add high-quality elements to create a truly individual kitchen with impact.
 The owners of an older home in New Westminster's Queens Park neighbourhood discovered that installing Ikea cabinets during their kitchen renovation saved $20,000 compared with quotes for solid wood or Melamine custom cabinets. The difference in the price was used to upgrade the original kitchen plan. This meant top-line stainless steel appliances, a granite backsplash, oak hardwood floors, an antique table with four Ethan Allan chairs and a feature wall of glass mosaic tiles.
 This Queens Park kitchen makeover in New Westminster used Ikea cabinets exclusively. The resulting savings, compared with the cost of using custom cabinets, allowed the purchase of Ethan Allen chairs and an antique table, Quartz countertops and marble glass tiles for the backsplash.
 Djuras, who has recommended Ikea cabinets for 10 years, claims the low-cost cabinets are as durable as costly competitors. "The quality of the boxes, doors and the hardware is really quite high," she said. "I have never had a serious problem with them."
Ikea kitchen cabinets are constructed of a medium-density fibreboard, coated with a thin wood veneer, but they are manufactured with greater precision than most off-the-shelf cabinets, she said. Ikea hardware is by Blum, a respected European manufacturer.
Djuras is also enamoured by the Ikea style, noting that the company's new cabinets track close to the latest in European design. She took advantage of this in the kitchen makeover of a 1920-era Vancouver Craftsman near Commercial Drive, where the owners wanted clean, bold lines in dark colours. Here, she claims, the $4,500 spent on the Ikea cabinets saved at least $26,000 for the owners. The money was spread around the kitchen, including an upgrade to the granite counters and backsplash, walnut hardwood floors and other designer touches. "The blown-glass chandelier alone cost $3,800," Djuras said.
Djuras concedes that some people may balk at installing pre-made Ikea cabinets, but she says in these economic days, it is all about value for the money spent. "Cabinets are the easiest place to save money in a kitchen makeover."
There are two Ikea outlets locally, one in Coquitlam and one in Richmond.
Ikea cabinet pros - From 50 per cent to 70 per cent less than custom cabinets
- Wide variety of styles and colours
- Contemporary designs
- Respected Blum hardware
- Precision fitting with tight tolerances
- Faster delivery than with custom cabinets
Ikea cabinet cons - Low snob appeal
- Hard for DIY installations
- May be difficult to find matching units in the future
 Queens Park kitchen before |
Kitchen makeover 
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