You know I am the world’s biggest proponent of doing things “the hard way.” But sometimes, I see these Ikea kitchen makeovers, and I think: They look pretty darn good and would be so easy, especially compared to spending five years hunting down vintage steel cabinets. Case in point, above: Jerry has embarked on a new project — buying midcentury homes in Pittsburgh and renovating them, as required and in period-sympathetic style, for rental. I like to show lots of different ways to go after your home remodeling projects. I have never shown an Ikea kitchen before. I think this could be a very practical and relatively affordable solution for many people. Read on for Jerry’s story, for more photos, and for more discussion of The Ikea Option. Do you have experience with these cabinets? Please share!
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Jerry writes:
Hi Pam,I have attached pictures of my first Mid-Century Modest Renovation. The house is a ranch built in 1963 that I renovated to rent to retro appreciators. So far that has been a bit of a tough sell in Pittsburgh, but I am not giving up. In fact, I am looking at a second property to rehab in the same manner. Many of the resources I used to refurbish this ranch came directly from info I obtained through Retro Renovation.Actually, aside from the kitchen not much is new. The kitchen was gutted, everything is new except the doorbell cover (Nutone). The pattern for the floor tile came from Retro Renovation.Ikea cabinets, glass back splash and fixtures (new). Boomerang Formica counter top. The only color still in the line (gray). I have also attached an image of the kitchen (before). The old metal cabinets are still down in the garage, but I am afraid this kitchen endured a bad 70’s makeover.Bathroom does have new sink, toilet and medicine cabinet. The cabinet came from Retro Renovation. The sink in a house brand, but I thought it looked a lot like some of the Crane models you showcased.The black and white tile is original as are the chalk fish above the shower (attached). The floor tile was original. It was hard to believe that the whole first floor was covered in this sherbet green sculpted carpet, even the bathroom. When I pulled up the carpet in the bathroom there was this beautiful white tile with black and grey specks. It took a bunch of stripping and scrubbing to get the old wax and carpet residue off, but it came out really beautiful.The drapes either came from companies you listed on RR (living room) or from cloth purchased at a local thrift store, thanks to my wife Mary Jo. All the furniture is mid-century, mostly purchased from two local stores Mostly Mod (no longer in business) and Retro on 8th both in Homestead, PA right down the street.The Lane bedroom came from Craigslist. The hardwood floors were refinished. Oh, and the house numbers came from Home Depot through information from one of the blogs you link to. All the light fixtures are new except the swags and the side-table lamp in the living room.Jerry
More info and more photos on this rental house in West Mifflin, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania can be seen at:
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Thank you, Jerry — what a lovely remodel, and way to go for your love of the midcentury modest and your desire to preserve and restore these homes.
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I really love the way you rearranged the appliances in the kitchen — the refrigerator looks great at the back now. The floor is terrific, and I know that many readers will love how you incorporated the glass tile backsplash. You also finished out the bathroom perfectly, and omg, that original floor! I sure hope you find an appreciative renter for #4201 — and for a long series of fixer-uppers to come. P.S., Go Steelers!!!!
Resources for this remodel:
- Ikea Akurum kitchen cabinets – now discontinued but Ikea usually has similar cabinet systems available see ’em here.
- Patterns for 1950s vinyl tile floors
- Formica boomerang laminate countertop, Charcoal
- Nutone 455FL medicine cabinet with side lights
- Barkcloth for living room curtains from Tonic Living
Let’s talk about the long-term quality
of Ikea and other stock kitchen cabinets today
Okay, peoples, now on to Ikea. It is pretty amazing, the selection of cabinets this company offers, including the many door styles and colors. The basic white sink cabinet I showed above is: $58. My gosh, my family can spend that much on dinner at an inexpensive Italian restaurant.
Glossy red over MDF — sliders in the case of the wall cabinet, above.
Hey, the door above ain’t too far from Avocado, so Ikea gets props from that. There are many colors and woodgrains, glass-fronts, too….
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Honestly, I’ve never written about Ikea cabinets before, for two reasons. (1) Because I always felt like other blogs had that territory well covered, and I wanted to plow new ground. And (2) Because I have these qualms about the longterm quality of these cabinets. Hey: I have my qualms about the longterm quality of Almost All stock cabinets you’d buy today “at low prices” from Big Box stores… and even qualms about “not so low priced” cabinets from a variety of sources.
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I am not an expert on all the different kitchen cabinet manufacturers or even, exactly what to look for to ensure good long-term quality. When I was doing my aquamarine kitchen, I bought a Consumer Reports online subscription to see what they recommended. As I recall, key issues included looking for: Solidity of “the box” that that doors and drawers to screwed on to. Indeed, the doors and drawers on our 1975 cabinets were all falling off their cheap (clearly) particle board boxes.
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I have this expectation, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable: Kitchen cabinets should last virtually forever. Well-made 1950s wood cabinets did. My steel cabinets will. How long will these Ikeas — and other “affordable” kitchen cabinets made today — made today last?
This summer, Dear Husband and I stayed at a place on vacation that had an Ikea Akurum kitchenette — I took photos, of course, there it is, above. I just asked DH what he remembered about the cabinets. I knew he would remember, because I was all interested in them at the time and tortured him to look at them with me. His recollection, verbatim: “They were nice, they were stylish… but they were chintzy… you know… thin.”
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I don’t want to make anyone feel bad if they have these cabinets in their home. I think they could work very well for many people. They may last a long time — much longer than my fears suggest. And oh my gosh, the price for the style sounds fantastic. But will they last long enough and provide the solid “thump” hand-feel that would it would take to satisfy hard-to-satisfy me? I don’t think so, not to live with for the rest of my life. But for a carefully used single-, couple- or family kitchen, a rental, a mother-in-law apartment, a vacation house? Yes, sounds like Ikea is worth checking out.
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Bruce says
I definitely second everyone who gives the IKEA cabinets a thumbs up. The quality of the MDF (resistance to warping, moisture, etc) keeps improving, as does the hardware, which apparently is made by a company called Blum that has a reputation for quality. And since there are products out there that let you easily customize IKEA, like PANYL Interior Finishes, I think more and more people are going to start opting for IKEA even if their budget allows for more expensive options.
punkrockmartha says
so excited to read this article! it was a slow sell for me at first, but my 70+ father is now a complete ikea convert. his previous cabinets were high-end 80’s models whose weak points are definitely flimsy hardware. but once i convinced him to replace some with new ikea ones, he can not say enough about the strength built into their cabinets, at a fraction of the price. bonus: i get to ride along when he makes his shopping trips!
Andreas Jordahl Rhude says
I installed Ikea cabinets and countertop in my 1912 arts and crafts bungalow kitchen a year ago. I had to spruce up the kitchen to try to sell the place. The existing cabinets, etc.. were from the 1970s.
It made a HUGE difference and the kitchen looked great.The new materials sorta fit the style of the bungalow. Sold the house soon after completion.
I would never use Ikea cabinets again. Cheaply constructed boxes and fronts. But in this case, it worked out nicely.
Andreas in Minnesota
JKaye says
I think it’s great to feature different possibilities for home projects. Jerry’s kitchen looks great. Good luck to you, Jerry, with your rehabbing business. Hope it is successful. It sounds like a great idea.
Jerry Coltin says
Thanks Jkaye. So far the only foks I have interested in the rental could have cared less about the aesthetic. Some want me to remove the furniture. I hope to find the folks that appreciate mid-century, but if not, the next rental won’t be furnished. I can’t think of doing rentals without mid-century charm. It just wouldn’t be any fun for me.
Jerry
Laura's Last Ditch--Vintage Kitchenwares says
When we rented our upstairs mother-in-law apartment, we were able to get a lot of money for it furnished, but only if we did short-term rentals. Part of the charm of short-term rentals is that we were able to get high-quality tenants, since few people offer it. And what we couldn’t get rented unfurnished finally was a hot commodity once we put furnishings in. It might be something to think about if it languishes on the market too long.
Jerry Coltin says
That has crossed my mind. Can you get a higher rent with a short term? Is it a month to month lease? I assume you keep the utilities in your name? To you advertise in different places than you would with a long term lease?
Very helpful, thanks.
wendy says
This is a timely article for me – I have given up trying to find metal cabinets because my kitchen is configured so oddly. (especially frustrating since I live in St. Louis, the cheap metal cabinet capitol of the US…) I plan to use IKEA white cabinets with vintage cabinet knobs, retro linoleum tile floor, and vintage appliances. I haven’t decided on countertops yet – but definitely retro laminate. My appliances are pink, so that makes my choice a little harder. I found some Virrvarr white, but I’m not sure how that would look with bright white cabinets. They also have Virrvarr light blue if anyone is looking for some.
I think a plus for me will be the dreaded “resale” word. I am not decorating for resale, as evidenced by my fireplace that’s painted aqua, but I think retro looking well fitted cabinets will be better than “it doesn’t quite fit but works” metal.
I have personally seen installed IKEA cabinets in several kitchens, and they are really nice looking. There is a huge website where you can research for days. Forums, blog links, etc.
http://www.ikeafans.com/
Jeanne says
Fantastic job, Jerry! I love everything you did to that house.
Just to comment on the quality of IKEA cabinets: I have not experienced installing or owning them, but a friend bought a house to rent over the summer and she gutted the kitchen and bathroom. She bought mid-priced IKEA cabinets for the kitchen. Her father – who is a cabinet maker by trade – installed them and told her the mechanics of the cabinets were excellent (drawer slides, hinges, etc). I would take that as a positive coming from a cabinet maker!
Jerry Coltin says
Thanks for tghe kind words Jeanne.
deb says
Love what he did! Would live there in a heartbeat!
pja2trees says
I’m also a Pennsylvanian, and if I didn’t have to travel 2 hours to the closest IKEA, I would be there once a week. I love retro, but I love the storage options and ideas that Ikea offers. I used to work for a cabinet installer that used Kraftmaid cabinets, and it was all about the drawer boxes–they were dovetailed and solid wood and the thickness was better than most. So when I look at any other kitchen cabinet, that’s the first thing I observe. Ikea might not be the best of the cabinets, but don’t rule them out. They also have some free-standing cabinets that are very solid. We bought a tea-cart type stand for a corner, and I was very impressed with the heaviness and thickness of the birch wood it was made of. Please know that if you are not familiar with Ikea is that most of their items need assembling, but they include everything (parts, tools, etc.) to put it together with “comic book” type instructions that are easy to follow! It’s pretty fool-proof. If you’ve never been to a store, you are in for a wonderful treat–plan to spend a few hours there!
As for Jerry’s kitchen, I love that he incorporated the boomerang countertops and the tile floor with the newer cabinets–I think that’s a great mix. It just needs a few retro “items” to sit on those shelves near the sink! If I had my way, I would probably buy this house just to be close to the Ikea!! 🙂
Jordanna says
I love white cabinets! And I love black and white bathrooms.
I do like colour, I swear. On walls, on accessories, on curtains. But for cabinets and bathrooms I think white is sometimes the perfect answer. And black makes it pop.
Kudos to you for not gutting the bathroom. I have loved black and white bathrooms for at least ten years after other colour schemes have come and gone.
That kitchen floor is pretty spiff, though in the first picture I did think it was gray and butter yellow and that was kinda exciting, and I was like oooh! But grey and white is cool too.
And hurrah for PA, my home state.
chris says
Hey Pam — so glad that you did this article! I will be very glad to hear how everyone else weighs in.
We have an Ikea near me — we adore it!!!!! Our kitchen reno is far, far away in the future, but we are looking and researching — and planning a Valentine’s Day date to Ikea to window shop cabinets! How timely your article is for us!
I will tell you what I know from others. I have some friends who are VERY picky and I was surprised to hear them say they got their cabinets from Ikea.
I think, in a nutshell, yes — you can certainly buy BETTER new cabinets, but they are going to be very expensive. If your budget doesn’t allow you to do that, then Ikea has some very very good ones.
Also, remember that Ikea has cabinets in varying levels of quality and price. You can get the cheaper ones and expect them to wear out after a time — or you can go for their more “high end” line and know (hope) they will last longer.
The very best is great — but I know that for us, the very best will never be an option. Unless we win the lottery, which could happen, I suppose. (ha ha) If we can find something that works and looks right — and will last for a good long while (but not forever) I imagine we’ll be going to Ikea.
And don’t forget the meatballs with lingonberries! A trip to Ikea makes a great cheap date! 🙂