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I like 'em and think the quality is good for the price. The thing you gotta watch with all pre-fab cabinets is how they will work in the reality of your kitchen. I don't like when you end up with a bunch of dead space, filler panels and a bunch of unneccesary trim to hide gaps.

Check the google for ikea kitchen forums. There's a main one that's really popular.

flipper

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I used the IKEA Varde series free-standing units for my kitchen. All of the walls were finished with sheetrock and/or beadboard, the entire floor done in dark stained bamboo. The cabinets are solid light colored birch with stainless steel accents, a couple of wall cabinets and a pots/pan rack finish the look. It's very unconventional but feedback from people viewing my house (it's currently for sale) is all positive. If someone just couldn't stand it, you could easily put up conventional cabinets since the rest of the room is already finished. In their store and catalog, I have also seen combinations of fixed mount and free standing cabinets.

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we are now looking for cabinets and checked out Ikea last night...some look VERRRY similiar to the Kraftmade units. Its scary that they are just plastic laminated pressboard. Look at the Kraftmade Valencia/Mirra (?) units online or at Lowes. They are nice, come in colors, and have very nice hardware. Also look at the Kerf site. Unfortunately they are priced about the same as customer cabinets (300$ per linear foot)

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Advice to the wise. Most furniture I had purchased from Ikea over the last 10 years has become worthless. Yes, it looks modern and sleek especially in the free catalogs, but beware. We have at least 2 chest drawer's that do have nice roomy space inside but if you try to move it you have to dump out everything inside otherwise it will break apart.

Even the slightest movement it starts to shake sideways (like similating a highrise in an earthquake richter scale test). Most of the couches and other related decor are meant for temporary college students dorms is my guess. Cheaply made. Consider yourself warned.

Oddly enough, I haven't seen nor heard any Ikea commercials lately with that comical dude with the Swedish accent. Ya! :)

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Advice to the wise. Most furniture I had purchased from Ikea over the last 10 years has become worthless. Yes, it looks modern and sleek especially in the free catalogs, but beware. We have at least 2 chest drawer's that do have nice roomy space inside but if you try to move it you have to dump out everything inside otherwise it will break apart.

My Ikea couch failed pretty fast, but the rest of my Ikea stuff has held up for many years. There's a trick, though: liquid nails.

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I can also vouch for the poor quality of Ikea furniture. I found myself in a temporary position in another city for a few months, so I bought some cheap Ikea furniture for my apartment. The stuff didn't even last the four months I lived there. I tossed it in the dumpster when I moved out, as it wasn't even taking back to Texas.

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I'm still sporting a 8 year-old Ikea tv cabinet, bought under duress post-burglary. Man it's ugly, but it has held up well through 3 moves. God it's ugly. But it has a groovy little half-moon lazy susan thing to turn the tv. 4 compartments for components. Good value, got good use out of it.

This thing has got to go. Looks like ass in a circa 1914 room. Finally I have a reason. Anyone want a tv stand? Will trade for other small non-ikea tables or patio furniture.

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Haha - I have some Ikea furniture that will be up for sale before long. It's not making the move with me to Atlanta in May/June. I've found that some of it, like the bookshelves, holds up pretty darn well. I've never had much from Ikea, but the shelving I've bought has been great, along with a few other small pieces.

But with the purchase of a new condo on the horizon, and a cross-country move, I'm opting to replace the small amount of Ikea I own with something a little nicer.

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My experience with IKEA stuff has been pretty good. I currently have two bedframes, one wood and one metal, a large bookshelf, computer desk, and bathroom vanity, all in addition to my kitchen stuff. The free-standing kitchen cabinets are heavy solid wood and stainless steel, no one would call them flimsy. As noted earlier, the assembly can have a lot to do with the piece's longevity. What I like about IKEA in general is its modern sense of style without the ridiculous pricetag that most modern furniture commands. I don't like all their stuff but believing it is all junk is just not my experience. IKEA is an extremely successful international company with a very green, community oriented philosophy. They would not be nearly so successul if all their stuff was crap.

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My experience with IKEA stuff has been pretty good. I currently have two bedframes, one wood and one metal, a large bookshelf, computer desk, and bathroom vanity, all in addition to my kitchen stuff. The free-standing kitchen cabinets are heavy solid wood and stainless steel, no one would call them flimsy. As noted earlier, the assembly can have a lot to do with the piece's longevity. What I like about IKEA in general is its modern sense of style without the ridiculous pricetag that most modern furniture commands. I don't like all their stuff but believing it is all junk is just not my experience. IKEA is an extremely successful international company with a very green, community oriented philosophy. They would not be nearly so successul if all their stuff was crap.

I agree. Some of their stuff is cheap and flimsy, but a lot of it is very nice. We've had Ikea stuff for years that still looks brand-new. I'll take Ikea any day over that stuff I see in the furniture store ads in the paper. Until I can afford Crate and Barrel or Design Out of Reach, Ikea is fine with me!

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my ikea coffee and end table have been very sturdy for about 5 years... i even bought one of those zero gravity-like chairs -used, and it's in great shape (other than the faded cover, which would be expected)

however, i don't know if i could do their kitchen stuff... particle board near water is scary to me.

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my ikea coffee and end table have been very sturdy for about 5 years... i even bought one of those zero gravity-like chairs -used, and it's in great shape (other than the faded cover, which would be expected)

however, i don't know if i could do their kitchen stuff... particle board near water is scary to me.

more than likely your current cabinets are particle board w/ a wood veneer...pretty standard on non-custom cabinets.

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I'm still sporting a 8 year-old Ikea tv cabinet, bought under duress post-burglary. Man it's ugly, but it has held up well through 3 moves. God it's ugly. But it has a groovy little half-moon lazy susan thing to turn the tv. 4 compartments for components. Good value, got good use out of it.

This thing has got to go. Looks like ass in a circa 1914 room. Finally I have a reason. Anyone want a tv stand? Will trade for other small non-ikea tables or patio furniture.

So, you're offering a TV stand for sale, with the following descriptors...

bought under duress

Man it's ugly

God it's ugly

has a groovy little half-moon lazy susan thing

Good value

This thing has got to go

Looks like ass

Yeah, sounds like something I'd want in my living room to impress the chicks with my interior decorating skills.

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So, you're offering a TV stand for sale, with the following descriptors...

bought under duress

Man it's ugly

God it's ugly

has a groovy little half-moon lazy susan thing

Good value

This thing has got to go

Looks like ass

Yeah, sounds like something I'd want in my living room to impress the chicks with my interior decorating skills.

Not for sale, I couldn't take money for it. In fact it's so ass, you could say I was being rhetorical.

But if you'd like it.....it's yours, Red. Really! I'm sure the chicks are too impressed by you generally to notice crappy furniture. It's a nice wood color, no splintering. Are you sure? ;):P

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We looked at the cabinets again. They use the Blum tandembox slides, like Kraftmaid. They are particle board like everything else. They arent expensive, and look ok. I think we will be buying a complete kitchen shortly. I too, am scared of them falling apart, but the inlaws have had theirs for 30 yrs and say they hold up great.

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We looked at the cabinets again. They use the Blum tandembox slides, like Kraftmaid. They are particle board like everything else. They arent expensive, and look ok. I think we will be buying a complete kitchen shortly. I too, am scared of them falling apart, but the inlaws have had theirs for 30 yrs and say they hold up great.

That 25 year warranty helped put my mind at ease...

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Think of how many people (me for one) go thru the store in one day, grabbing, tugging, prying etc on the kitchens...and they still look great. If you use common sense in the assembly (maybe glue, extra screws if needed) you would come up with a better product.

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more than likely your current cabinets are particle board w/ a wood veneer...pretty standard on non-custom cabinets.

they were custom when the house was built... they're solid wood... i'll probably have new doors made and the boxes repainted. the boxes are fine.

Think of how many people (me for one) go thru the store in one day, grabbing, tugging, prying etc on the kitchens...and they still look great. If you use common sense in the assembly (maybe glue, extra screws if needed) you would come up with a better product.

How much stuff do you spill in the store? How much water do you splash on the particle board in the store? How many kids do you let pull, tug, and slam those drawers and doors in the store?

i agree with you for the most part - it should last a while, but i am just assuming that because i don't think they'd be able to keep selling crap... but they keep selling those LACK tables, and they are CRAP. "LACK" is definitely the right name for'em, because they lack the ability last longer than 6 months.

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i agree with you for the most part - it should last a while, but i am just assuming that because i don't think they'd be able to keep selling crap... but they keep selling those LACK tables, and they are CRAP. "LACK" is definitely the right name for'em, because they lack the ability last longer than 6 months.

You mean the $13 LACK tables? Yeah, what were they thinking, selling $13 tables that don't last?

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