Ikea Kitchens? Wait, what?!
If you had told me even a month ago that I would be putting Ikea cabinets into my kitchen I would have told you to eff off. Ikea? No, thank you. Pretty sure that means cheap, generic and very modern in style. Well SPOILER ALERT: we just had Ikea cabinets installed in our kitchen a week ago and I’m completely in love. Alert number 2: every kitchen pictured on this page is Ikea!
Long story short: we decided to redo our kitchen condo I was on a major budget. Said budget was the only reason I ever entertained the Ikea cabinets in the first place, to be honest. But once I started delving in I learned that IKEA CABINETS ARE AMAZING. They’re actually great quality and very easy to customize- which means they’re often used by designers to create a custom look at a fraction of the cost. (I’m not lying: some Ikea-cabinet-fan designer names of note: Amber Interiors, Studio McGee, Sarah Sherman Samuel.)
I’m telling you guys, this is the real deal. All it takes is faith, trust and a little bit of pixie dust. Jk jk. It just takes some design know-how and some of the hacks I’ve listed below.
7 Easy Ways to Make Ikea Cabinets Look Custom
- Crown Molding: You can give your Ikea cabinets that custom look by topping them off with some gorgeous crown molding to make them look “built-in”. If you don’t want to pick crown molding or are worried about painting the items to match, Ikea has what they call “deco strips” which are essentially pieces of molding and can be used for both crown and base if desired. We used these on ours and I love the look it creates.
- Upgraded Hardware: Please, for the love of anything you believe in, do not use Ikea hardware. Ok… that may be a little harsh and some of their hardware may be decent depending on the style you’re going for- but hardware makes such a difference in the look of a cabinet and adding one with a little pizzaz can really change your cabinets from generic to STUNNING. I, personally, love the look of long-handle drawer pulls on everything. It’s very current and chic.
- Upgraded Counters: Let me start by saying there is nothing wrong with Ikea counters. In fact, we went with the Ikea Caesarstone quartz in our kitchen. It’s white and pretty and very durable. But, if you want that extra luxe, no way this kitchen is Ikea look- I’d pick out a killer marble or marble lookalike.
- Split Tone Cabinets: Not a must but a definite badass addition. Some of the kitchens here incorporate this look and I really feel it adds a level of style that makes it seems super custom and luxurious.
- Mix Up your fronts: There’s something about a glass pane that just screams “luxury”. Maybe it’s that, “I only have beautiful dishes, I dare you to look at them!” vibe. Or maybe it’s just unusual enough to feel extra special. I love a glass-front moment. The glass fronts pictured below are straight out of Ikea, but definitely don’t look it. I was thisssss close to incorporating some into our kitchen redo, but last minute opted to skip them. Still planning to bring in the look with some open-style shelving on the kitchen side-wall. I think the juxtaposition of open and closed adds dimension that a kitchen needs.
- Bring it all the way down: I was only able to source one image of this but it’s a look I LOVE. In certain places, bring the top cabinets all the way down from the ceiling so they rest on the counters- usually in drawers. One of my favorite examples of this Ikea-wise is in Jillian Harris’s kitchen, seen below. This tip is better for a larger kitchen space, because I think if every upper cabinet rests on the counter it will feel to enclosed. Best to do this in a space where you have enough upper cabinets you can pick and choose where to come down.
- Experiment with COLOR: If you are going with Ikea original doors, painting may be tricky. But Semihandmade doors are made to be painted meaning the custom options are unlimited. I’ve shared some gorgeous examples of this here and I also love a deep navy blue or black cabinet moment too.
There are so many fun ways to make your ikea kitchen cabinets look custom. I can’t wait to share our kitchen with you, and also get into the nitty gritty of what made me such an Ikea kitchen fan (aside from how pretty they are- because, obvi we have that covered here). LMK if you have an Ikea kitchen or are thinking about getting one! I’m happy to answer any questions you have about the process!
Image sources: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8
