2023 IKEA Kitchen Remodel Cost, Options, Pros & Cons

Kitchen remodeling costs keep growing, and for budget conscious homeowners, an IKEA kitchen remodel can be an ideal solution that will not break your bank.

A typical IKEA kitchen costs $6,500-19,000 depending on your kitchen size, the type of cabinets, as well as other accessories and appliances you select.

Most homeowners report spending $8,500-14,500 on a complete kitchen from IKEA.

While there are a few cheap kitchen remodeling options out there, IKEA provides top notch value in terms of overall price (materials and installation), quality, and looks.

In this article, we’ll give you a rundown of how much it generally costs to remodel your kitchen with IKEA.

We’ll also list the crucial pros and cons of an IKEA kitchen, so that you can decide whether this kitchen is the right fit for your home.

Average IKEA Kitchen Cost

Several factors play into the total cost of remodeling your kitchen, such as the room’s size and lay-out, quality of materials and finishes you select.

Moving walls, piping or electric lines can tremendously increase your total cost by thousands of dollars.

Fully renovating an average size 10×12 kitchen typically costs at least $26,000-38,000. As we are about to see, you can install an IKEA kitchen for a lot less!!!

On average, this is how much IKEA charges for their kitchens:

KITCHEN ELEMENT	PRICE
Kitchen consultation	$145
Dishwasher, stove, range, microwave	$2,300
Kitchen cabinets	$6,950
Drawer organizers and dividers	$340
Butcher block	$278
Quartz countertops (50 sq.ft.)	$3,250
Hardware (cabinets knobs, etc)	$285
Lighting	$325
Faucet and sink	$385
Backsplash tiles (includes install)	$750
Gas stove install	$523
Total Kitchen Cost	$15,531

(Note, IKEA installs their kitchen cabinets, appliances and countertops. The prices in the table include installation by an IKEA installer)

You can use our Kitchen Remodel Cost Calculator to get an accurate estimate for your project.

Pro Tip: you can save even more on your new IKEA kitchen if you time your purchase for one of IKEA’s big sales, which happen a few times a year.

IKEA Kitchen Cabinets Cost

The price of remodeling your kitchen with IKEA largely depends on the number of cabinets, the crown molding you choose, and the number of panels. Other factors include the material as well as the style of the cabinets.

However, the average cost of IKEA kitchen cabinets (without installation) in a 100 square foot kitchen is approximately $2,500.

If you add pantry, panels, and soft-close hardware, the total cost of your kitchen cabinets can reach $3,500.

Typically, when you add the cost of delivery and professional installation, (whether by an IKEA installer or a kitchen remodeling pro), the cost of cabinets TRIPLES.

In other words, if your initial cost for the IKEA cabinets themselves was $2,500, with installation and delivery you will be spending $7,500

By comparison, the cheapest stock kitchen cabinets cost the same or up to 20% more that IKEA cabinets installed.

However, semi-stock cabinets cab cost up to 50% more, while custom cabinets will cost three to four times as much.

What Are IKEA Kitchen Cabinets Made Of?

The main part of any kitchen cabinets is the cabinet box. This is the core part that doesn’t include drawers, fixtures, and doors.

The materials for the box in an IKEA cabinet are:

• Particleboard (the core)
• Laminated veneer (the outside)

As for the drawers and cabinet doors, the materials are divided into four classes:

•MDF (medium-density fiberboard) and real wood – IKEA makes four models using real wood: EKESTAT (solid oak or ash for door edges; oak veneer on particleboard for door panels), FILIPSTAD (solid oak for door frames; oak veneer on particleboard for door panels), BJORKET and LAXARBY (solid birch for door frames; birch veneer on particleboard for door panels)

•Foil and MDF – Eight models are made of melamine foil and/or thermofoil: HAGGEBY, TINGSYRD, EDSERUM, JARSTA, BROKHLT, MARSTA, GRIMSLOV, RINGHULT

•Paints and MDF – Four lines feature paints and MDF: HITTARP, BODBYN, FLADIE, AND VEDDINGE

•Metal or glass – the JUTIS model is made of aluminum and glass, whereas the GREVSTA line is made of melamine, stainless steel, and particleboard.

Why Are IKEA Cabinets Cheap?

There are several reasons why IKEA sells budget-friendly kitchen cabinets:

IKEA Uses Engineered Wood

The main reason why IKEA is cheaper than the competition is the materials they use. Namely, engineered wood cabinets are much more inexpensive than their solid wood counterparts, with prices reaching tens of thousands of dollars.

Did You Know? Engineered wood can last up to 25-30 years if the quality is high.

IKEA Mass-produces Their Cabinets

Since IKEA makes their furniture in a fixed range of sizes, colors, and styles, they are a much cheaper alternative than companies that produce custom-made cabinets.

Assembly and Installation Is Up To You

IKEA ships cabinets in flat-pack form, leaving the assembly and installation entirely up to you. This way, there are no transportation, labor, or storage space costs you have to cover.

How To Make Your IKEA Kitchen Remodel Look More Expensive And Custom

If IKEA feels too rudimentary for your home, you can enhance their furniture by taking the following steps:

Equip Your Kitchen Island With Legs

To ensure your kitchen island looks custom-made, you can order legs online.

They can anchor the overhang of your countertop to provide balance and get rid of the floating look.

In addition, have an experienced painter finish the legs to match your doors, as this will enhance the look of your IKEA kitchen.

Add Custom Moldings

An easy way to make your kitchen look upscale is to add custom-made moldings. You could go for light rail, crown molding, and baseboard to give your kitchen a more polished look.

Moreover, cove or crown molding can help you upgrade your cabinetry and provide it with a built-in look.

Incorporate Enticing Cover Panels

Once you install your IKEA cabinets, the boxes tend to look unfinished, and they don’t match the finish of the doors.

To complete the look, add cover panels to the finish and attach them to the side of your cabinet box. Just make sure to purchase panels that are long enough to extend past the edge of your box.

This will cover the full thickness of your door and give it a custom look.

Buy Custom Doors

A perk of buying from IKEA is that you don’t have to buy all the elements of your cabinets from them.

As a result, if there’s an eye-catching cabinet with a door that seems out-of-place, you can simply buy the door from another company.

This will provide a classy look, and nobody will think that you bought your kitchen cabinets from IKEA.

Install Overlay Fillers

Fillers are strips used to match the doors of your cabinets. They are usually placed between the wall and the box, or the box and the adjacent cabinet.

As for your overlay fillers, place them atop the filler piece to make it sit even with the front side of your cabinet drawers and doors. This allows for a smooth transition, eliminating changes of depth and distractions for your eyes.

IKEA Cabinets vs. Home Depot Cabinets

Comparing an IKEA vs Home Depot kitchen requires us to look at a number of their business features: pricing, durability, assortments, delivery, and installation.

Cabinet pricing

You can remodel your kitchen with Home Depot for about $20,000 to $25,000. This mainly depends on whether you’re buying pre-assembled cabinets, which go from $100 to $3,000 per cabinet or ready-to-assemble (RTA) models.

If you want custom lines, you’ll have to pay even more.

Purchasing a kitchen at IKEA costs between $10,000 and $15,000. When it comes to individual cabinets, they start at $75 and reach around $1,600.

Considering these price tags, IKEA is a more affordable option.

Durability

Even though IKEA is a budget manufacturer, their products is quite durable. As mentioned earlier, the cabinets are made of MDF, and most others are made of plywood.

When you take a look at the core components, inner hardware, and hinges, it’s clear that IKEA’s kitchens are long-lasting.

The only downside is the front side, which is 5/8” thick, falling short of the industry standard of 3/4″.

Did You Know? MDF can contain many materials, such as steel, glass, bamboo, forest thinning, etc.

As for Home Depot, the company mostly uses the same materials as IKEA. However, the quality doesn’t seem to be as high as IKEA’s. Namely, some customers have reported that Home Depot uses staples for its joinery, and that their cabinets are not as thick as IKEA’s.

Hence, although it doesn’t offer premium durability and overall quality, IKEA comes out on top against Home Depot in this category.

Cabinet Styles Assortment

Compared to IKEA, Home Depot has a wider variety of cabinets available. They sell a lot of different products, but this doesn’t always make things easier when looking for the ideal cabinet.

For instance, a smaller number of cabinets make choosing an IKEA cabinet much easier. In addition, IKEA cabinets are far more customizable, given many stores such as Reform and Semi-handmade that produce IKEA-compatible fronts. You can also buy exterior hardware at Rejuvenation or Schoolhouse Electric.

With hundreds of cabinets in their assortment, Home Depot clearly has a larger selection. However, given that you can find great cabinets faster in IKEA and customize them afterward, the difference in assortments isn’t that dramatic.

Speed Of Delivery

Typically, IKEA delivers its products more quickly (in less than seven weeks on average). On the other hand, it usually takes Home Depot over 10 weeks to complete their deliveries.

Taking this into account, IKEA fares much better in the delivery aspect.

However, if you plan to order custom-made parts from Semi-handmade, you can expect a waiting time of two to six weeks. The length goes up if you go for Reform, whose delivery time is between 10 and 14 weeks.

Cabinet Installation

Regarding the complexity of the installation process, Home Depot comes out on top. Both their RTA and the pre-assembled models are simple to install. This is because their instructions are more standardized, and there are fewer pieces with their cabinets.

Conversely, IKEA is notorious for the intricacies of installing their cabinets. This is mainly due to an inordinate number of pieces accompanying each cabinet.

This makes following the instructions extremely difficult, and you may end up having to start over a few times before getting the installation right.

Cost Of IKEA Kitchen Countertops

IKEA has a good collection of counters. Most popular are their quartz countertops, which are much cheaper than in most other places.

IKEA counters are divided into five categories based on the price:

•Price Level 0: 2 cm-thick countertops; standard depth ($94 per linear foot), finished on three sides ($142 per linear foot), finished on four sides ($189 per linear foot)

•Price Level 1: 3 cm-thick countertops; standard depth ($132 per linear foot), finished on three sides ($189 per linear foot), finished on four sides ($256 per linear foot)

•Price Level 2: 3 cm-thick countertops; standard depth ($151 per linear foot), finished on three sides ($208 per linear foot), finished on four sides ($284 per linear foot)

•Price Level 3: 3 cm-thick countertops; standard depth ($170 per linear foot), finished on three sides ($246 per linear foot), finished on four sides ($322 per linear foot)

•Price Level 4: 3 cm-thick countertops; standard depth ($189 per linear foot), finished on three sides ($284 per linear foot), finished on four sides ($370 per linear foot)

Did You Know? Linear foot is equivalent to feet used for measuring length. The reason why it was introduced is to distinguish between the foot used for length (linear foot), square foot (area), and cubic foot (volume).

You can use our Countertops Prices Calculator to estimate the cost of installing various types of countertop materials if you don’t like IKEA’s selection or quality.

Is It Worth It To Hire A Designer When Doing An IKEA Kitchen?

Considering that IKEA lets you assemble and install their furniture by yourself, you might also try your hand at planning your kitchen without third parties.

However, you should only do so if you have the confidence you’ll do a proper job.

Otherwise, many things could go wrong, leaving you without a kitchen that functions well.

For this reason, paying some extra money to make sure that the layout is perfect for your home is much more advisable. It’ll help maximize the potential of your kitchen without using too much space.

How Much Does It Cost To Professionally Install An IKEA Kitchen?

If you decide to leave the installation process to the professionals, here are the approximate costs you’ll have to cover:

JOB	PRICE
Demolition and disposal	$2,375
Re-plastering and patching walls	$523
Painting	$285
Cabinet installation	$2,850
Handyman jobs	$988
Tiling	$2,280
Countertop installation	$1,425
Electrical work and plumbing	$2,280
TOTAL	$13,006

Benefits Of Installing An IKEA Kitchen DIY

One of IKEA’s trademarks is molding its work to cater to customers who enjoy DIY projects. If you decide to give it a go, here’s what benefits it will bring you:

•Immense experience: The most obvious advantage of carrying out the assembly and installation projects of IKEA cabinets is the experience you gain in the process.

This is especially useful if you’re planning on owning several houses that will require kitchen remodeling.

By taking up DIY installation, you’ll eventually become very skilled at designing your kitchen, painting, installing drywall, and many more jobs.

•Each element of your kitchen looks just like you imagined it: As you become well-versed in IKEA kitchen installation, you’ll be able to get both the functionality and the exact look you pictured prior to all the work.

This gives you complete freedom to experiment with your kitchen design and find out which arrangement you prefer.

•No labor costs: As you can see from the table above, labor costs can amount to thousands of dollars.

So, if one of your goals is to lower your remodeling costs, setting up a DIY project is the best course of action.

Still, not everyone is cut out for assembling and installing an IKEA kitchen by themselves. Often, you don’t have the time necessary for the work.

Either way, based on your skill set, interests, and schedule, decide whether you’re better off with a DIY job or hiring professionals to handle the work.

Pros & Cons Of An IKEA Kitchen

Many customers go for IKEA kitchen remodel for the following reasons:

•Budget Pricing: IKEA is considered the most economical solution in the kitchen furnishing industry. The properties of their furniture aren’t the best, but owing to amazing prices combined with solid quality, their market presence can’t be overlooked

•Design: When it comes to design options among other affordable producers such as Lowes or Home Depot, they pale in comparison with IKEA’s design. Their cabinets are creatively designed and extremely adaptable to all sorts of kitchens.

•Flexibility: You can install IKEA’s cabinets in a multitude of ways. This gives you the flexibility to fit your cabinets with almost any type of elements you like.

For instance, if you feel like your door needs replacing, you can easily find a great option at a company that trades in IKEA-compatible kitchen elements.

Did You Know? Unpacking and assembling a box from IKEA usually takes about 40 minutes.

On the other hand, IKEA has received a lot of criticism due to the following factors:

•Not meant for everyone: if you’re generally not good at assembling furniture and installing kitchen elements, there may be better options for you than IKEA. Even if your elements come with clear instructions, you’ll still need some building skills to install them the right way.

•Complicated design tools: at times, going about IKEA’s kitchen planner can be a pain in the neck. The program can be quite confusing, and requires a lot of patience.

•Sluggish ordering: ordering your product can take a lot of time, but it’s usually worth the wait. This is especially true now during the Corona pandemic. It may take MONTHS to get your order.

•Unattractive cabinet legs: many people are put off by IKEA’s cabinet leg design.

•Poorly trained staff: some IKEA staff members don’t possess the same level of knowledge. Consequently, you may run across a person who isn’t giving a satisfactory answer to your question or doesn’t possess enough information. In that case, feel free to ask for another member of staff to help you.

•Lighting under the cabinets: Similar to IKEA cabinet legs, the lighting under their cabinets isn’t up to scratch. Therefore, you should probably get it someplace else.

•Improper microwave cabinets: The only way you can get a microwave cabinet from IKEA is by purchasing a full cabinet unit. Other than that, your options are limited.

IKEA Kitchen Remodel Is A Safe Bet

For most people, IKEA is the ideal place for buying stylish, durable, and fully-functional kitchen elements.

Best of all, IKEA kitchens boast some of the fairest prices on the market, meaning that you won’t be strapped for cash after your remodel (which might be the case if you got for a high-end manufacturer).

Also, if you’re particularly excited about DIY installation, IKEA will provide you with everything you need. All in all, being IKEA’s customer will definitely get you your money’s worth.