An IKEA Kitchen That Doesn’t Look Like IKEA

We love working with IKEA cabinets, because they’re so flexible.  Since IKEA allows their customers to buy all the cabinet parts separately, they can be put together in all kinds of configurations, and this also allows the customer to upgrade their cabinets with parts from other manufacturers.

This kitchen is a great example of that.  Not only did we use custom faces from the Unhinged Custom Doors side of our company, but we threw in a few other custom touches like these open shelves, which were made with extra FÖRBÄTTRA cover panels.

We created a built-in look for this countertop microwave by simply cutting an opening in a 24×15 door.  Of course here, we’re using custom doors, but this would work just as well with a stock IKEA door – you just need a jigsaw and a steady hand.  This is a “hack” we do pretty often, and the important thing to remember if you’re doing this yourself, is that the microwave can’t be any wider than 22.5″ this is because the walls of the cabinet are 3/4″ on each side, so the inside dimension is only 22.5″

Modifying the widths of IKEA frames is really easy too – just a couple of cuts and a few screws, and Voilà, you have a 6″ cabinet which is just the trick for creating these pull-out spice racks.  We ordered the spice-rack inserts online, here.

Another hack we do often is to install stainless steel, under-mount farmhouse sinks.  in this case, and in most cases, it required cutting out the top of the cabinet to the depth of the sink.  The sink is then supported by the (cut-down) walls of the cabinet.  I like farmhouse sinks because they are so spacious.  They’re especially nice if you have a small kitchen where only a 24″ sink is possible.  And while I like IKEA’s DOMSJÖ farmhouse sinks just fine, I have to say, under-mount is so much more convenient.

Of course, what really sets this kitchen apart is the custom doors.  These are Rift White Oak doors from the Bespoke line by Unhinged Custom Doors.  Besides the great looks, one of the nice things about getting custom doors, is that they are made to order.  Want 6″ doors for those spice pull-outs? No problem!  How about 22″ tall doors under your farmhouse sink so there’s not too much fill?  No problem!  All of the side panels come slightly over sized too, so that they can be cut and scribed for the perfect fit in a not so perfect world where walls, floors and ceilings are never square level and plumb.  It all combines to give the cabinets a level of refinement that you can’t quite achieve with stock IKEA faces.

Hard to believe this is an IKEA kitchen, right!?  It is though, and it just took that little extra to take it to the next level, but the best part is, because IKEA cabinets are the foundation of this kitchen it cost a fraction of what it would have cost using standard cabinet options!  This meant there was enough left in the budget for those beautiful appliances!

This kitchen features custom faces from our sister company, Unhinged Custom Doors.  If you’re interested in ordering custom doors for your IKEA kitchen or Bath, and live in Washington or Oregon, feel free to contact us!  We offer a full range of wood and mad-made materials, and offer custom doors, panels and drawer fronts for IKEA’s Akurum and Sektion cabinets!