Kitchen Cabinets

I used Ikea for the last remodel and would advise to STAY AWAY. You get what you pay for....

What's your style? Modern? Classic? If you want slightly higer end than HD, did you try Expo? We ended up getting custom cabinets since we had some odd requirements. But we learned a lot by having HD run through the design program. Probably infuriating for the guy working with us but helpful in making us think through what wanted/needed and what constraints we had. Even if you don't use them I highly recommend doing this. Get a print out and go from place to place getting bids.

Good luck.

Yes, we did exactly the same, worked with HD guy to get us initial drawings and estimates. He was very helpful, we just didn't like what they have to offer….

I used HD and won't do it again.. I found the finish didn't hold up that well. it costs so much to have work done in NYC.. and the kitchen space is i am guessing on the small side.. i would pay up for custom cabinets, but unfortunately i can't personally reccomend any place.

I've always loved to walk through IKEA but I've always wonderful how durable their stuff is. The other day I read an interior designer who said that IKEA is fabulous for design but you just can't use it because it doesn't hold up.

I used Ikea for the last remodel and continue to be delighted. I really can't see spending any more for other brands and/or custom. My Ikea-certified installer was amazing.

We installed ikea cabinets in August 2002 and they have held up really well.

Geez, I would hope that after only seven years the cabinets would still be like brand-new, let alone have "held up really well".

Quality kitchen cabinets should "hold up really well" after 100 years!

Yes, but aesthetic sensibilities only hold up for about 15 years, so don't waste your money -- those 100-year custom cabinets WILL be ripped out to make way for the latest and greatest, or will be resented for their solid old-hattiness.

"Yes, but aesthetic sensibilities only hold up for about 15 years"

Not if you choose wisely and pick a classic and adaptable cabinet style.

Industry concept to spur sales at wildly inflated prices. It has never happened in the history of mankind. Cabinets look like the decade they're from. End of story.

"Cabinets look like the decade they're from."

Depends on the cabinet.

Unfortunately, IKEA will not work for us for this remodel; it's a somewhat odd-shaped kitchen, and IKEA's cabinet sizes are limited.
The other usual suspects, in addition to HD/Lowes, are Broadway Kitchen and Bath and NYKB. Do you know of any other smaller shops that can be recommended?

PhilYoPain: If you like modern and trying to graduate from mass-market garbage: try Snaidero http://www.snaidero-usa.com/ or Poggenpohl http://www.poggenpohl.de/en/index2.php

I had a kitchen done by http://alphaplus.us/flash/main.swf. They come in and do a full design, then you decide what kind of doors you want. My neighbor wanted a specific wood door design and they ordered it from Canada. Took a little longer, but she was very happy.

The guys are perfectionists. When they come you for installation, they have all equipment with them to do the fine touch adjustments/cuts.

I have nothing against them and they do have a good reputation, but here is an anecdote about Alpha, when I called last year to get custom cabinets done.

A woman rep showed up w/ their portfolio but I recognized many of the pictures from other people I had interviewed. When I asked about those, the woman insisted that they were her own work, for which others took credit. I felt bad for her.

Expo is dead! Just visited their website. It seems as though they shut the brand down.

I was just given a referral for Home Improvement Specialists, based in Whitestone, NY. Their number is 718-886-2539. They are "co-op" approved. I am not a broker and I don't work for the company :-)!

I love my ikea cabinets. I bought blonde wood ones with long silver handles and mixed it with some frosted glass doors. I get a million compliments from anyone who visits and they all think it looks very expensive. Just don't buy their kitchen appliances as they are all branded ikea across them! The only thing is, my boyfriend has sworn off going to ikea for the rest of his life because they forgot to include a door, and he went back 3 times and they kept selling him the wrong door that wouldn't fit. If you have patience, want to save money and don't get easily frazzled taking frequent trips to elizabeth, it is totally worth it! Luv Ikea!!

Although I have never personally seen or touched Ikea cabinets, some of my friends have been complaining about them. Supposeldy, they are advertised to be extremely sturdy, but they say the hinges come off/get loose easily, the doors sometimes don't really fit, the drawers don't slide as smoothly as you'd expect, they lack normative features (e.g., soft close?), the drawers only come in weird sizes so you MUST buy Ikea should you need anything/any repairs, etc. Are these things true?

Ikea doors you have to adjust 6 mos or so. they have soft close, it is sold separately.

the advantage of Ikea is that if you want a new look, all you need is new doors and install them yourself. the sizes are all the same.

going back and back and back, at least 3 times, is part of Ikea charm (employee incompetence).

I am sure that IKEA would be great for some people, however, it's not an option for us because of the oddly shaped kitchen. Alpha kitchen seems to be made from Formica, not a real wood, right? downtownsnob, thanks for the links, both of them look great. I wonder what are their price points...

I'm intrigued -- how oddly shaped is your kitchen? Are you talking acute and obtuse angles? Or just a shallow side that needs 12" deep counters/cabinets?

I've heard good things about Techline (I think it's a design/build cabinet co.), but that was years ago.

alpha does formica, but they also have a place where they purchase wood doors in Canada. that is what my neighbor wanted. i found their cabinet interiors to be superior to Ikea and others that I have seen in Home Depot/Lowes.

alanhart - we will need to have top cabinets notched (there is an I-beam at the back wall) and need to have a corner sink cabinet smaller than IKEA's 37x37, otherwise the stove will be further than 36 inches from the gas line. We will also need to run a duct to the kitchen vent through one of the cabinets. Given how much IKEA installers charge for custom work, it doesn't worth it for us.

PhilYoPain -- got it, thanks.

I'm pretty sure Ikea boxes can't be notched in the way I think you mean, without compromising their structural integrity, so I see your point. The same is probably true for any 5-sided European-type box system.

I suspect the 3-foot gas line rule is not adhered to very closely in the world of the real.

If you haven't totally ruled out Ikea and want to run some ideas past my Ikea installer (Philly-based, more price-reasonable than NYC ones for modifications and the like), he's Chuck Shapiro, A-P-A-R-T/Together, Inc. ... aparttogether@aol.com ... Ikea USA consulted with him in planning their Brooklyn store.

PhilYoPain,

Did you check out Hanssem on W 72nd? We used their cabs for our reno ~6 yrs ago and love them - they are probably a small notch more expensive than IKEA but I can vouch for their quality, and I'm an AVID cook. We actually used Atlantis Kitchens in Queens to buy them at a discount (I think it was on 164th st, used to live nearby, recommended by my contractor, & they definitely deliver to manhattan) but I discovered after we moved to the UES and had them installed that there is a Hanssem showroom on UWS. They have many more standard sizes then IKEA cabs, so you might find something workable for your kit, and I believe they will do custom edits at the factory (for a price) if your contractor can't. For what its worth, an architect friend also just put Hanssems in her recent kit reno.

UES_DrPH--

what did you spend?

ali r.
{downtown broker}

How about Henrybuilt?
http://www.henrybuilt.com/

I used to frequent apartmenttherapy.com and remember Maxwell and Sara Kate doing their kitchen with Henrybuilt.
You would have appreciated it aboutready if you are reading this. They had a rental that they dropped a few grand on because they, like you, did not mid spending on a rental to improve their quality of life. The irony is that they soon moved out of the 275 sqft studio because I guess living there with baby became too much.

PhilYo, they also had issues with uneven walls etc but the installers could work around the issues.

some posts here
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/9-month-cure/9-month-cure-in-goes-the-kitchen-012717
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/9-month-cure/9-month-cure-for-the-love-of-bamboo-012751

HAd to split this up because this looked like spam to SE filters

The whole series here
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/category/1198/9-month-cure

BTW, for ikea fans I'm sure you know about, well, http://www.ikeafans.com/
go here for some really good kitchens
http://www.ikeafans.com/galleries/index.php?v=2