chunkstyle's Profile

As a custom cabinet maker I find this thread to be very interesting. The rule of "you get what you pay for" is still in effect no matter how much the Swedes try and market it different. I'm not knocking the build quality or hardware components. In fact I use much of the same hardware myself (Blum Tandem soft close drawer slides, hinges etc...) The boxes represented by IKEA are a commodity. It's busting up millions of square feet of Melamine coated particle board with the least amount of labor to add value. This model relies on quick through-put and standardizing the components into specific widths and depths. It's a modular system that works in tandem with the hardware manafacturers. The doors and drawer fronts are built to a standard height and width and also are interchangeable.
This model requires a high degree of standardization with the least amount of labor. Giving short shrift to the ergonomics and design considerations of a room so that a client can go out and spend the money saved on a walk in humidor or 100,000 btu chefs stove is always humorous and you see it all the time in Veranda, Domino, etc... My cabinets are focused on maximizing function and efficency in a given space - in other words, I offer customization that cannot be found in commodity cabs which require the user to fit their needs into the standard options offered. I am often frustrated by the misperception that custom is always much more expensive. That comparison is not considering apples to apples. Yes, my cabinets are slightly more expensive, but I believe the return on investment is much greater than spending that amount on an upgraded refigerator or stove after a certain price point. By going directly to a cabinet maker you circumvent a large food chain of middlemen that are between you and mass-produced cabinets such as Ikea. I have been told more than once that I am as affordable as some of the larger nameplates ie: Kitchen Craft, Woodmode, etc... This is also a common experience with my colleagues.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that Ikea does fit a niche in the marketplace and does it rather well with great marketing. I think they make the best commodity cabinets out there for the price. If you want something more or feel that a drawer over a door in a base cabinet might not be the best idea after years of stooping, digging and wasting precious cabinet space... a trip to a local cabinet shop might be prudent. Forget most of what's been pushed by the big box stores and surrogate interior magazines, building periodicals. Shop your local craftspeople in your own neighborhood. O.K. I'll step down from the soapbox and let someone else have it now : )