u/jazzncocktails

I’m planning a galley kitchen renovation with IKEA Havstorp deep green as my base cabinets. I’m hoping to keep the kitchen bright by making the upper cabinets white. My current plan has Axstad white cabinets over the stove with glass doors on either side, upon the recommendation of an IKEA planner. But I prefer the grid panels on the glass doors offered only in the Bodbyn off white; other glass doors are single light design. So, what do you think: would pairing the green below and the off-white above work?

Hi all,
I’m in kitchen renovation mode—I have been since last fall, but getting on my contractor’s schedule has been maddeningly slow. And I’m running out of patience. I’ve gotten a quote on Starmark cabinets—maple with snowfall (white) shaker fronts on full plywood boxes. With this layout, minus a couple of changes (a tall pantry to the right of the refrigerator, floating shelves that I can add later), the dealer has quoted about $23k; add another $5k for quartz countertops. Unfortunately, the vendor hasn’t been reliable, either, and often unresponsive to emails.

Reading some of your posts supportive of Ikea cabinets, I played with the design tool on their website this morning. This layout in white Enkoping door fronts is $4,673. That would allow me lots of room in my budget for new flooring, an induction range, an over the range microwave, and a new dishwasher and refrigerator. And likely upgrade from quartz to soapstone countertops.

I’m thinking of doing the demo myself and hiring my own local plumber/electrician/flooring/countertop experts. The question is: will I regret the IKEA cabinets after this full renovation? The price difference is more than tempting, but I’m concerned about going MDF/pressboard over plywood and whether that will haunt me in the future, especially with all of the other upgrades.

My current range is an old gas (propane) Whirlpool inherited from the prior homeowners, and I’m ready to make the leap to induction. Reading the subs here, I’ve been ready to commit to a $4100 Cafe (prefer the knobs) or $4300 Bosch Benchmark. But opening a new CR membership today to do due diligence, their top choices are dominated by much lower cost Frigidaire and LG, with a GE Profile ($600-$700 less expensive than the Cafe) at #7. The Cafe is rated lower at #17 and the Bosch 800 at #18. Ratings suggest the Frigidaire and LG models have “excellent” high and medium burners and reliability.

Before I commit, help me understand the discrepancy between Reddit knowledge and CR. Is it the size of the burners on the higher end models? The concern about the touch dials? Reliability and ease of repair? All of the above?

I’m preparing for a full kitchen renovation; prior owners last updated in the early ‘90s. Plan to leave the layout as it is; it’s an L-shaped galley kitchen, so there’s not much room to innovate. My problem is with the refrigerator door: because of the wall beside it and the inability to open it much past 90 degrees, getting into the produce drawers is difficult at best. Hoping to save 5-6” by getting a counter depth model, likely the GE pictured, which may restrict the door even more. Has anyone found a way to solve this problem short of moving the fridge somewhere else?

I suppose I could reverse the hinges, but that would make accessing the fridge problematic, too.