Custom Doors for IKEA Cabinets – Q&A Part 2
Cabinetry gets expensive the larger a kitchen is and they can take quite a beating. If a homeowner is even remotely frugal they will inevitably stop and take a look at the warranty IKEA provides for their cabinet lines. Plenty of those folks will also ask “Why IKEA?”
If you have a new kitchen to design or you are remodeling your existing kitchen, your questions don’t stop there. In this week’s post we continue our Custom Doors for IKEA Cabinets Q & A because more knowledge saves money when making this kind of investment in your home.
As we discuss in our article How to Paint DIY IKEA Cabinet Doors, the time and space required for such a project is significantly more than actively painting them. The space and additional time requirements to dry and cure each coat of Primer, Paint, and Lacquer is far more significant than most people realize. If you do in fact have the time, space, and know-how needed for DIY Cabinet Painting project, it is certainly rewarding.
Can You Repair an MDF Door?
The short answer is No. You can reface an MDF or HDF door by painting or, if you are skilled enough and equipt to, you can potentially rewrap it with new Laminate or Veneer. However, if a section of the door is cracked, broken, or has any kind of water damage, it is best to recycle it.
Warranty: If the door in made by IKEA and is still under warranty, you could potentially get it replaced. Once you start working to repair or reface the door the warranty will be voided.
Tip: If the damaged portion can be cut off and you still have decent sized door, it can be resized and used elsewhere. If you are considering this make sure the existing hinge bores will work in it’s new location.
How Much Does it Cost to Paint Cabinet Doors?
Painted Cabinet Doors definitely have an undeniable look and appeal. We offer a ton of laminate and veneer finishes, but sometimes paint is the only real option when you are going for a certain look. Unfortunately, whether you DIY or you order them from a shop Painted Cabinet Doors are much more expensive Per SQ FT than Laminate cabinet fronts.
A July 2022 Forbes article breaks down the actual cost of DIY Cabinet Door Painting. As they break down, the materials cost can run you roughly $600 – $1250 in materials and then approximately 20 hours per 100 SQ FT of cabinet fronts. Depending on the size of your kitchen and how you calculate the value of your time, that’s anywhere from $1250 – $6000 in labor for a mid-sized kitchen (250 SQ FT of Cabinet Fronts).
Can You Customize IKEA Cabinets?
IKEA does offer a beautiful selection of door profiles and finishes, but it is definitely limited. Depending on the look that a homeowner is going for there are quality aftermarket fronts available to meet that need. While the IKEA Sektion kitchen offers customizability inside their Sektion cabinet box, especially compared to the Akurum line, more traditional and modern profile & finish options is left up to companies like Dendra Doors, SemiHandMade, ReformCPH, NieuCabinetDoors, theCabinetFace, SwedishDoorCo, SuperFront, and many others.
Every couple of days someone will ask what we offer over IKEA, or why they would buy our cabinet fronts when they can just as easily get IKEA cabinet fronts from IKEA. Even though it’s clear that the people asking these questions are at the beginning of their design process, it’s important to answer them concisely. We don’t sell IKEA doors or hardware. You can only find those through IKEA.
We do have a few door styles that are the same as what IKEA offers, but we offer a vast selection of finish options that IKEA does not. In fact, most of what we have curated is a selection of cabinet fronts that IKEA does not, and probably will not, currently offer. What Dendra Doors provides is a Designer curated selection of cabinet fronts that you can’t get from IKEA, or most other cabinet manufacturers.
Does IKEA Plan on Making a Slim Shaker Door?
As of early 2023 it doesn’t appear that IKEA plans to make a Shaker Slim style door. For longer than there has been companies like ours, the Shaker Slim (aka Slim Shaker, Skinny Shaker, Shaker Skinny, Narrow Shaker, and Quarterline) has been a top seller across North America.
If you are looking for Shaker Slim fronts to go on your Sektion, Metod, Akurum, or Faktum cabinets, we have 3 versions of the Shaker Slim to choose from. We offer the Shaker Slim Laminate with over 90 finish options including Gloss, Woodgrain Effect, SmartMatte, and SuperMatte. We also offer the Shaker Slim Veneer with 5 real wood veneer finish options. Finally, one of our most popular options is the Shaker Slim Painted, available in any Sherwin Williams color.
Written by Todd Zimmerman
Producer of the John Webbccast
