IKEA kitchen planning service? Is it worth the cost?

November 12, 2017
1 Comment

I have read countless blog posts slamming the IKEA kitchen planning service. Now, not to take away from their experiences but I do think this could be highly location and contractor dependent. To get the full scoop, we hired them at our latest project to find out what the service is all about. Skip ahead to a complete review of IKEA kitchens.

First off, a little background on the services offered by IKEA.

1) IKEA kitchen planning service (in-store)

IKEA states you will sit down for a one-on-one, scheduled consultation with a experienced IKEA kitchen planner in store for up to 2 hours. They will provide space planning and the design of 1 room, including 3D layouts, wall specs, and elevation drawings.

They also suggest you bring along any decided upon materials, such as flooring samples or tile samples (backsplash, etc).

Price:$129/up to 2-hours.

One thing to note- you are required to have all of your measurements done ahead of time, or you can use their kitchen measurement service, which will cost another $75.

2) IKEA kitchen panning service (in-home)

In this option, a professional kitchen planner will take all of the measurements, as well as help plan your kitchen with regards to optimizing functionality based on your specific site and needs. This option allows the designer to examine the flow of the entire house (or at least the rooms surrounding the kitchen) when planing the layout. Anyone who has spent time doing renovations knows how essential room flow is to the overall aesthetic, design, and function of the various spaces. It is also important to note that this kitchen professional is an independent service provider carrying out the IKEA kitchen planning service from the company holding the contract in your city. IKEA planning service

In home IKEA kitchen planning service includes (taken directly from IKEA’s website):

• Collection or verification the measurements of your room including:
o Room dimension (height, length, width)
o Dimension and position of windows and doors
o Position of external walls
o Width of all windows (including the sill) and their height above the floor
o Position of sloping ceilings
o Position of electric, water and gas connections and other fixtures e.g. Pipes, radiators
• Confirm that all room corners are square
• Confirm that all included walls are plumb
• Three-hour personal consultation with a qualified kitchen planner
• Detailed kitchen layout and 3D view drawing prepared on the software, IKEA Home Planner and then saved to your account under your unique user ID
• Itemized price quote for IKEA Kitchen products (cabinetry, appliances, non-custom countertops)
• Price quote for assembly and installation of new kitchen
• Price quote for the dismantling and removal of the old kitchen (if requested)
• Confirm the scope of complete kitchen installation
• Confirm the time schedule of complete kitchen installation
• Confirm the price for Basic Kitchen Installation Services and Additional Installation Services
• Explanation of the buying and installation process

Please be advised:

Walls and ceilings must be finished; and plumbing, gas, and electrical connections must be present at the time of the appointment. (SORT OF… *1) Your IKEA kitchen planner will not bring samples to your appointment, only good advice. You will be receiving an IKEA kitchen planning service, not a design service. Your kitchen planner is an expert in functionality/layout, not style/design. You must make your style decisions before your planning appointment. (SORT OF… *2) Price: $250/Up to 4 hours

As I mentioned in the beginning, I think the service you will receive is highly dependent on your location and the specific independent contractor. I have to be honest- our planning consultant was great. It is for this reason, you see the SORT OF’s…above – I believe our planner went beyond what they were required to do by IKEA.

*1) By no means was our room in finished shape. Our electrician has not roughed in the new countertop plugs, or moved the IKEA planning service

electrical from the dividing wall between the living room and kitchen (this wall is being removed). We arranged our visit at this stage by design as we were curious to see if our IKEA planning service

kitchen planner would provide suggestions or alternative options to our ideas. In the end, we were quite happy to see them dive right in with excitement, providing numerous potential options for the design.

*2) They consulted on both design, space layout, as well as flow. I will admit that we had the layout pretty well hammered down by this point. We have been working in the house for several weeks and have gone through many iterations of kitchen design before settling on the current one. That being said, we still spent time with them discussing the living room layout due to the soon to be open concept nature of the space.

IKEA kitchen planning service conclusion:

It is quite simple to slap some cabinets in IKEA’s 3D planner, throw a spacer in when needed, and call it a day. If you choose this route (without some expertise in design), it won’t matter how expensive the cabinets are, the design will look poor and unprofessional. This is where we found the true value of our consult: the finishing nature of the design. They didn’t simply throw cabinets in the 3D planner and call it done. They discussed the methods by which they take generic IKEA cabinets and turn them into a custom built kitchen. To give a couple examples, you can use long drawer fronts flipped vertically to create custom sized cabinets instead of using large spacers. Another tip was to use door fronts as side panels on the island to give a more custom continuous look. Overall, we were pleasantly impressed with our in home kitchen planning service and would happily book again.

Lastly, it should be noted that this is one company, and not all companies hired by IKEA will provide the same level of detail and hands-on work provided by TFK kitchens. Therefore, I feel the need to reiterate- do you homework ahead of time. This is your best chance to avoid throwing your hard earned dollars down the proverbial drain.

I have written an updated review about IKEA kitchen planning service without such a rosy feel to it. If this is a process you are considering, I recommend reading the updated review HERE.

design IKEA IKEA cabinetry kitchen

1 Comment

Marion October 4, 2019 at 11:38 am
DON’T GET TRAPPED BY IKEA KITCHEN SERVICES / DEL IPS / INGKA!
– Purchased my kitchen + installation in store on 9th Aug with a scheduled install of Sep 2nd @ 8am
– 6 days later – Still no confirmation e-mail so I try to call Ikea installers but the line never works and puts you on hold until the line cuts at 1h03m and 33 secs. I learned after that due to internet issues in a new office their phone lines didn’t work for over 2 weeks.
– 7 days later – I had to call the Ikea planning studio to get them to whatsapp the installation team in order to get a response.
(sent numerous unanswered phone calls and e-mails to get an answer)
– 10 days later – I finally get a call back and am told that they never booked my installation and will get me a new one
(sent numerous unanswered phone calls and e-mails to get an answer)
– 12 days later – I am told my new installation date is now 30th Sep (50 days after payment and 35 days after scheduled install date.
– 50 days later – on the day of install the installer never shows up, sent numerous unanswered phone calls and e-mails to get an answer but no one seems to care. Am told it will start the next day instead or I am offered a refund for my install ON THE DAY OF MY INSTALL. Am told a financial compensation will be offered after my install.
– 51 days layer – installer arrives, not sure what he is meant to or not to install, says the Ikea planning service didn’t plan correctly to take into account safety regulations or even *gravity* further delays in order to re order cabinets to fit in the ‘updated kitchen plan’
– 52 days later – the kitchen is installed with me and the installer having to replan every detail. We recalculate the work that has actually been carried out and realise I have been overcharged by £700+ !!
– 53 days later I chase the refund for what I have overpaid and and my financial compensation am told they need to “investigate” further
The team manager at IKEA Tottenham Court Road Planning studio tells me there is nothing they can do for me and to please stop calling them.
My solicitors are helping me claim my money and compensation back.