Recently, I went through my external hard drive, in the hunt for a particular photo from several years ago, when I came across a series of photos I shot in our kitchen back when it was a knotty pine and yellow formica nightmare straight from the 1960s.
It's hard to believe that was our kitchen from 2009 through the very end of 2015, when I joyously and aggressively ripped it down to the studs and the subfloor for our huge kitchen renovation. The difference, even with just the new drywall up, was jarring. The knotty pine sucks up all of the light, but the lighter wall color gave me so much hope for what was to come.
That was four years ago, and one thing I always wondered when I as researching IKEA kitchens myself (many many years prior to this reno, believe me), I had a hard time finding updates from people who had their kitchens for a while — people who had lived with and used them. Most every single post on IKEA kitchens was the kind that I did, showing off the brand new kitchen, before it had a chance to be sullied by once grease spatter. In that spirit I decided to post kitchen updates every two years, showcasing how it has held up and the changes that I've made to the space.
The biggest change since my two year IKEA kitchen update is the backsplash tile installation, which I've posted about a lot, because it's just so gorgeous. We also brought our hood vent up to code and function by having Local Happiness Construction come out and vent the vent (is that the right way to even say that?!) out through the roof, so the humidity and smells we need to fan out of the kitchen goes outside instead of into the attic. And finally, we got a new dishwasher last year, more on that in a bit.
I still love the layout of the space, with plenty of countertop, and a pretty decent work triangle. Our kitchen table acts as an additional work surface as needed, when it isn't covered in stuff. This photoshoot required several days of cleaning and shuffling stuff around. There's definitely not three tupperware containers of cookies on a dresser in the bedroom, for example. Kidding, that's exactly what I had to do to clear out the kitchen for this. I wish we kept it this pristine daily, but that's just not how a normal kitchen functions. Nor does anyone want to see photos of a kitchen in its working state online. We want aspirational photos, and this is what you shall get. I keep it real by leaving my microgreen growing experiment on the counter, plus our junk bowl by the coffee maker! Maybe this whole thing is aspirational for me too, as I love seeing the countertops this clear and clutter-free.
Back to how the kitchen and its IKEA components function four years in though: better than I could imagine.
The IKEA Cabinets
The cabinets are 100% IKEA. They have held up well, and are easy to wipe clean. I only have two problems with them. One: by the dishwasher, where one of the doors has a little discoloration from bleach splashing on it. Our old dishwasher was AWFUL and clogged up a lot, which led me to try a lot of ways to fix the stupid thing. One was bleach, and some unbeknownst to me, splashed onto the door. It's not very noticeable, but I eventually will get a new door. That's my favorite part about IKEA cabinets — if a door messed up, just get a new one! Custom cabinets don't come with that kind of convenience. Next time we go to Charlotte, our nearest store, I'll take the measurements so we can grab a new one when we go to get a new couch. It's that easy.
My only other door issue is that two of the doors hang wonky. Simply tightening the screws that attach the door to the cabinet aren't working but I also haven't put a ton of effort into fixing the issue either. It's like the bleach spots, it doesn't bother me enough now to fix it, but when that time comes, I imagine that completely removing the door and re-screwing it back on will fix it. The doors used to hang perfectly fine, which eases my mind about their fixability.
Underneath the cabinets are IKEA lighting that are great for food photography — the light is diffused through a frosted plastic instead of seeing individual points of light.
Appliance Updates
On to my only other problem: the dishwasher. We bought the second cheapest dishwasher from IKEA in 2016 when our former one died. We used a lot of credits from return pieces and parts we didn't use in the kitchen to buy it. It is this plastic interior dishwasher. It SUCKS. SUCKS. Do not buy this. I struggled with it until it finally kicked the bucket before Thanksgiving in 2019, a stinky, useless piece of garbage. I may have cheered when it quit working and was at Lowe's the next week to buy this LG dishwasher. I'm sure some of IKEA's other dishwashers are of higher quality, but let me tell you this: never ever get a plastic interior dishwasher. Stainless steel only.
Our hood vent fan is also IKEA. It does the job and looks fine. Knock on wood but I fear the day it breaks, as it's caulked in with the backsplash since the hood was installed before the backsplash. I definitely recommend it.
The Non-IKEA Parts of the Kitchen
Everything else is holding up fantastically. The wood-look tile floor from Lowe's is still looking fantastic. The shelves I had custom made from D2 Woodcrafting are lovingly filled with an ever-changing variety of plants photos, and a few doodads here and there, but mostly plants. I like the lush, overflowing look and want to keep adding more and more. Each planter gets a plastic water catcher underneath though, as I am not risking anything harming these shelves! My favorite part is the art from our friends, like this cute little cross stitch from our friend Jenny who is a needlework wizard.
The countertops are starting to show the first signs of dinginess in the areas where I work the most, which is to be expected, given their lighter color. As I mentioned in my other kitchen posts, this wasn't my first choice of countertop color, but we were running tight against our budget and I had to go with the few options that Lowe's had in my price-per-square-foot range. I'm not sure how or if I can ever change out the counters without ruining the backsplash, but maybe one day I can get darker ones, or even quartz ones that are stain resistant.
Other than the small issues with the doors that are easy to resolve, I am still in love with this kitchen and can't believe how gorgeous it is. For anyone considering a kitchen remodel or an IKEA kitchen, let me tell you: do it.
I only have one thing I am really thinking about changing in here anytime soonish, and I'll tell ya'll all about it next week. Also, see what other house goals I have in mind for 2020.
