Customer Gets More With Less In New Farmhouse IKEA Kitchen

IKEA BODBYN cabinetry provides storage and style in this layout
When IKD customer Laurel chose to remodel her outdated and inefficient kitchen with IKEA cabinetry she had one main goal: Get a lot out of a little.

Laurel, who lives outside of Chattanooga, TN, explains: “I really needed enough storage. I was downsizing from two kitchens — a canning kitchen and a regular-sized kitchen — into this small kitchen. Not only did I need enough cupboards for all my small appliances, but I also have a lot of fancy dishes that needed to be stored.” She also wanted an appliance garage for the space as well.

However, having done only a little research on YouTube for IKEA designs, she knew that she also needed professional design assistance (along with hiring a separate cabinet installer to establish her IKEA kitchen concept.

So she recruited IKD’s design team and with a budget of “as little as possible,” she combined IKEA SEKTION cabinetry framework and off-white IKEA BODBYN cabinetry along with Black granite countertops along the perimeter and on the breakfast nook area. These features were complemented by a Blanco sink, faucet and soap dispenser; a GE gas stove; custom barn doors, and under cabinet lighting, among others.

“The only major appliance I kept [from the existing layout] was the dishwasher, which was a top-of-the-line Whirlpool from years ago. I absolutely love. It’s fast and gets my dishes spotless — and dries them too!” she adds.

The results are a stunning open kitchen that provides an efficient workflow, plenty of storage, and a bright, airy, rustic feel — all accomplished well within her budget.

Let’s see how Laurel’s kitchen came together!
IKEA To the Rescue
Choosing the right cabinetry and having the right design professional guide her through the project made all the difference, Laurel says.

“The contractor we used highly recommended IKEA and had used IKEA cabinetry before. I liked the versatility IKEA offered. Plus, everything fits in them; their drawer liners, silverware holders, etc. I also really liked the idea of using drawers for storing my plates and bowls. This is so easy with the IKEA plate holders.”



She continues: “The reason I chose IKD is because I had tried two other services. First, I tried the free IKEA kitchen planning service, but wasn’t satisfied; and then I used another service (non-IKEA); but when they said it would take six weeks to build out those cabinets I wasn’t interested anymore.”

Having professional design support was also critical because the kitchen presented unique design layout obstacles as well.

“We had strange ductwork overhead that made us have a dorky florescent ceiling. We wanted to open the space up into an [adjacent] unfinished ‘cellar’ to give the kitchen more room,” she describes. “The contractor actually had to rip out the heating ductwork in the ceiling and turn it vertically so it didn’t take up so much room.”
No Wasted Space
Storage was key to Laurel’s kitchen, especially to accommodate her cooking and canning needs.



She explains: “I wanted lots of storage with an appliance garage as well as the special pull-out corner cupboards.” Specifically, the appliance garage — which is next to the GE gas stove and features a pull-out drawer — is meant to store all her appliances, so that she has them readily available. “[The appliance garage] is working out very well. Plus, my contractor put strips of plugs under the cabinets so I have plenty of access to electricity. It’s so nice!”

She concludes: “I’m also really enjoying my custom, canning cupboard and pantry.”
Putting It Together
Without being too crowded, the kitchen provides cohesiveness between the pantry and laundry room.

“Since it’s an open concept kitchen, I also wanted cohesiveness between the wood in the living room ceiling and the flooring in the kitchen,” she says. To that end, the laundry room also completely matches the kitchen as well.

“I used the old cabinets from the kitchen [and re-used them in the laundry room] so nothing was wasted,” she says. In addition, the custom, sliding barn doors were actually found at Sam’s Club [and duplicated by the contractor’s wife]. “They’re the perfect solution for doors so that they aren’t in the way,” she adds.

This is all, of course, complementing the off-white IKEA BODBYN cabinetry, including the base cabinetry that runs from the refrigerator to under the sink and around the dishwasher and eventually under the stove. One unique storage solution is the corner cupboard found next to the dishwasher — ideal for additional storage of cans and jarred items. Extra storage is also found underneath the breakfast nook area; with ample space for her fancy dishes, bowls and mugs as well as other linens and seasonal items. Above the breakfast area is upper cabinetry for even more storage.



The look is topped off with Black granite countertops which add a wonderful accent to the BODBYN cabinetry and a sense of balance to the breezy and wholesome feel of the space. “I also chose a white backsplash with a detail of black and stainless that kind of pulled everything together and tied it in with the major appliances,” Laurel notes. The design is rounded out with a pot filler from Amazon; a Panasonic microwave; Calphalon toaster/convection, and the forementioned Blanco sink, faucet and soap dispenser.
Parting Words
For Laurel, her kitchen remodel project gave her new knowledge about the IKEA design process.

“My suggestion is to get help with the design. That was crucial and I’m very pleased with how it turned out,’ she says. Specifically, she notes that IKD designer Florence was able to solve a design request in a unique way. “I asked her to incorporate an island into the design and she gave me full cabinets along the wall and extended it out into a breakfast nook that has drawers under it. It was a genius stroke. I was afraid it was going to be too narrow but it turned out to be just wide enough [for canning and overall efficiency].”

She concludes: “The kitchen is smaller than what I was accustomed to but I love it because it’s so efficient to put things away or to get them out.”

Learn more about how we can design your IKEA kitchen, bath, laundry room and other rooms at inspiredkitchendesign.com.
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