We’ve completed two IKEA kitchens and several IKEA hacks—both big and small—across our two homes. IKEA cabinetry is hands-down one of my favorites. The ease of customization, affordability, and quality— there’s nothing quite like it on the market.
If you’re planning your own IKEA kitchen makeover, or just gathering information on whether to use IKEA for your project, you’ve come to the right place. I summarized my top tips on doing an IKEA kitchen makeover, including why I think IKEA is a better choice than other brands and challenges that may come your way. Learning these lessons upfront will set you up for a smoother DIY project and a beautiful result, with fewer hiccups along the way.
| Skill Level | Project Cost | Time |
| Intermediate | Around $5000 | 4-6 weekends |
*Your actual project time and cost will depend on your kitchen’s size and configuration. This small kitchen is for reference only.
I organized the 25 tips throughout the DIY process. Follow the steps outlined below to read all of them, or jump to the section you’re most interested in.
- Plan Your Kitchen Layout
- Install the Suspension Rail
- Assemble the SEKTION Cabinet Boxes
- Build the MAXIMERA Drawers
- Add the Finishing Layers: Cover Panels & Trim
- Add VEDHAMN Toe Kicks
- Smart Ways to Save
- Make It Yours: Customizing Your IKEA Kitchen
- Before and After
You can also see the entire process on YouTube:
Plan Your Kitchen Layout
Before starting any projects, it’s always helpful to get a ballpark figure on how much the cost would be and compare options. This is not always feasible with traditional kitchen remodel services. However, IKEA’s online kitchen planning tool completely changed that. While much of the construction industry still lags behind on 3D visualization, IKEA has been light-years ahead, giving customers an intuitive tool for design since at least 2012.
With the planner, you can quickly set up a room, drag and drop cabinets into place, swap out drawer fronts to visualize how they look in the room, add appliances, and see the total price updated in real time. It’s the coolest online design tool EVER.
That said, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
1. Getting correct measurements of your space can mean the difference between a smooth installation and an absolute nightmare.
It’s not just about the room’s width and length—you’ll also need to account for window placement, plumbing, electrical, ceiling height, and any quirks in the room.
During our first IKEA renovation, our kitchen window was a few inches off-center from the lower cabinets. We didn’t think too much about the discrepancy during the design phase, but realized our mistake during installation. We ended up cutting into the side panel of the cabinet to center the sink under the window.
This time, we found out that our ceiling was a couple of inches shorter than 96″. That small difference meant the dreamy double-drawer countertop cabinet we had planned had to go back to the store.
IKEA’s SEKTION cabinets are modular, which means they’re only available in fixed sizes (like 24″ or 30″ widths). You can mix and match them to create a beautiful layout, but it’s not fully customizable. That’s why accurate measurements are critical.
When measuring, don’t forget to check for:
- Uneven corners — Can the cabinet sit flush without awkward gaps?
- Door jambs — Will drawers and doors open freely?
- Floor high points — Do you need to size down a tall cabinet?
- Sloped ceilings — Will cabinet door open freely?
- Obstacles like outlets, plumbing, HVAC, or openings that might get in the way.
If this part feels overwhelming, IKEA offers kitchen measurement service for a fee. It’s a good option, if you’d rather leave it to the pros.
2. Tour IKEA Showrooms in Your Local Store for Inspiration
IKEA showrooms are a gold mine for kitchen design ideas. You will not only get creative ways on configuring the SEKTION kitchen system, see and feel the materials in person (white doors are not always the same, you know), but also get a list of the exact items they use.
For example, in this blue kitchen island, you can see the product names and part numbers in the tags inside the drawers. They also list the price and how much each item is, helpful for planning.
IKEA also recently came up with some new features. Now they have integrated fronts for fridge, dishwasher, and even have an appliance garage option. The pantry cabinet with pull out shelves is also a nice addition.
3. Book a free appointment with an IKEA kitchen specialist
You can submit your new kitchen design online for validation, but in my experience, working with an IKEA’s in-house kitchen specialist is a lot more helpful.
There are a lot of things to consider when designing a kitchen. We don’t have the same experience or attention for detail like the professionals. For example, I was struggling to figure out how to properly cover the front of the sink (that part is called “blind front”, by the way). When I brought my design into the store, the kitchen specialist not only solved that issue but also caught other mistakes: a countertop that didn’t fully extend to the mini fridge, missing cover panels, and even the wrong wall cabinets.
Without her help, I would have ended up ordering the wrong parts and missing pieces. It was definitely worth setting up an appointment like this to cover your bases.
4. Save yourself the headache of hauling hundreds of boxes home—just use IKEA’s delivery service.
For around $69, it’s absolutely worth it.
Yes, I technically managed to fit everything into my SUV… but I wouldn’t recommend it. Driving home with stacks of heavy boxes sliding around in every direction was stressful and unsafe. Also, I had to go back in a second trip to bring the mini fridge home.
In hindsight, I should’ve just scheduled the delivery and spared myself the trouble.
Now that we’ve gotten all of our packages, let’s talk about installation.
Install the Suspension Rail
The nice thing about IKEA kitchen is the cabinets are mounted onto suspension rails, which make them easy to adjust and align. The hard part, though, is making these rails perfectly level and straight.
Our house is a new build. But I have yet to find a wall that is perfectly square and plumb. The walls are often wavy and the corners are wonky. So this stage of the DIY process definitely took some tweaking and creative problem-solving.
Before you start, I recommend watching Mastering Suspension Rail Installation for IKEA Kitchens on YouTube. Rannes is a professional contractor who specializes in IKEA kitchen. With years of experience putting together IKEA cabinets in different settings, he’s knowledgeable in how to do it right and things to watch out for. You will learn a ton from watching his videos (besides reading this blog post, of course).
Now back to hanging suspension rails. The first step is to mark where the studs are. And plan where the screws would go. You want to secure each rail to at least 2 wall studs, ideally one on each end.
5. If you can’t hit wall studs, use heavy-duty drywall anchors or toggle bolts.
IKEA instruction says the maximum distance between screws is 12”. In the US, wood studs are 16″ apart by standard. So that makes choosing the location of screws a bit tricky.
Using drywall anchors makes it easier to add screws in between the studs. AND it’s a lot sturdier than using regular screws to hold the cabinets against the drywall.
Depending on the configuration of your kitchen, you most likely need to cut the suspension rail (comes as one 80″ long piece) or extend its length with a second rail.
6. Warning: handle suspension rails with care.
We normally use our miter saw to cut wood. When cutting the metal rails, we noticed their ends turned out a lot shaper than what we were used to and can easily scratch our skin. So here’s a friendly PSA: make sure to wear safety goggles and gloves to protect yourself when handling suspension rails, especially the freshly cut edges.
Also use a carbine blade to do the cutting. We used our old, second-hand blade, which was already dull to begin with and got damaged even more by the suspension rails. Yeah, not a good idea. Should have used this $23 hack saw instead.
7. For base cabinets, mark 32 3/16″ above the floor’s highest point to indicate where the bottom of the suspension rail should line up.
Why this oddly specific number? Once the cabinets are installed, this measurement accounts for the height of SEKTION base cabinets (30 in.), the SEKTION legs ( 4 1/2 in.), and results in a total height of 34 ½”, which goes perfectly with standard countertops to give you a comfortable 36″–37″ working height.
My husband wanted our new cabinets to match the exact height of our existing kitchen countertops, so he moved the line up slightly. What he didn’t realize was that IKEA’s white oak toe kicks max out at 4 ½” tall, leaving us about an inch short (you can see how it ended up being towards the end of this post). It wasn’t a dealbreaker, but it’s definitely something to watch out for.
8. Shim behind the rails where there are dips in your wall.
This is necessary to keep the rails straight all the way. Hold a long level to check levelness.
9. Get a copy of the installation Instruction online
IKEA makes all of its assembly instructions available online in downloadable PDF format. It’s incredibly handy when you don’t have the paper copy on hand or somehow lose it like I always do. I find it saves time to pull up the instruction on my phone whenever I need it.
Under “Product details” of the product page, click the links in “Assembly and documents” on the right hand side. It works all the time and saves you the trouble of finding the paper copy.
10. Even though IKEA instructions say to not use power tools, using a power drill to tighten screws make installation a lot faster.
Just make sure to set the torque to the lowest level and be careful not to over tighten.
Installing suspension rails probably took the most time—there was a lot of measuring, double-checking, and fine-tuning involved. The good news is, once it’s done, you can breathe easy knowing your cabinets will be securely in place.
Assemble the SEKTION Cabinet Boxes
The SEKTION cabinet boxes are made of particleboard with a moisture-resistant melamine surface. Some people think using particleboard means IKEA kitchen is low quality. But it’s a total misperception.
Not only does IKEA offers a 25-year warranty to its kitchen system, its cabinetry also has many satisfied long-term customers, including Young House Love (John and Sherry have done 5 IKEA kitchens and two PAX wardrobes), Chris Loves Julia, and Yellow Brick Home.
We had our first IKEA kitchen for almost 10 years. Except for 1-2 minor chips, everything (including the fridge, dishwasher, oven and cooktop) looked like new the day we sold the house. The cabinets cleaned up nicely and held up to daily tear and wear. So if you’re on the fence because of IKEA’s quality. Rest assured that it’s as sturdy as other kitchen systems on the market, if not better.
When it’s time to assemble the cabinets, it could feel a bit overwhelming looking at the sea of cardboard boxes. We put all of ours in the garage and only brought the ones we needed inside when we’re ready to assemble them.
The article number on the box is helpful for sorting through what each box is for. Stack the same boxes together (e.g. SEKTION cabinet boxes vs. MAXIMERA drawers) and mark the article numbers on the kitchen elevation, so you can follow along easily.
Putting together the SEKTION boxes is straightforward. Once you’ve successfully assembled one, you can repeat the same steps for the rest. The assembly process goes pretty fast.
The only thing to watch out for is to:
11. Use reinforced ventilated metal rail for the sink cabinet
We were in a roll and built the SEKTION cabinets in the exact same way, not realizing we used the wrong metal rail for the sink cabinet. It should have been SEKTION Reinforced ventilated top rail. Luckily, my husband caught the mistake before we secure the cabinets together.
12. To mark the location of an electrical outlet, use the toothpaste hack.
This hack saves you the time and trouble to measure and mark each and every outlet, which can be a lengthy process.
Dab some toothpaste onto the 4 corners of the outlet, push the cabinet box against it to leave marks, then following the outline based on the toothpaste marks, cut the openings with a jigsaw or a multi-tool.
After all the cutouts are made, and the boxes are assembled, comes the exciting part of putting them up on the wall.
13. The SEKTION cabinets need to hook onto the bottom part of the suspension rail.
This part is not clearly illustrated on IKEA’s paper instruction. But to show you how it’s done. I took this picture from IKEA website and added the curly arrow.
Lift the cabinet box and drop the top of the hook onto the bottom of the railing. The top of the cabinet box should align with the top of the suspension rail.
This is from a different angle to show you how the cabinets are mounted. Note that we used the wrong metal rails on the sink cabinet in this picture.
To complete the cabinet install, clamp the two boxes together, then attach them from the side.
With all the cabinet boxes installed, the room was looking a lot more finished.
Build the MAXIMERA Drawers
Next up: MAXIMERA drawers. This step can be confusing because the instructions change based on the drawer type (low, medium, high) and placement (recessed/inner vs. overlay, top vs. bottom).
My biggest tip is to:
14. Pay close attention to the illustrations that direct you to which page to go to for assembling the Maximera drawers.
At the top of the page you’ll see two pictures:
- Left picture with a down arrow: stay on this page and continue.
- Right picture with a hand flipping to a page number: jump to that page for a different configuration.
Example:
If you’re building a low drawer with an overlay front (the front covers the box edges as shown in the picture on the right in the above image), follow the right picture to go to page 10.
On page 10, there’s another fork:
- Building a bottom drawer? Stay on page 10.
- Building anything above the bottom? Jump to page 15.
This is kind of like navigating a decision tree.
Because IKEA instructions are almost entirely visual, slow down and study the diagrams before moving forward. It saves a lot of rework later. This is speaking from my own experience of having to re-assemble one of the drawers.
Once the drawer boxes are built, the next challenge is getting the soft-close dampers clicked into the drawer slides.
Maybe it was user error, but I found this step surprisingly tricky.
15. Slide the soft-close damper onto the back of the drawer slide until it clicks into place.
It took a bit of finesse to get them all assembled—sometimes, just holding the parts at a slightly different angle made it slide right in. Honestly, this was my only real complaint about the SEKTION kitchen system. WHY make the soft-close damper so darn hard to click together? (take a deep breath Sherry…)
Once the slides are installed, simply set the drawers onto the slides, push them closed, and then open them again to test. If everything’s in correctly, they should close smoothly and quietly. It worked like a charm every time.
I absolutely love the small details IKEA puts in its kitchen designs, these high quality drawer slides and hinges are what set them apart from other brands.
The soft-close drawers are such a nice upgrade—they elevate the functionality of the entire kitchen. Even better, the hardware lets you fine-tune the alignment after installation.
16. Use the screws at the bottom of the drawers to adjust the drawer fronts left–right and up–down.
Left screw for up-down, right screw for left-right. The middle rectangle metal bar allows you to pop the drawer front open.
It’s pretty neat you can adjust the drawer fronts this way. Tradition kitchen, even the one with custom cabinets, doesn’t always have nice features like this.
17. While you can use a Phillips screwdriver for IKEA hardware, the best fit is actually a Pozidriv.
European screws have extra markings at a 45-degree angle, and a Pozidriv bit will give you a snug fit without stripping the heads. It’s worth picking up a set for this project.
If you get stuck during any part of the assembly, I recommend the tutorial “How to Build an IKEA Maximera Drawer” by Kody Horvey (Up To Kode) on YouTube. It is six years old, but the tips shared are just as valuable today for anyone installing IKEA kitchens.
The final step is installing the cabinet doors. Simply attach the hinges and clip the doors onto the cabinet boxes—one of the most satisfying parts of the process.
18. Use the screws on the hinge to fine-tune the cabinet fronts.
Many IKEA kitchens and closets use high-quality hinges from the manufacturer Blum.
You can use a screwdriver to fine tone the alignment of the doors. The front screw for adjusting left and right of the cabinet door; the middle screw (sitting in the piece secured to the cabinet) for up and down; the back screw to make the door further away from the cabinet box or closer in. This way, the doors line up perfectly with each other.
Add Cover Panels & Trim
SEKTION cabinets are white. To make the kitchen look cohesive, you want to cover the exposed sides in the same materials as the drawer fronts and cabinet doors.
The cover panels come in one long piece. Cut them to size with a circular saw before installing.
And the painter’s tape helps prevent tear out or paint chips.
19. You may find it necessary to scribe the cover panels to fit the uneven walls and ceilings.
Especially if you’re not using crown molding (IKEA calls these the décor strips) or backsplash. Because walls are not perfectly square, without scribing, you may end up with large, uneven gaps between the cover panels and the walls. Scribing takes a generic IKEA box up a notch, to a more customized look.
This is also necessary if you need to fill the gap between the cabinets and the walls. You can make filler strips out of the cover panels.
I won’t go into details in this already super long blog post. Check out this blog post and video for more.
20. Use quick-grip clamps as an extra set of hands, when attaching the cover panels.
They free up hands to hold the panels and make sure the cover panels are tight against the cabinet box during install.
Add VEDHAMN Toe Kicks
If you use painted IKEA cabinets, you can fill the bottom of the cabinets with 1×10 primed boards and paint them the same color.
For the white oak VEDHAMN fronts, IKEA has toe kicks made of a similar material that is 4 1/2″ tall.
21. Mark the positions for the plastic legs 24″ apart along the back of the toe kick, then twist the brackets into place. This ensures they line up perfectly with the legs.
We installed the LVP flooring around the IKEA cabinets, so it could float freely. The toe ticks hid the transition between the LVP and the concrete, so we don’t end up with any ugly gaps.
To cover the legs of the entire kitchen, extend the 84″-long toe kick by cutting a second piece to the right length and connecting them with the rectangle plastic piece.
For corners, scribe the trim work and cut out excess with a jig saw. This gives you a more polished look.
Because of the mistake we made with the height of the countertop, we had to rip another piece of the toe kick panel to cover the 2″ gap on the top. It wasn’t too bad from a distance. But if you’re using the VEDHAMN white oak toe kick like we did, keep in mind the 4 1/2″ max height.
Smart Ways to Save
After the pandemic, IKEA kitchen cabinets saw both price increases and supply shortages. The company no longer does its well-known 20% off kitchen sales, and the 5% Family Membership discount was discontinued in early 2024.
But don’t worry—there are still a few ways to save on your IKEA kitchen renovation. Here are some of my favorites:
Choose cabinets over drawers. MAXIMERA drawers are fantastic, but they add up quickly. Swapping a few drawer units for standard cabinets can lead to big savings without sacrificing too much storage space.
Go with laminate countertops. Laminate has come a long way in both style and durability, and it’s a fraction of the price of stone. A 10-foot laminate marble-look countertop costs around $100, compared to roughly $1,000 for a single granite slab. Huge difference!
22. To save money, make your own with ¾” plywood or MDF and color match at paint stores to keep the color consistent.
IKEA cover panels are ¾” thick. You can make your own using ¾” plywood or MDF, then color-match the finish at your local paint store to keep everything cohesive.
In theory, you can also make your own doors. I’ve done this before—MDF shaker doors—and while they turned out great, it was a ton of work. I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re short on time.
23. Take Advantage of IKEA Sales and Price Guarantees if you’re in a tight budget
IKEA typically runs special discounts on kitchen about three times a year. By enrolling in the Family Membership program, you get a 90-day price guarantee, which means you can request a price match if a 10% kitchen sale happens after your purchase. It’s probably the easiest way to save money—no extra effort required.
Make It Yours: Customizing Your IKEA Kitchen
One of the best parts of IKEA cabinetry is how easy they are to customize, turning a standard setup into the kitchen of your dreams.
24. For a high-end look, swap IKEA’s standard doors and drawer fronts for custom fronts.
For example, designer @crysleedesign used IKEA SEKTION cabinets paired with custom doors (American Rift Sawn Oak) from The Cabinet Face. This is a great way to upgrade a basic IKEA kitchen without the hefty price tags of custom kitchens. The result is absolutely stunning and completely unique.
You’ve gotta check out the before and after in this short form video. It’s soo good!
25. Other ways to custom IKEA kitchen are in the finishing touches: bringing the cabinet all the way to the top by adding crown molding, using unique hardware, adding floating shelves, and more.
Here is an example of how molding completely elevates the look of an IKEA kitchen. Amber from @amberlanelife designed this drool-dripping, classic white kitchen. The crown molding is my favorite detail—it adds such a polished, custom feel. You’d never guess this kitchen was built with IKEA products when you step into a room this gorgeous.
Before and After
Building this IKEA kitchenette was a fun adventure. It was a lot easier to do than trying to make our own cabinet doors and drawers from scratch (took us 5 weekends to put together from start to finish). And the modern, white oak design is unbeatable for its price.
We couldn’t be happier with the result.
The dingy, empty basement before we started renovation.
The same wall with cabinet boxes installed.
I hope you found this tutorial helpful! If you’d like more details on any of the steps, leave a comment below—I’d love to help. Have fun bringing your own IKEA dream kitchen to life!
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