MORE Ikea Tales, Part Three

Continuing on the theme with tales from IKEA, I want to show you a kitchen that was completely updated, all in IKEA appliances!   Did you even know that IKEA sold appliances? I didn’t. But apparently, they are Whirlpool product, which is quite a reputable firm, plus they have a 5 year warranty.    The homeowner Christy writes a blog Beach Brights HERE where she detailed the remodeling of her entire house. The couple and their child moved to Houston just one year ago when they bought this older home in need of much cosmetic updating. Beside all the surface renovations, the kitchen and one bathroom needed major updating.   I was going to only show her kitchen for the Readers Kitchen Series, but I really thought you would love to see her decorating.   She obviously loves black and white as you will soon see. Enjoy!

Here is how the owners found the house, hiding behind overgrown bushes!

And today – the house looks completely different with the windows and front porch exposed.   All new landscaping was installed, as was the stone walkway.

BEFORE: The entry hall was pretty dreary with the wallpaper, chandelier, and dated flooring.

AFTER:   The wallpaper is now gone and so is the tile floor – hardwoods now lead into the adjacent rooms. I love the curtain – it softens the room and is a great inexpensive way to add drama. The light fixture was also updated.



Looking the other way, the owner added new front doors and a barn style door to close off the hobby room.

What I love about Christy’s blog is she gives you her inspiration pictures. Here is one of her pictures of a dream entry. It really does look like what she ended up with! With the Pinterest craze – there are so many images on the web that can give you a direction to go on. With a little imagination, you can take those dreamy pictures and change your own house!

BEFORE: There was a living room/dining room combination which is a typical floor plan for Houston houses built in the 50s –70s. I’ll bet 90% of houses built in Houston during this time frame have this same exact layout. Today, many people are turning the unused living room into the dining room – and turning the smaller dining room into a library/study.   This homeowner did something different:

AFTER: Instead of a wasted living room, the owner opted to make this her craft room/office.

Here’s another view of the craft room. What a great space to spread out and sew in. It’s all so organized and neat with the built in cabinetry.   I would love a space like this for my design office!

AFTER:   The dining room is off the craft room and the kitchen.

The family room is off the entry way. The kitchen is past the fireplace. I’ll show the kitchen last.   As you can see, the homeowner really loves black and white and she used these two colors throughout the house with helps to unify the rooms and create a strong design theme.

Curved fireplaces like this are dated and hard to work with. The homeowner chose to ignore it rather than place her furniture around it. This helps to make it disappear.   Notice the art work on the wall.

The homeowner created the art work herself after seeing this picture – again, a great way to get real inspiration from a magazine – and use that inspiration!

Another inspiration picture. The homeowner loves stripes and wanted to incorporate them into her new home.

First, she considered painting an accent wall with stripes. She created a mockup image on her computer and asked her readers for their opinion.   In the end, she used the striped walls in another area of her house, see below:

BEFORE:   The hall leading off the bedrooms looks fresh with the striped black and white rug.

AFTER:   But, after painting the hall with the black and white stripes, it becomes a fabulous decorative space. The family room – through the door on the right – looks out on the striped walls.

And looking the other direction.   Large contemporary canvases line the walls and break up the stripes. The homeowner created the canvases herself – I think she did such a great job. This looks like a house that could be in domino or Lonny!!

BEFORE: The children’s bathroom needed total gutting to update it.

AFTER:   Look how cute!!! I love those light fixtures and the sink consoles. Christy doesn’t say where she got the sinks but they really make the room! Before there was just one sink – now they have two which is so much better. Love the tile floor and the small flat screen too.

Here is the new tub. Great door.

The inspiration picture.   While the homeowner went light, not dark, the tile floor is the same.

BEFORE: The master bedroom was a sea of green carpet.

AFTER: Now, the master bedroom is sophisticated with a dark gray accent wall. Love that.   The chests and bedding came from IKEA.   I think that using chests is a great idea instead of small nightstands, plus they are so practical. But, besides that, they just look better – nice and big and tall like that!

BEFORE: The master bathroom.

AFTER:   The homeowners didn’t do much more than paint and add white shades – but doesn’t it look different?! Amazing what paint will do to a room. At first glance, I had thought this was completely updated.

The son’s room is so cute – IKEA bunk beds and drop cloth canopy or “fort” as he says. Love the light over the top bunk.

Look how cute it is closed!   No hemming or sewing was done – just hanging!

THE IKEA KITCHEN:

ok, ok, I know this is what you really want to see:

Here is the kitchen that IKEA built. Before and after.   The entire kitchen was gutted. New floors, new cabinets, new lighting, new appliances.    The owners did most of the work, the installing, etc. Here is the cost breakdown per the homeowner: The cabinets & appliances cost $6,200 (tax & delivery). The counter top was around $62 linear ft. The flooring was around $4-5 sq. ft.

The black hutch and striped rug continue the design scheme.

Before and After

Here is how the homeowner ended up at IKEA in her own words No one wanted to take her money:

It started with my appointment with Lowes. I told Ben, my kitchen designer, that I was not crazy about Kraftmaid cabinets. The price is a little high and the finish for what I want is not great. So, what does Ben price out for me? Kraftmaid. When I ask him to re-do the quote, I received a lame attempt of re-working my design and quote. He also would not help me with appliances. So, I left frustrated, rushed and without a firm quote.

So next up is Home Depot. I call my nearest Home Depot to make an appointment with a kitchen designer and I am told by the person answering the phone that they can't make me an appointment. I was like, "What?" I just want to make an appointment...for you know, a future date, to design my kitchen and spend my money. He told me that the kitchen designer was not in today and he did not know when he would return or how to make an appointment. Really? So, I tweeted Home Depot, got a response to the effect that they were sorry and would make the appointment for me. I never heard another word.

Ok, 0-2. Next up is Best Buy. I thought that surely with all the advertising dollars being spent by Best Buy to describe their stellar appliance knowledge and customer service, that I would at least be able to get my appliances ordered. That was a huge debacle. Let's just say that the kid working in cameras who covers appliances doesn't know squat.

This leaves me with Ikea. Not because I want to save money but because I am better off just doing this myself.

BEFORE:   The view towards the family room and the dining room.

AFTER: I love the light fixture and the white shades!   The light fixture, table and chairs and rugs all came from IKEA. The shades throughout the house are from Payless Décor.

AFTER: The view overlooking the family room.

I really love the sink and faucet!    The faucet is from Overstock and the sink is from IKEA: (not on internet, it's called DOMSJO) @ $299.

DETAILS – in the homeowner’s own words:

When I was appliance shopping I went to Home Depot, Lowes, Sears & Best Buy. Home Depot & Lowes sometimes have great prices on appliances that have been returned or when a special order goes wrong etc. So, I was shopping the bargains. I found several great deals but then it was always a hassle. They would not load or deliver etc. etc. So I gave up and ventured over to Sears. I felt that the prices were high and delivery was going to cost me around $500. Really. Also, several of the appliances I was interested in had to be special ordered. The salesmen work on commission and one day "my guy" would be there, the other day he would not. It was just a pain. This led me to Best Buy. WHAT. A. JOKE. I don't know how these places stay in business. I waited around for a full hour for someone to help me. Then the manager sent the kid from cameras to help me. Yes, you guessed it. I walked out of there vowing to never return.

Enter IKEA. It was easy. It was fast. Everything is in stock. Delivery was $30 (including all the cabinets). It was priced right. After about a 15 minute wait, I had the BEST sales person in the world helping me pick my appliances. (Note from Joni: so glad her experience at IKEA was easier than mine! Don’t judge IKEA by me!!)

(And one other NOTE from Joni: I ordered all my appliances from Best Buy – but online. No hassle. Except that they didn’t tell me that in Texas they don’t install, just deliver. So, that night I had an oven, a dishwasher and a refrigerator just sitting in my kitchen. I wanted to cry! I had to find an installer fast – which I did, online, – and thankfully he came out that night and did the deed.)

More IKEA details from the homeowner, in her own words:

1. What's online is in the stores. In-stock. Can you say "same day!!!"?

2. Ikea appliance are made by Whirlpool.

3. Ikea appliances come with a 5 year warranty.

4. I did have an issue with my stove. The clock was not keeping time correctly. I called the 800 number that came with my paperwork (it was actually Whirlpool). They sent A&E appliance repair to my house within 2 days. The repair man had to order a part that arrived at my house within 2 days and he came back on the third day and replaced the clock. It cost me nada.

5. It has been six months and my refrigerator water filter needs to be replaced (at least that is what the indicator light tells me). I am not sure where to buy one. I will have to research it but I am not worried.

“Dishwasher $649: I am telling you, you can fit anything and everything in this baby. I have never owned a dishwasher that can take this many dishes. My only complaints for the money, I would expect it to be quieter and the silverware basket could be taller.”

NOTE from Joni: I love the handle on this dishwasher, along with the hidden dials. I am attracted to the handles on appliances and use that as a reason to buy one appliance over another. Stupid, I know! But this is really a pretty dishwasher, IMHO.

“Refrigerator $1399: This is counter depth. I dare you to find a refrigerator that is counter depth for this price.”

Another Note from Joni: Great handles again! I would have ordered one without the water dispenser to keep a cleaner line. But then of course, you have to have that awful looking water dispenser from Ozarka like we do!!

“Built in microwave: $649: I love the look of this little beauty. It's a little complicated to use. I have to post a cheat sheet inside the cabinet door above.”

Note from Joni – another pretty handle.   And notice, recently the pantry door got a coat of blackboard paint. Great idea, plus it adds just one more touch of black and white.

“Ceramic Glass Top Slide-in Range $799: I think the oven cooks a little high. But then again I tend to over cook everything anyway. But this is my story & I am sticking to it ;)”

Note from Joni: I’m not even going to mention the good looking handle.

“Countertop: Corian (Home Depot, includes installation)”

Note from Joni: I love the countertop – this is a great alternative to white marble – especially for those scared of marble!

The laundry room, behind the cute Dutch doors.

MORE Sources:
Cabinet Hardware: Ikea, ANTIK & GREJ
Flooring: Armstrong
Breakfast Light Fixture: Ikea
Breakfast Table: Ikea, Table, Chairs, Chair Pads
Rugs: Ikea (older, not available)
Cordless Roman Shades: Payless Decor
Appliances: Ikea (Micro, Fridge, Dish, Stove)
Cabinets: Ikea

WOW!   I love what they did with their kitchen and house.   A huge thank you to Christy for sharing this story of their renovation.      It’s amazing to realize they have only lived in this house for one year!

If you live in Houston and surrounding areas, be sure to visit her blog HERE to see all the tradesmen who worked on the house – the landscaper, the painters, the electricians, the plumbers and more!   It’s a great list to have if you are getting ready to remodel in this area.    To see more pictures of her house, be sure to visit Christy’s blog Beach Brights.