While Sharp Direct’s online kitchen cabinet builder may seem similar to IKEA’s, there are some key differences. Despite IKEA’s well-known brand & popularity, their kitchen cabinets are far from being considered a custom kitchen and do not offer the same level of quality as wood kitchen cabinets. While we are not in the business of criticizing IKEA kitchens, it is important for consumers to be informed on what they are purchasing, especially when making as large of a purchase as a new kitchen. IKEA can be a good option for homeowners whose biggest priority is affordability and are more flexible on the quality of their cabinets. IKEA does offer an aesthetically-pleasing kitchen that can be built quickly and affordably. In this article, we will outline a few key differences between ordering your kitchen from IKEA vs. Sharp Direct.
Wood Kitchen Cabinet Doors
At Sharp Direct, all of our cabinet doors are made from the strongest type of engineered wood, High Density Fibreboard (HDF), which is the strongest engineered wood that is suitable for kitchen cabinet doors. IKEA’s advertised solid wood cabinets are made from particleboard, which is the weakest & lowest-quality engineered wood. While homeowners are often surprised to learn that even the highest end cabinets are made from engineered wood and not solid wood, there are reasons the industry has evolved in this direction. High quality engineered wood like HDF offers durability, is incredibly moisture resistant, and has a smoother finish compared to its solid wood counterparts. This is why cabinet makers use engineered wood for cabinet doors in modern manufacturing, however not all engineered wood is created the same. Cabinets made from particleboard are known to show wear & require replacement decades before cabinets made from HDF.
Quality Cabinet Boxes
Cabinet boxes are the shelving that holds your dishes & appliances. Although cabinet boxes are critical to the overall kitchen, homeowners often forget to ask about the quality of the cabinet boxes. At Sharp Direct, we use the same materials to make our cabinet boxes as we do to make our kitchen cabinet doors (HDF), and never use false backs. A high-quality cabinet system using a strong engineered wood is critical to ensure your kitchen will hold up over time. IKEA uses medium-density fibreboard (MDF) for their cabinet boxes with melamine foil backs. While, IKEA’s cabinet boxes are made from a higher quality engineered wood than their cabinet doors, both materials are low quality and do not hold up over time. IKEA’s melamine foil backs are made from a very weak material without any trace of wood.
A Truly Custom Kitchen
IKEA has a very visual kitchen cabinet design tool, but homeowners are limited to selecting a handful of colours, cabinet styles, and predefined cabinet measurements. Since every kitchen is a different size & shape, it can be difficult to build a kitchen using predefined cabinet measurements. What if you need a smaller cabinet to fit an awkward space? You can’t achieve it seamlessly using the IKEA kitchen builder. Although you can drag & drop kitchen cabinets & drawers to build your kitchen, IKEA does not offer a truly custom kitchen. Sharp Direct’s kitchens are truly custom. Enter any size measurement, select from every cabinet style available in today’s market, and choose from thousands of Benjamin Moore’s colours. We offer a truly custom, high quality kitchen that speaks for itself.
Professional Design Team
When selecting your kitchen cabinet provider, make sure you consider the support available to you. Most homeowners design & build only a handful of kitchens in their lifetime, so you may need to lean on the experts for support. IKEA does offer in-store help with designing your kitchen, but their support staff are not professional designers. They are trained to support you with using the kitchen building tool and not helping you design a kitchen that is unique to your space. At Sharp Direct, we eat, breath & sleep kitchens. We have a professional and experienced design team that work with homeowners day in & out to design their dream kitchens.
