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Hello! I have only just installed my Ikea kitchen in the past month, but at this point I can say that it is incredibly sturdy and high-quality! I believe that part of the trick is in the installation---you need to put the cabinets in correctly and use the proper screws, etc.
I know others on this site will be able to give you more details about why Ikea kitchens are GREAT! But for now I just wanted to shout, "YAY IKEA KITCHENS!"
We have a whole forum devoted to just this topic...it's Why IKEA?
The kitchen cabinets are an order of magnitude above the usual furniture quality, yet there is still that lovely low price. The cabinets use Blum hinges and internal fittings, which comes standard in the price and are not addons. This is the same hardware used by the high end Euro manufacturers. Consumer Reports rated IKEA cabinets #4, beating out all the major brands except the ultrapremium top three, and IKEA cabinets cost 60% less than those lines. Take a look around the forum and you'll find lots of good experiences to read!
I would enthusiastically second what everyone has said. My kitchen is just in the works, so I can't speak from a very experienced POV there, but I do have an Ikea bathroom that I installed about 18 years and two remodels ago. I reconfigured the cabinets during the last remodel, but didn't consider replacing them; they were just too nice still. The current kitchen cabinets are made with far more sophisticated interior hardware and fittings than my old bathroom, so I have nothing but confidence in them.
You'll see lots of posts on the site about contractors' surprised and positive responses to learning that someone's kitchen was Ikea. I'd also suggest looking closely at 'Sources' when you're looking at kitchen design magazines. Ikea seems to be appearing more and more, and I don't think that would be happening if they weren't quality cabinets.
If you're willing to invest the time in the planning and the building, you'll come out with a kitchen you'll love. The expertise and support to get you through any hang-ups at any stage, is right here. It's fantastic! I've been talked through some minor knots already, and I'm sure I'll be calling on the wisdom that abounds for more guidance as we go.
I think the worst thing about an Ikea kitchen may be the fact that it is going to be around for a long time. You'd better like it, because you'll have no practical reasons for change any time soon. But you will like it, because you'll not only feel pride of ownership, but pride in what you've been able to do yourself.
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I think the worst thing about an Ikea kitchen may be the fact that it is going to be around for a long time. You'd better like it, because you'll have no practical reasons for change any time soon. But you will like it, because you'll not only feel pride of ownership, but pride in what you've been able to do yourself.
Melissa
True . But you can always change the doors and get a whole new look! They have classic and trendy looks for equally cheap prices: think Stat and Nexus Yellow Brown. I bet that will continue to be true in the future. I also like the modularity of the thing: if one cab is damaged somehow, you don't have to rip the whole line of cabs--each is its own unit. That said, our kitchen is only 6 months or so old but we're feeling pretty good about it. We looked at the big box stuff and found higher prices for lower quality. And we know people who paid a LOT more for their Blum parts than we did
The one part you can't change quite so easily is the basic layout--but that's where we come in! If you come here and ask for help designing, you have a good shot at getting something that can work for you in the long run. And there are always options to turn door cabs into drawer cabs, etc..
I finally convinced my husband to go with an Ikea kitchen when I showed him how many times I could find them in the pages of design magazines, especially Dwell. I love Dwell, but most of the homes featured are way more expensive than I will ever be able to afford -- when my husband saw that people who could afford Italian were purchasing Ikea, well... it was a done deal.
We finished installation a few months ago and we're still patting ourselves on our back.
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Kitchens - How good are they? 
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. But you can always change the doors and get a whole new look! They have classic and trendy looks for equally cheap prices: think Stat and Nexus Yellow Brown. I bet that will continue to be true in the future. I also like the modularity of the thing: if one cab is damaged somehow, you don't have to rip the whole line of cabs--each is its own unit. That said, our kitchen is only 6 months or so old but we're feeling pretty good about it. We looked at the big box stuff and found higher prices for lower quality. And we know people who paid a LOT more for their Blum parts than we did 
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