[ourmoneypit]

When you first get your hands on a kitchen catalogue, you see all these nifty interior fittings that really enhance the usefulness of any kitchen.

Then you take your kitchen measurements and work out your dream kitchen, and figure out the price. All by yourself, or with the help of folks here, without having to deal with any of their staff, unless you want to.

Then you read the fine print: the lazy susans, and wire baskets and pull-outs you saw in the cabinets you priced are included in the price.

I know for me, this was one of the things I loved. Ikea's price compared favorably to the other mfrs I looked at, and anything interior I might have wanted was extra. Had I bought anywhere else, it would have been shelves, shelves and more shelves.

Martine

[tudi66]

I agree Martine. The "Extras" that don't really cost extra was the deciding factor for us going with Ikea. We had toyed with doing some custom cabinets and doors and keeping some of our exisiting cabinet boxes. But when we got our quotes it only included cabinets with shelves. No pull-outs, no wire baskets, no trash cabinet. So on to Ikea.



The other thing I just love about the Ikea kitchen process is that you can go at your own pace, which is great for indecisive folks like me. I purchased just the cabinet boxes first before I decided which door. I could have purchased a few cabinets or an entire order.You can go back after the fact and add the "extras" to your cabinets like the wire baskets and drawers if you are unsure when you purchase your cabinet boxes. The Ikeakitchen system isjust incredibly user friendly.



Tudi

[laurie]

Can you believe I've been posting all these months and I didn't know that they were included? The info. was probably there but I just didn't pay any attention to it.

So, one question I have regarding this: was considering using a 36" door base cabinet in the corner (pulled out from wall) as a corner base unit with a pull-out installed. Would have to buy a pull-out in this case.

Or use-up more space (would have to eliminate an 18" drawer base) and use a 49" corner base with the pull-out included (am I right on this?).

Do you think the IKEA pullout in the 49" is as good as the Lee Valley's that I would get for the 36"?

[kmcg]

Laurie - The Ikea 49" unit is a double-stack half-circle type lazy Susan. So it's very different from the Lee Valley unit. I used the LV because I couldn't stand to give up the cabinet frontage, and think the interior space is used better. That said, it is one of the cabinets I open least often because it isharder getting the door closed perfectly than it would be on a normal base unit. (might just be that we were inept in the installation- we found the directions quite challenging, and I'm not totally sure I have it in exactly right.) I store just the big, heavy, awkward stuff there.

You've probably already seen this, but here's a link to my thread on the Lee Valley unit for details and pix: http://www.ikeafans.com/forums/view_...mp;forum_id=12

Kathy

[laurie]

Was it difficult to create the corner base with the 36" because you had to use a 15" door instead of an 18"? You guys did an awsome job with that. However, we're not too handy when it comes to cabinetry work so I'm sure we'd probably run into more problems with it than you did. Hmmm, I may have to rethink this one. Really wanted to use the 36" vs the 49".

[kmcg]

The only hard part was installing the metal shelving that goes inside. The directions are in metric (which I don't speak) and were almost as cryptic as the Ikea directions. I used a 15" door because I wanted to use up the minimum space while still being able to open the door (which is attached to part of the shelving instead of put on hinges). You could also use an 18" door, but then remember to add a couple inches of filler at the corner so that the door clears the one on the opposite leg of the corner. The 18" door might be a little easier, come to think of it, because you could have more overlap on the edge of the cabinet box on one side and filler on the other. To order, you just ask for the 36" base with no shelves, etc., plus a single door of whatever size - likely either 15" or 18". You could do a 30" tall one, or a 24" door plus false drawer front like I did, or even a real drawer if you have enough clearance. There are lots of options, and we'll help you so don't give up if that's what you want!

Kathy

[laurie]

Thanks Kathy. Yes, I would prefer doing the 36" because I will then be able to have another drawer base. I do like the way the Lee Valley works vs the half Lazy Susan. I would probably store larger appliances in there, so I guess utilizing the 30" tall door would be the best.

One other question -- how much height do you have for each shelf for the Lee Valley? In other words, my bread maker is almost 15" tall; would this fit and have enough clearance to open the unit? And if I put several large appliances, would it be too heavy?

Thanks for your help!

[kmcg]

You're welcome, Laurie! The shelves can be set at different heights. The back and front ones have different height options, and I can't get an exact measurement on the back ones. The two front shelves sit at the bottom of the door and then either 8 or 12 inches above the bottom one. I wouldn't store really heavy stuff on those. I have my waffle iron, a couple big fry pans and glass lids on these shelves. The back shelves hold big stock pots, Cuisinart and a few other random big things. There would be room for your breadmaker on the top shelf if you use the 30" tall door.

When you get close to deciding,I recommend calling the LV custormer service people, who probably have a ton of measurements, weight limits, etc., that would help you decide if this would work.

Kathy

[laurie]

Thanks again!!

L

[Liz H]

Kathy,

Just last week I changed my plan to use the Lee Valley unit and thought I'd have to use the 49" unit. How nice to hear I can use the 36" instead.

Btw , while browsing hardware sites, I found a unit nearly identical to Lee Valley's, but it cost nearly $600!

Liz

	BTW definintion BTW means By The Way