I'm sure you've probably already been to ikeafans.com but if not you should definitely check it out. All your IKEA questions will be answered. You do need cover panels for the end cabinets. Ours were cut out of large sheets of panel material, something like 3x6 sheets if I remember correctly. Filler pieces were made from the same material as was a light rail to conceal our UC lights. If there's any way for you to get to a computer where you can use the planner I think it would be a big help. It sort of creates a parts list for you, including things I wouldn't have thought of without it. If you can't do that I think you'll need to either make multiple trips or maybe go and plan to spend the day. Make a very complete list of what you want, cabinet by cabinet. Go to the kitchen department and get them to create a draft order. The kitchen people at our store (in Round Rock, north of Austin) were relatively helpful; I've heard some are not so great. Then go somewhere else and check the list over very carefully before you place your order. We didn't have any missing parts when our order was delivered. I don't know if that's normal or not but we had no problems in that regard -- and no damaged pieces either. Regarding the base pullout: We created a pull-out trash/recycling thing from an 18-inch base cabinet because I wanted a more space than a 15-inch pullout would provide and it worked better in our plan. The website doesn't say you can do an 18-inch base pullout but I figured all the same parts were available as for 15-inch or 12-inch and I confirmed it on ikeafans and it works great. Good luck. We're loving our new kitchen.

I'm using IKEA cab's in my kitchen & am having Traemond install them. I had paid $50 to have the designer come to my house to measure, since I didn't trust myself. She wasn't the most personable person & her measurements on one wall looked to be off by 3". I thought that could make a difference, so I went back to IKEA & expressed my concern. They sent out one of the installers. I was very impressed w/ the guy that came out to remeasure. He was very professional & all he does is install IKEA cabinets. I'm going to request him to do my installation. The cabinets have a 25 year warranty on them, so that should tell you something. Plus, I actually had a custom cabinet maker out last week to discuss a custom hood for my range. I told him I was doing IKEA cabinets & he said they were great. He mentioned how the hardware is really good. Not the handles & pulls, but the hinges & such. Said they were very strong. Also, I've been to a couple of renovation home tours in my city & some very reputable contractors had IKEA cabinets in the houses they were showing & they looked very good. Sarah Richardson, great Canadian designer uses them in some of the houses she has redone on her show. Sometimes she has them custom painted, which is what I'm doing. I'm not worried in the least bit. And, you can't beat the price! Use the IKEA installers & just let them know you want to make sure they're installed by their best installer! Good luck. I think you'll be very happy you did this.

Brushing or rolling on the paint will NOT have the same sheen and look as sprayed on paint. However, if you have full overlay cabinets, the only time that you will even see the frames is with the doors open, so your comfort level with that is a judgement call. However, your painter should be perfectly comfortable using an HVLP spray gun on site. It has very little overspray, and you'd only need to mask off the counters and adjacent walls and turn off anything that moves air like ceiling fans or AC's. The plastic at the entrances is more to keep out people and keep in the bit of fumes than it is to prevent garbage in the finish. It's not a big deal to do HVLP, and it's what I would expect from a pro rather than a brush job. For the uppers too. I wouldn't spend the extra money on removing them for shop spraying if the room is plasticed off properly to do the lowers. Leave all of the boxes in place and just move the appliances out of the room for a temp kitchen, and make the whole kitchen a spray booth. If he doesn't own a portable air compressor, then it's time to invest in one!

Back when I had a TV, I used to watch "New Yankee Workshop" every week with Norm. He made it look so easy, lol! I'd think, "I bet I could make that. Hmmm, first I'll need to go buy $20,000 worth of woodworking tools..." The article sushipup1 posted was very revealing. It confirmed that basically, as Ichabod Crane so eloquently put it, that cabinets are boxes to stick your stuff in. And all boxes are basically the same. Even the highest end stuff uses particle board boxes, so basically it's the shelves and doors you're paying for. As Ichabod Crane and other commenters pointed out, the shelves are good. They hold stuff without sagging. They have one job, and they do it well. The doors are attractive, and according to that article and several others I have read, they use superior hardware, meaning superior to the hardware used by some high end places. Also, as pointed out, if you get tired of the doors, you can easily swap them out. And as bbtrix said, they are made to be organizational helpers. Their selection of drawer organizers is fabulous. For me, besides price, which was my main criterion, the greatest factor is how they can be built any way you want them...I think it was this article that likened them to Legos that you can put together any way you like. All drawers in the bases? no problem! A slide-out under your sink for the trash can? Done! Want an island? Build it however you want! No one can do what IKEA does for so little money. But, as bbtrix said so well, it's a personal decision. If you would be disappointed every time you walked into your kitchen, don't get them. If it's within your budget, get what makes your heart sing! It's YOUR kitchen, and only YOU know what will truly make you happy. I wish you all the best as you go forward with your kitchen and I know it will turn out beautifully! :-)