I have seen far worse than that spaghetti one on tv. Shows like Rock of Love and the Simple Life and the Kardashians. Yes those are all cable tv shows and no I don't watch them but I do watch The Soup, a tv show that makes fun of all these stupid shows. You'd be amazed at what these shows get away with! One of these Ikea commercials during a show like that would be no big deal. Plus, has no one ever had insomnia? Even on normal cable channels like the BBC and HGTV there are ads for phone lines you can call if you're "lonely" if you watch at 3 am. I know because I record a couple of older shows that only come on at 2-3 am, and I'm glad I can fast-forward those commercials! Yes, I do think these commercials are inappropriate for kids, but I do think these were created with a specific audience (probably European) or a specific timeslot in mind. Heck, if you're letting your kids watch anything but Nickelodeon or some of the channels Nicole mentioned, then they already know A LOT more than what you saw in the Ikea ads.

They may have misunderstood some of the features like "foil color cabinet and drawer facing" which sounds flimsy but gets the job done. In any case, there are often a few glitches and unremarked items in the pictorial instructions which should be VERY carefully studied and verified by completely building one item of a multiple set first. The quality of the hinges is unmatched elsewhere for the price. Ikea fans is a great resource for anyone wanting info and help. One thing: While waiting for some of my orders to be picked and brought out, I have often been entertained by watching unfortunate souls returning opened stuff that either didn't fit or had some other flaw. If the contractors are aware of how thorough and time consuming the process can be, it might explain their reluctance.

I haven't seen them in IKEA but deeper uppers are great for tall folks, and people with vintage, or just generous china. It's also a bonus for those who use pull-outs (that can really minimize cabinet depth) on their uppers. Deeper uppers don't really minimize the utility of counter space - that's affected much more by the distance between the bottom of the upper and the top of the counter. I think the point of the deeper upper is to allow more flexibility. I understand the new IKEA cabs are more customizable than the Akurum cabs.

Thank you all for the responses! And Bpath- If I go, I will ask about the floor :) Writersblock- That was my concern, too. It is laminate and it's a good price...but it's not that much more on the Ikea website. We would be cutting out a pretty big section for the drop in sink...so maybe I'll keep looking. I still want something light green, blue or aqua. I know, almost everyone says to go with something neutral....but it's only 2/3 of the counter on one side of the kitchen. And half of it is going to be big white sink! LOL Does anyone actually use this type of counter top? Now, I'm wondering if it's going to work if I cut out a big hole for a 46" drop in sink??? Not my sink...but looks a lot like this one. Again, my friend gave it to me, when remodeling.