Whichever options you choose, you may want to charge the going rent for the market but ask for a huge security deposit to motivate careful use of granite and new cabs. And that on top of checking potential tenants out with previous landlords.

Best of luck.

I myself would never put a white kitchen is a rental.
My husband and I own rental homes and apartment buildings.
When we purchase a house for rental and the kitchen needs to go, we install oak cabinets from Menards.
Have you rented before?
Use the money for your own residence and spend only the minimun on a rental.

I also have rentals. I did a white kitchen once - never again. I agree with michellemarie - spend the minimun. If this is an upscale neighborhood I wood consider granite though (but the cheapest one). Also here in MA the maximum security deposit is once months rent.

I own three rental properties. I have never had to replace a kitchen before. I have been fortunate whereby I have one single person in each of my two other rental properties, so the homes do not get too much abuse. But I do not know who will be renting this other property that I am remodeling. I like white for a kitchen but I get it and I agree with you. I guess I should be looking at Adel Birch or Nexus Birch a little closer. I wish these two choices were not so pinkish looking. Any comments would be appreciated.

Paint color, tile, flooring and counter will effect the pinkish tone in the cabinets. If you look on the finished kitchen area you should find Ikea cabinets and see what others have done. Paint is the biggest factor.

I would also recommend reconsidering the granite countertop. We moved into our current house 36-1/2 years ago when I was 23 yrs. old and pregnant with #1. The counters and peninsula were/are white laminate. This is not a big house and we had 3 very active children. That peninsula has been the site of lots of cooking, craft, and repair projects. It's still white, no stains, and only one knife chip. It's time to replace it sometime soon, but no urgency. The new laminates are so pretty, if I were doing a rental, this is what I would consider first. Just MHO.

I had Nexus Birch in my last kitchen. We actually did rent it out for two years while traveling, and it held up great. We sold the house about 8-9 years after putting the kitchen in, and it still looked great.

I was in Ikea last week looking at cabinets with a friend, and I did notice that the beech and birch looked really light and pink, almost limed-looking. I honestly don't remember exactly what ours looked like at first, but they did start to yellow pretty quickly (light exposure) and when we sold, were medium honey-yellow-ish (still attractive but quite a bit darker than when new.) I have no idea if the forests where they are sourcing wood have changed, or if you could expect the same from the new ones. But I will say we were very impressed with how they held up.

Stacey

Photos are from when we sold:

Bear in mind that whatever you choose from Ikea, you'll be able to replace any doors or drawer fronts that get damaged by tenants, for years to come. Pick a style that they're unlikely to ever discontinue.

OOohh, steff_1! How horrible. I guess we lucked out with our tenants (though they did wear bike cleats or broken high heels in the house and left pock-marks in traffic paths on the beautiful hardwood floors!)

Stacy, your old cabinets are exactly what I want to use in my kitchen remodel! I love simple, light and inviting. Bet your renters did too!

> did notice that the beech and birch looked really light and pink, almost limed-looking

Yes, Ikea has changed the countries where these are made and the current ones are significantly different in color from what they used to be.

>>Bear in mind that whatever you choose from Ikea, you'll be able to replace any doors or drawer fronts that get damaged by tenants, for years to come. Pick a style that they're unlikely to ever discontinue.

The trouble is, you never know what style is going to be discontinued -- or when there might be a supplier change that results in a difference in shade or tone to the wood or finish. I have an IKEA kitchen myself, ourchased in 10/09. Althought the same styke and finish is still available, it is a different shade than what I have.

Very true, jakabedy. I do think it's kind of cool that it's so easy to switch door styles if you get tired of the current look or you need to update, but individual door replacement is very dicey unless you stockpile extras when you buy the doors, and then if the extras have been out of the sunlight they may still not be a perfect match.

How would you know what they will or won't discontinue? :-( I was quite disappointed to see Adel Birch now looks pink. I think white or oak will be the easiest to match if you ever have to change anything.

Have you considered the Applad white cabs? They are nicer than the cheaper white option and are slab fronts, so you get the contemporary look. They are still very well priced. We actually chose them ahead of the Abstrakt, which were $2k more, because there are fewer seams.

IKEA is offering 40% off counters when you buy a kitchen there until the 28th, so check it out. A slab front white will always be a slab front white. If you need to replace doors on a run or even the whole kitchen 10 years from now, it is still ahead of the game from having to redo a whole kitchen. if a door needs replacing and the styles have changed some, you could also try putting a glass front on it if it is in a nice spot for that as the glass will minimize the differences. If not, you may be able to switch it with one that is in a nice spot for glass...
Because they were more reasonable upfront, you can't go far wrong.