Personally I don't like foil. They don't stand up to accidents nor abuse well. So that leaves wood & veneer doors or painted doors. That would leave on my list...

Wood & veneer doors: Grimslov medium brown, Filipstad brown, Bjorket birch, Ekestad brown, Rasdal white ash, Laxarby black-brown and Brokhult walnut effect light grey.

Painted doors: Veddinge white, Hittarp off white, Bodbyn off white, and Bodbyn grey.

Just my thoughts.

thanks. hmm... so you think that the most expensive of the new line - the "Ringhult" which is described as "High gloss foil" is actually less durable/worse quality than some of the mid-range options? Of course in the store they told me that the high gloss foil was the best but its hard to know what is true and what is a sales pitch. I'm going w IKEA to save money but would be willing to pay more for the most expensive line if it meant better quality, but would probably not pay the extra money just for the high gloss look.

Just my opinion though some one that has had a kitchen with foil covered doors might be able to convince me otherwise. I think of foil, and it's probably thermo-foil, as glorified contact paper. Once torn or damaged the door is toast and will need to be replaced. With the wood or paint you have a chance of repair.

You can also just figure that the old Arkurum line lasted 20 years, and since this new line has just started it will be easy to get replacement parts for a long while.

I don't think that the more expensive foils are the same as the infamous thermofoil.

Personally I don't agree that "foil" is inferior in durability. In fact, it can be MORE durable than wood. Real wood expands and contracts with changes in humidity, and this movement can cause warping and cracking. Also, if you get a deep scratch or gouge in wood, it looks bad and is hard to repair.

I would guess that the high gloss look would be the hardest to keep looking good over time. High gloss surfaces show light scratches that just blend in to satin or matte finishes. Think of the swirls that show on the high gloss paint of a dark car. It might not be significant in cabinetry though, because light colors don't show the scratches as much, and it's harder to notice scratches on vertical surfaces because the light doesn't rake across them.

The durability of cabinet doors really comes from the film thickness of the exterior finish, not from what's underneath. ALL of the doors have thick film finishes which are well cured by the time you buy them, and probably will all hold up equally well. I would get the one you like the best.

The real question is which surface finish - foil or paint - will be the most durable to apply a real wood veneer over?

Hi..I have just came across your query ..we bought an Ikea kitchen in October 2015. My husband fitted it in November/December. We have lived in many houses..normally buy B&Q.

My husband fits kitchens and bathrooms.

Thought we would have a change.. I am regretting it now. The units themselves are strong. Our worktops are beautiful...so easy to fit the drawers etc.. wall cupboards look good..

I actually feel like crying.. (not the norm for me) .

We chose the white Veddinge finish.

At the last count there are 6 blemishes on the doors and drawers. Paint chips of various sizes

The strange thing is the drawers we use umpteen times a day are perfect..

I am heading to Ikea tomorrow so complain..

I would avoid Veddinge..

Take all the failing doors and your purchase receipt with you to avoid an extra trip. Test out the 25 yr warranty, but I hope it's just like audio_ said.

Yes, very important: don't forget the receipt! I suggested taking only one door in order to find out what's actually in stock before disassembling your kitchen ;)

We're in a similar situation as the original poster so "Thank You" for the informational replies. I did find this video from Nov 2015 which confirms what Marion Reid said (above) about the Veddinge doors:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S0ofiHVkLk

Interesting to note, the two doors that did better in the test were a foil (Grimslov) and a painted door (Bodbyn) and the one that did poorly (Veddinge) was a painted door. Also the two doors that did well were about $60 for an 18" x 30" whereas the Veddinge is $16 for the same size door. So perhaps it's not about foil vs. wood/paint but more about the quality of materials/production which might be more closely linked to cost.

Of course you can't have Veddinge without a "Ding";-)

Anyone else know of tests like this one done on the newer line?

richbeau - In 2011, we put the white high gloss Godmorgon cabinet into our kids - guest bathroom. It still looks like the day we installed it. Granted, it's a bathroom, not a kitchen, but I've banged the doors many times with my vacuum cleaner, yet, no damage. no scratches, nothing. It's a very hard material that has nothing in common with regular thermofoil finishes.

We also have a long Ikea white high gloss sideboard in our dining room, and we've just installed another gloss white vanity in our new powder room and we're planning on using the white Ringhult doors for our kitchen remodel this fall. No hesitation whatsoever.

The Ikea doors that have caused problems over the years are the old Akurum Adel and Stat, and now the new Veddinge. Also, according to the Ikea staff at the Ikea Schaumburg/Chicago, the Ringhult doors are their best seller, yet I've not come across any complaints on the web.

I have Veddinge doors and fronts now. I just drilled through the doors to install knobs and put a tape in the back for better drilling just as they recommended. Pulled the tape back with the paint - 3cm. I almost fainted. It is my new kitchen. It looks like this type of fronts are prone to chipping and I am not really thrilled about it.

Ugh, ingashops, so sorry to hear about your experience with the Veddinge finish popping off. That seems to confirm that Veddinge is one of the series to avoid.

we are just installing veddinge now. alredy 4 doors have chips. no idea how this happens but they appear one by one. I would like to complain to Ikea about it. They say exchange the door, but are we going to this every 2-3 weeks for next 25 years of the guarantee? shockingly poor quality. half kitchen installed ...

That's very disappointing. Perhaps you can make do and save for custom doors? I know Semihandmade makes doors for IKEA. I believe there are others.

Yes, it is disappointing. I plan to exchange the damaged doors and just live with them, but it will take me another couple of months to get there and it's a pain. I think in my future remodels, I would get there wooden natural color doors. They just came out with those. Doors can be painted whatever color you want by a professional paint shop. If the wooden door chips - it's not a big deal - use the same paint to touch paint it.

Why not see if ikea will let you upgrade to a different style instead of doing a straight exchange?

THey probably would let me do this. That requires taking down all doors, drawer fronts, integrated panels (dishwasher) and bringing them to IKEA, and finding a paint shop and match all my existing trim and have the paint my new IKEA style; install everything back. A project that requires a lot of effort that I just don't want to do at the moment. But your suggestion makes total sense if you want yo go through this. I figured this design is relatively new only 2nd year in. I will wait for s few years and do this. IKEA gives 25 year warranty.

That's disheartening to read, as Veddinge was one of the ones I was considering. Guess I'll be crossing it off the list unless I can find that the quality has improved.

I have veddinge, it's chipped a tiny bit in the two years we've had it. I think I've posted about my experience here before. It honestly doesn't bother me. You get what you pay for.

Veddinge is also a compromise for most because the white has a pink undertone. A more durable finish with a purer white is Voxtorp. It wasn't around when we did this kitchen, but it's definitely more expensive.

We had the Ikea foil finish in our Akurum kitchen--that foil finish was/is fantastic. Seven years of abuse and it looked brand new when we sold it in 2014.

I have voxtorp and am very happy with it - we've only had it six months though, so the fact that it still looks perfect is not all that impressive.

I have veddinge and I have posted about it before. The problem with it is when you drill the doors to put the knobs. Drill a tiny hole first and do not put any tape. I put the tape thinking it will prevent chipping, but instead, tape took off the paint with it. Lessons learned. My kitchen still looks fine, but that is because I try to be careful with it.

My next Ikea kitchen will have some wood-like finish, something like this one: TORHAMN. It is a natural looking wood. I believe, you can can have doors professionally painted to the color you want. So, it it chips, you can always fix it with a little paint touch up. Also, this has Shaker style, which is timeless. Your kitchen will never go out of style unlike all the trendy doors.

inga - did you use painters tape? Did you peel it off immediately after drilling? That's interesting about the bad peeling on veddinge. We learned the hard way that painters tape can't be left on walls or it's adhesion is strong enough to pull the paint off a week later.

I use a brad point drill bit and clamp a piece of wood behind when I drill for knobs and handles. Works beautifully with no damage. I’ve used Bodbyn, Grimslov, and Laxarby. I find the quality of these excellent. No nicks, pealing, water damage-nada.

YES, I used painters tape and I took it off immediately. You can’t use tape on these, just the wooden block behind it :-(

I just had the glossy beige version of the voxtorp installed. Haven’t taken off the protective cover yet since later in week is the countertop install. I hope I will be happy with the finish and hope it holds up well. Fingers crossed!

I did use a pro Ikea cab installer instead of a regular contractor. He installed a previous kitchen for me and I was very happy with the quality of his work.

Anyone used Tingsryd? I would like to use it in the laundry room so it could be somewhat humid. Didn't want to spend a lot of money because just finished custom kitchen.

We put an Ikea kitchen with Ringhult doors in a carriage house we rent out on Airbnb. After 5 years and hundreds of guests it still looks brand new! The foil finish is not like the old Thermafoil crap. It wipes down easily and has not scratched or chipped.

Thank you, good to know. Ringhult will be my next finish :-)