Real Photos + Cost$$ : IKEA Cabinets + Scherr's Solid Shaker Doors
This is our fourth kitchen renovation, so we've come to learn what's important to us. This time around there were some high-end things we know we want—fully integrated paneled appliances + marble slab backsplash—and some low-end things we were open to if they provided substantial cost savings and didn't stint on quality.
There's a growing trend to use IKEA cabinets and custom doors. My contractor said ours is his 6th such kitchen—some used Semihandmade doors and others Reform. This was his first experience with Scherr's (mine too) and we are all so impressed that I wanted to share this with anyone who might be looking for information about it.
When I priced out cabinets for my kitchen design, the semi-custom lines like Kraftmaid were quoting around $40k+ for shaker cabinets and all the internal organizers that for me are must-haves. That's where the semi-custom lines get you in the pocketbook—the organizers. I know so many friends who at the last minute had to cut the organizers, and they're sorry.
So this time around I decided to price out IKEA boxes with custom doors (cut to fit IKEA and with hinges already bored). The IKEA cabinets plus internal organizers came to about $3,000. Scherr's custom shaker doors came to about $10,000 for painted—unpainted wood (you choose the type) are way less.
That's a cost savings of about $25,000.
For those who are wondering what the combination looks like, here are some "in-progress" photos:
And the big splurge — marble slab backsplash:
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Question about price of Scherr's doors
Comments (11)Hi Breezy and all, We are closer to getting resolution on our many problems and are waiting through the time period the g.c. has to respond to Consumer Affairs. We should be hearing something late next week or the beginning of the following week. I have been busier than before with work, the boys have baseball playoffs and I just got out of the habit of checking the forums for quite a few weeks now. In the meantime, we may be getting solar for our electric due to all the incentives out there since we seem to have a good shot of recovering the costs to fix up the renovation. The paperwork I had to fill out for Consumer Affairs was extensive (think of a term paper plus photos to get the idea). We had been putting aside money in case we did not recover and have been fixing a few smaller items. The guy at Consumer Affairs says we should recover most if not all of what is needed to fix and finish our job. One recent thing was that in order to get a new screen door to replace the sinking Titanic-like one we had due to the poor installation, they had to rip apart the doorway and install a different door. Sad that it took such a tear apart to a 1 year old doorway, but the old size and finish work was all wrong. I was so thrilled to see the new doorway looking... er.. new! The one they made last year looked like it was gerymandered and was not professional or neat at all. It cost almost $1k to do, but it needed doing and not getting chewed by mosquitoes is heavenly. We have also been working on picking out a new kitchen floor and may be settled on Bio Spec sheet flooring by Mannington. It is a commercial product, often used in hospitals and operating rooms, hence the name. We would have 2 seams and I think we have worked out how to style it with color changes to get around having a noticeable in-a-bad-way seam in each spot. I have a floor specialist helping me this time, who assures me that her installer is top notch. I have not found out the cost yet, but it can't be much more than the Marmoleum had been and it will be a smaller area this time since we have the mahogany for the den and won't have it match this time. It is sad because the love the look and idea of our current floor, but it is structurally ruined so it is time to move on. I have also been working a ton in the garden because that went south last year due to working on the house and the renovation aftermath. It is looking passable now, lol. We joke that we have a weed garden, but not the fun kind ;) I hate gardening, but it looking shabby is not fair to the neighbors, so I just had to buckle down and attend to it. I am constantly amazed at how many hours that sucks up. I have also painted some more items that needed doing (non-sheetrock) such as a support column and the last coat on the radiator covers. I had gotten pretty burned out with paint last year, esp since much of it is now damaged with nail pops and from the 4 roof leaks, tape fails, cracks, etc.... We were advised not to fix the roof until after the town inspector comes, so that is going to happen by the end of the month. We actually had some pieces of sheetrock on the ground by our front door the other day when it rained, so we are past due on that. The solar guys took pictures on our roof today and I will be adding those to the complaint. I had taken interior shots of the damage before, but now I will have those from above. He says they are quite obvious when standing on the roof, so we shall see once he forwards them to me. As for my client with the nice kitchen and ugly cab doors... in the meantime, his older style large screen not-flat tv died and when he removed it from the den he saw that the heat from it cooked the wallpaper, so that is coming down (Yay!)and he will put up new sheetrock. While he is at it, he will remove the cedar planking that was on one wall (also, Yay!). When they moved the tv out and moved some stuff around, the cherry den floor started to buckle and by the end of the day, it was obvious it could not be fixed. It was a 5 year old floor installed with a special glue and was supposed to be bulletproof. The owner was skeptical, but they swore at the store that he could put wood on a slab floor if they used the right glue (i.e. $200 a bucket x 2) but they were dead wrong. So a new floor will be going in too. He had also agreed to remove some wallpaper borders and install crown moldings to modernize the look some in the foyer and upstairs hallway. So, with all this work on his hands (a retired contractor with a contractor son) the cab doors issue is on hold for a few days. He is out of town for another day or 2 fishing, so I will get him back in focus when he returns. I think the new doors would turn a negative into a positive. It may not become a magazine worthy kitchen, but since the size, layout, appliances, floor, windows, and bs are all really good, and the current cab doors are ugly, it will move it from an overall 4 to a 7-8. Thanks for the good thoughts about our hopefully soon resolution. It will mean the start of phase 2, with all the chaos and upheaval that will bring, but at least it will finally be nice all around. You can't imagine how much we appreciate the new screen door and doorway. I may even be allowed to hook up my stove finally! The last time I had a stove to cook on at home was 12/10/2010! I have gotten an electric tea kettle and a 5 in 1 cooker (great for pasta and rice) recently, so it has gotten better, but I should not need an army of kitchen electrics to cover for not having a working stove in a new kitchen, esp after what we have paid for it! Once we are back to renovating (shudder) I know I will be here frequently again. I just needed some time to be working on other projects and not stressing over our not done house for a while. We feel like we moved forward on some small stuff and are about to leap forward on the rest very soon. It was tough feeling so stuck for a while....See Morescherr's rta cabinets or other custom rta cabinets
Comments (9)We're in the middle of assembling a Scherr's kitchen now. We had planned on an IKEA/Scherr's combo for a long time, but in the end felt that our tiny kitchen would be best served by going the all-Scherr's route, so we could customize things as needed (and because the closest IKEA is almost 5 hours away). We ordered sample doors (unpainted and two wood types) and went back and forth with Leon, the owner, over the details. When we were finally ready to place an order in late October, the lead time was 10-12 weeks. However, there was a last minute cancellation/delay of an east coast Scherr's project due to Hurricane Sandy, so Leon pushed us up and we got our cabinets in 4 weeks. Cost for our 10x10ish kitchen was a couple thousand more than IKEA and a couple thousand less than a local cabinetmaker (also frameless cabs). As I said, we're still sorting through all of the boxes and assembling cabinets, but communication and customer service have been great so far....See MoreWhere can I buy IKEA Ramsjo white cabinet doors? (help!)
Comments (24)Hey everyone... I had the same exact problem. Some of the thermofoil doors/cabinets started to peel on about 4-5 of my doors. I found a company that is amazing from California. I live in Boston but wanted to provide this info as they so far have been the best fix I could come by. The website is below: http://www.cabinetnow.com I purchased the Artesia RTF Cabinet Door - Frosty Satin White to match and then had the TSQ cut corner. I've attached a picture of the replacements. In my kitchen...can't noticed the difference. They also can do cabinet faces for the drawer fronts. It's the solid door front with TSQ edge. They will talk you through it. See attached photos. Hope this helps everyone with this same FRUSTRATING problem that I had. WAY better than replacing the entire kitchen cabinets! The second photo is an original next to a replacement. If you're staring at them you may notice a slight difference, but once up...seriously the same. Well worth it and reasonably priced. Shipped to my door. GOOD LUCK!...See Morehow to arrange the fridge panels & the above cabinet?? Ikea vs Scherrs
Comments (41)bbtrix, You're right about what I left out. I should have included the opposite wall in my posted layout but idk how to indicate a stud-bay pantry and pull-down table in floorplanner. I guess I could just put in a couple of lines with a note. We were still planning to do something like that, although maybe a narrow table with a stool underneath instead of a pull-down table (even though it would technically be in the way of traffic, we can deal with something that protrudes 12" or so). We probably can't do an under-cab MW just yet, as my youngest would probably spill stuff/burn himself, but in a couple years we could do that. I do want a few hooks and a place to put a couple pairs of shoes, but our front is our "main" entrance, or at least it's where we store more stuff. When we come in the back door, we are supposed to bring our shoes to the front, although we don't always do that (me too, not just the kids). We also have a closet and storage baskets in the front, so everything is *supposed* to be carried there. What hangs in the back is my apron and a few fleeces/windbreakers (and snow pants to drip/dry when we have snow but that's been sparse lately). So we need a little space for that, but not a ton. Sometimes I hang my purse in there out of reach of the cat, who finds the leather straps just right for chewing. That said, I am intrigued by the idea of the wall table on that *back wall* under the window in the next plan. If we did that, we could then use the space next to the stud-bay pantry for coats & shoes. And I didn't even know that Ikea made a fold-down table. I like the sound of a $40 table a lot better than a custom one. I wonder if I could put some fun contact paper on it so the whites wouldn't clash. That second layout is close to what I thought was The One, but several people here talked me out of having the fridge along that opposite wall next to the DR door. Even one of the people who originally suggested it changed her mind. Strong words were used. lol. I think I have officially abandoned that one. But this definitely gives me more to think about. Thank you so much!...See More- PRO
Renov8or
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago 
live_wire_oak
4 years ago- PRO
Renov8or
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago 
H202
4 years ago
Sammy
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago- PRO
Renov8or
4 years ago Sammy
4 years ago
jdesign_gw
4 years agoThe Ikea cabinet system is more than adequate to use as a base to achieve a very custom look. Yeah the backs are cardboard and the top stretchers are metal rails but when its all put together properly its fine. I prefer their metal drawers to the most likely cheap 1/2" birch plywood ones most cabinet lines will try to get away with. Here's an example, although highly modified, its Ikea underneath.
amander97
4 years ago- PRO
Renov8or
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoAmanda97, yes, I designed the kitchen, first in Google sketchup and then in the IKEA kitchen planner tool. (Both have YouTubes available that I found adequate. ) I had to do two iterations, because we didn't know how much of the wall we'd be able to remove until after demolition.
Bri, Wilson853, and Alanalinette, here are some more progress photos. The kitchen is fully functional now, we're just waiting on some doors to cabinets that had to be field fitted.
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Renov8or
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago - PRO
Renov8or
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoThe marble for the sideboard arrived today. The sideboard is constructed of 15"d IKEA boxes + custom maple shaker doors by Scherr's. The top is a remnant from the Paonazzo marble slabs, honed. The dining room is coming together and slowly but surely I'm checking off the punch list items.
Next up: Install the remaining doors, the brass shelf that will run along top of the length of the marble backsplash on the sink run, and the brass spot light pendants, per my design:
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Renov8or
4 years ago 
Iriny S
4 years ago- PRO
Renov8or
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago - PRO
Renov8or
4 years ago - PRO
Renov8or
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoSo, the lighting was delivered Friday, installed Saturday morning, and we had a renovation reveal party with all our neighbors Saturday night. Here are some shots from my mobile. We've been asked if our kitchen can be covered on some blogs/sites. I'll come back and post the professional photos when we get them.
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Renov8or
4 years ago Sammy
4 years agoamander97
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoWe live in an area where most people do custom kitchens ($1M+ houses). I mentioned Ikea bases and custom door to my contractor on Friday and he said they have cardboard backs and he's seen them sag. Thoughts? I haven't seen the cabinets in person at the Ikea store yet. I was going to compare pricing on Ikea+SemiHandmade and his RTA options and his semi-custom options. Floorplan attached for reference.
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Renov8or
4 years ago - PRO
Renov8or
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago@AMS, I'm sorry it has taken me so long to respond - I had to snap a few photos to show you.
Looks like the carpenter ran a 1x3 (probably cut-down toe kick) the full height of the narrow pantry. Then he installed the blum hinges (IKEA) to that. The door came with holes already bored by Scherr's. Photos:
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