We just had an IKEA kitchen installed, so here's my assessment so far. Planning. The IKEA planning software is pretty easy to use, even without any prior experience with CAD/3D programs and despite some idiosyncrasies/bugs in it. Its 3D perspective is great for visualizing how your cabinets will look in your space, and it's really handy to have the entire IKEA cabinet inventory in the database to plug and play with different options. It also dynamically updates your cabinet order and recalculates the total cost depending on your selections--another nice feature. Ordering and payment. The IKEA kitchen sales people, as other have said, are mainly sales people. They seem to have some specialized knowledge of the kitchen products, but don't expect them to provide design assistance. You need to know exactly what you want. Make your list and check it twice! Our person at IKEA Emeryville was mostly competent, but there were were minor two goofs with our order: (1) He ordered two hinge dampers per door, when one is generally sufficient for all but the heaviest doors; and (2) he ordered two giant island cover panels instead of a bunch of smaller ones, which our installer/contractor later said wouldn't work. After placing our order, we walked over to the long line at the cash registers. When it was finally our turn, we gave our list to the cashier, who incorrectly told us to bring our order to the pickup area and pay there. When we went over to pickup, they said we had to pay at the cashier. Thankfully, when we complained that we were directed to go to pickup, they took note of the cashier who misdirected us and processed our payment without sending us back into the queue. Delivery. We had our order of 20 cabinets delivered by IKEA. It cost a bit more, but considering it was well over a ton and that we live on the third floor of a walk-up, it was a bargain. The delivery people were competent, considerate, and careful. They delivered in a middle of a heatwave and didn't charge us extra for the stairs, so we tipped them generously. There were over a hundred pieces, so I spent the better part of an afternoon verifying that the correct pieces were all accounted for. This was made harder by the fact that the same parts may appear more than once on your order sheet, rather than being grouped together. Resolving Order Issues. Four of the doors that were delivered were of the wrong style, so I ended up calling the customer service number to notify them of the error. (You have only a couple days to do this or else.) The call center is in Philadelphia, and our customer service rep handled the call well and seemed competent. The problem arose, however, when our case was handed over to the Emeryville, CA store where we made our purchases. The Emeryville IKEA was somehow responsible for calling us to confirm our new order in a couple of days, which they never did. When I called to inquire about my order status, they said that two doors were on their way to us via UPS. I told them there ought to be four doors, but they insisted that I had only ordered two, and that I had no further recourse. When I asked, if this meant that even though I paid for the four doors, and called the problem in using their protocols, that I wouldn't get what I paid for, she said yes. This is when my wife stepped in. She spoke to additional representatives and the customer service manager in Emeryville, all in vain. At one point, one of the reps had the audacity to claim that she herself had called me in the days after I placed the new order, and that I had confirmed the order of two doors. My wife said she had the call records to prove that was a lie. Finally, the rep gave in and said she'd order the two extra doors, but that if we had any other problems, that they would not help us any more! We were appalled that they would treat us like common criminals, having spent more than $5,000 in their store! We since learned that IKEA Emeryville is notorious for terrible customer service, and that Bay Area customers are advised to go to IKEA East Palo Alto for better service. Installation. We are not DIYers, so we ended up using an IKEA-recommended installer/general contractor. His bid came in only a tiny bit higher than our usual contractor, so we went with the IKEA guy, since he had much more experience with the cabinet system. He was really easy to work with, fast, and efficient. His experience modifying the cabinets for custom installations was also a bonus. His experience was most evident in assembly; one guy fully assembled all 20 cabinets in just a matter of hours! He said they do quite a bit of work installing cabinets from other manufacturers (they only get 33% of their business from IKEA), and IKEA is their favorite because it has the fewest manufacturing defects. Reflections. On the whole, our IKEA experience was positive. For the price, you get a nice looking, pretty decently constructed cabinet with really nice hardware and features (e.g., Blum hinges and glides). The styles and sizes may be limited, but we were able to find something we liked. We are really happy with the cabinet ergonomics, and most folks so far are surprised when they find out we used IKEA. I can't speak for the longevity, but there is some peace of mind from knowing there's a 25-year warranty behind the product. Our contractor, who does warranty work for IKEA, said he could vouch for IKEA, that they stand by their warranty. He said he once even did a warranty replacement of all the doors and cover panels in a kitchen for a customer who had a problem with a single, older door no longer being manufactured! Despite our bad customer service experience with the folks in Emeryville, we are still happy with the value we got for our money.

That's very near where we lived, and in truth I was shocked when I read that it sold for $7M -- I'd've thought more, like eight figures. We left there 4 years ago, so before the market tanked, and wow wow wow were houses, esp in PA and esp in that neighborhood tres cher! So based on my (delinquent) mindset, $7M seems like a steal. I remember when a gal in my Mommy & Me group bought a "fixer-upper" not too far from there on a much smaller lot for $5M+. Gulp. A (Special Needs Support Group) friend bought a 1,000 sq ft Eichler dump, I mean DUMP, in PA for $800K back in 2004 and it's now worth ~$1.1M just because of location. It's on a teeny-tiny lot but it's in Palo Alto, baby. Anyway, I liked the pictures and I really liked the green kitch because it has personality. It isn't like all the white kitchens out there (like mine, ahem). It stands out to me as being real and charming, and a little quirky. I cannot believe how much I am responding to it! Guess it really struck a chord .... Thx for sharing!

lovetorenovate, I just saw this post as I'm about to renovate my first rental property. I'm planning on IKEA cabinets in gray and cream. Can you tell me the kind of granite you selected and what level it was? I love that look. It sounds like you are an experienced rental manager so I'd especially appreciate your advice. I'm debating about appliances, whether to go gas or smoothtop electric, and what level to go with or even if I should go with late model used. I'd love more details about this rental unit if you will share! Thanks!

Seattle has become a sort of second Silicon Valley which has driven home prices to crazy levels as well, though not as crazy as Palo Alto. Because of the concentration of tech and industry here, salaries have also soared. An article in the Seattle Times a couple of days ago (September 14, 2018) had these two shocking statistics: 1. The median income for a couple with kids in Seattle is $161,000. 2. The number of families with an income of at least $200,000 is greater than the number making less than $50,000. It's a good place to be if you've lived here for decades and bought a house back then when you could get a very nice place for twice your annual income. If you've just moved here or aren't able to earn a spectacular income, it's a strain.