IKEA kitchens are popular for one reason: they're cheap upfront. And I'll be honest — if you're on a very tight budget and you're happy to assemble everything yourself, IKEA can be a reasonable option. But there are significant trade-offs that most people don't consider until it's too late.

I'm Steve from SJB Trade Kitchens. I've been in the kitchen industry for over 20 years, and I've seen plenty of IKEA kitchens that looked great on day one but didn't hold up over time. Here's an honest comparison.

This is the fundamental difference. IKEA kitchens are flat-pack. Every unit arrives as a box of panels, screws, and instructions that you or your fitter has to assemble on site. This takes time, adds labour costs, and the finished result is never as strong as a rigid-built unit.

Flat-pack units rely on cam locks and dowels to hold them together. Over time, these can work loose — especially if the units are moved or adjusted during installation. A rigid-built unit is glued and pinned in the factory, creating a solid box that won't flex or rack.

Every SJB kitchen is rigid-built. Units arrive fully assembled, ready to be fixed to the wall and connected. Your fitter saves hours of assembly time, and the finished kitchen is stronger and more durable.

IKEA works in fixed sizes. Their base units come in set widths (typically 30, 40, 60, and 80cm), and there's no option for custom dimensions. If your room doesn't fit neatly into those sizes, you end up with large filler panels to bridge the gaps. While fillers are a standard part of any professional kitchen installation, IKEA's limited unit sizes often force you to use much wider fillers than necessary, which can waste valuable storage space.

SJB builds to order. We can make units to any width, height, or depth you need. This means your kitchen fits your room perfectly, with no wasted space. We still use fillers as standard where needed to ensure a proper fit against walls that may be out of square and to allow doors and drawers to open freely, but because we build to your specific dimensions, these are kept to a professional minimum. It's one of the biggest advantages of buying from a made-to-order manufacturer.

Carcasses: IKEA uses 18mm particleboard for their carcasses, which is decent. But their back panels are thin fibreboard — the same issue you find with many budget kitchens. At SJB, we use 18mm Egger or Kronospan board with 18mm backs throughout.

Doors: IKEA offers a range of door styles at various price points. Their budget doors are basic foil-wrapped panels. Our gloss doors are MDF with acrylic coating or lacquered. Our Painted Shaker doors are solid wood.

Hardware: IKEA uses their own-brand hinges and drawer runners. They're functional but not in the same league as Blum, which we fit as standard on every unit. The difference in feel and durability is noticeable from day one.

IKEA looks cheap on paper, but add up the real costs: assembly time (or paying a fitter to assemble), filler panels for non-standard gaps, upgrades to get decent soft-close hardware, and the shorter lifespan of flat-pack construction. The gap narrows significantly.

SJB kitchens are typically 30-50% cheaper than the big-name showroom brands, and our specification is higher than IKEA's. You get rigid-built units, Blum hardware, 18mm backs, and custom sizes — all included in the price.

If you want a kitchen that's built to last without the flat-pack compromises, give us a call on 0161 509 4221 or visit our showroom in Oldham.

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We offer a range of styles to suit any home — from solid wood Painted Shaker doors to sleek Handleless designs. All built on rigid 18mm carcasses with Blum soft-close as standard.