For remodelers looking to design a kitchen on a budget, Sektion—Ikea’s latest kitchen cabinet system (before Sektion, or Metod as it’s called in the EU, there was Akurum and Värde)—is a savior. It’s frameless, meaning the cabinet doors cover the entire front face of the cabinet, which makes it easy to swap out the fronts for a custom-on-the-outside, Ikea-on-the-inside project. Architects, designers, and contractors like them for their modularity, standard sizing, and affordability (the most expensive base cabinet is $413), and new companies offering stylish cabinet fronts have made the process easier than ever. One thing’s for sure: The stealth Ikea kitchen is on the rise—and here are 20 ways it’s being done.
Above: A Brooklyn kitchen has Ikea Sektion base cabinets fitted with custom doors of Chemetal Magnetic Chalkboard Laminate, Emtek Brass Trail Pulls, beveled subway tiles, and black honed granite countertops. For more, see Two Young Architects Tackle Their Own Brooklyn Townhouse. Above: A plywood-lined Ikea hack kitchen and biergarten table in a tiny beach house in Seasalter, England, belonging to Marcia Mihotich and Durrell Bishop, who rebuilt the kitchen using Ikea cabinet bases finished with plywood fronts, an Ikea stainless counter, sink, and Ikea appliances. For more, see Two London Creatives Shore Up a Tiny Beach House, Ikea Hack Kitchen Included. Above: “In my previous kitchen I had custom cabinets, Gaggenau appliances, Vola faucets—the whole high-end thing. This time, I decided to go the Ikea route, using their basic cabinet components,” says Amy Lindburg of her San Francisco kitchen remodel. Lindburg achieved the look by adding custom cabinet fronts from Reform made of powder-coated aluminum. For more, see Kitchen of the Week: A Glamorous Kitchen in San Francisco, Ikea Hacks Included. Above: Design firm White Arrow created a budget kitchen for Buzzfeed editor Peggy Wang in her Ridgewood, Queens, New York, remodel with Ikea cabinets and custom fronts by Scherr’s painted with Farrow & Ball. See Before and After: A Buzzfeed Founder’s Renovated Rowhouse, Budget Edition for the details.
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