A kitchen is mostly boxes. IKEA’s are well made, cleverly fitted inside and sold in standard sizes, which is why so many people keep them and change only what you see: the doors, drawer fronts and panels. Those are the fronts, and a whole industry of independent makers builds them to fit IKEA cabinets.
What you keep, and what changes
- You keep IKEA’s cabinet boxes, drawers, inner drawers, pull-outs, shelves, hinges and organisers. All of it is standard, so you can add to it or rearrange it later.
- The maker builds the doors, drawer fronts, cover panels, toe kicks, fillers and any appliance panels, in the style, material and colour you choose.
Because IKEA cabinets are frameless, every front is full overlay: it covers the box completely with a fine, even gap to its neighbours. Shaker, slab, fluted, beaded and veneered fronts all work this way. What doesn’t work on IKEA boxes is a face-frame or inset kitchen, which needs a different kind of cabinet.
How a quote works
- Plan the kitchen in IKEA’s kitchen planner as normal, fronts included, so every cabinet gets the right sizes.
- Save the item list as a PDF. It lists each cabinet with its doors and drawer fronts, which is what makers quote from.
- Choose a style, material and colour, and note any panels, fillers or appliance fronts you need.
- Send it to a few makers and compare like for like: what’s included, the finish, drilling, lead time and delivery.
Our quote form reads the plan for you and sends one tidy request to the makers you pick.
Sizes and drilling
IKEA fronts are named by their nominal size in inches, such as 15 × 30. The real front is ⅛ inch smaller each way, so the gaps stay even. Makers know these sizes, and most pre-drill doors for IKEA’s concealed hinges and drawer fronts for IKEA’s drawers, so they fit straight on. Ask each maker which pieces they drill; panels and special pieces are often left plain.
Timing and what to buy from IKEA
Lead times vary a lot by maker and finish, from a few weeks for raw or laminate fronts to three or four months for some custom paint colours. Many people order the cabinets from IKEA without fronts, assemble them, and fit the custom fronts when they arrive. Ask your maker before removing fronts from the IKEA order: some prefer the full plan, fronts included, to quote from.
What about IKEA’s warranty?
IKEA’s kitchen warranty covers IKEA’s own parts. We haven’t found an IKEA statement about third-party fronts, so ask each maker about the warranty on their fronts, and check IKEA’s current terms for the cabinets.
Photos are illustrations of looks makers build, not the work of a particular maker.