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10 reasons why METOD is IKEA’s best kitchen yet
IKEA's kitchens got that much better with the launch of their latest system, METOD - and it's just arrived in Australia. They're calling it a 'breakthrough' in kitchen design; I'm calling it 'bloody awesome', having become an IKEA kitchen convert when we bought one last year.
Affordability was probably the major factor when we decided to buy an IKEA kitchen. We bought it on the last day of their big kitchen sale, so it was insanely reasonable. We still haven't finished it (yes, we've been living with a half-done mess for more than 12 months - don't ask!), but we're genuinely loving so much about the useability of our kitchen, even if we do have wires and cables hanging out of the wall.
So you can understand that I'm feeling ever-so-slightly pained that while we've been living with a half a kitchen, IKEA's gone and launched an amazing new system. And now I'm wishing I could start all over again.
So let me cut to the chase with the 10 things that IKEA have done to make METOD their best kitchen system yet. (And I'll try to restrain my envy.)
1. It's like building with blocks. METOD cabinets are simple and modular, with even 20cm increments for width and height.
2. More freedom when planning cabinets, doors and drawers. For instance, an 80cm cabinet can have two 40cm drawer fronts that open to reveal additional inner drawers.
3. New smooth melamine cabinet finishes in white or black-brown. This means that METOD cabinets can be used without cover panels. And you can cover those ugly pre-drilled holes with new cover caps.
4. Integrated LED lighting. This is pretty genius, and the one feature I wish I had in my 'old' IKEA kitchen. In METOD, they've fitted the lighting systems into the new worktops, cabinets and drawers, and all the cables are hidden behind cabinets. There’s a new wireless control, too.
5. One-person installation. IKEA have developed a new suspension rail for cabinet installation. Apparently you just attach the rail to the wall, hang the cabinets and then lock them in place.
I have to say, the installation stage of our kitchen was the most painful part, and we even hired someone to do it for us. But our kitchen doesn't have the most straight-forward design, as we live a pole house and we had to design our kitchen cabinetry around the timber poles.
There is absolutely no way we could have managed installing the kitchen on our own. I wonder how much of a difference METOD's new suspension rail would have made to our installation? I'm guessing not much. It sounds like METOD might be easier to install for DIY-ers with a more conventional kitchen design.
6. More flexibility to customise your kitchen style. With drawer heights as small as 10cm and door fronts as tall as 200cm, you can make your kitchen look as traditional or as modern as you like.
7. New base cabinet heights which create more space. The new 28cm legs mean you can have a lower worktop height, too.
8. Two new price classes of drawers — the soft-closing, fully-opening MAXIMERA and the super affordable FÖRVARA. I have to admit: I really love my soft-closing drawers in my 'old' IKEA kitchen, and they're so much more affordable than the quotes I got from custom kitchen suppliers. Full-marks for IKEA's drawers!
9. New VARIERA drawer organisers in bamboo and high gloss plastic.
10. More storage space in base cabinets. IKEA have lowered their standard plinth in METOD from 16cm to 8cm. Sounds simple, but it makes a huge difference.
Check out the new IKEA METOD kitchen for yourself - online or in store. And one day, I promise, we will finish our kitchen. We just need to tile the splashback, replace the windows, finish the carpentry and paint the ceiling. And then naturally, I'll blog all about it. It shall be entitled 'The Epic Diary of An IKEA Kitchen Renovation'. One day...
All photography courtesy of IKEA.
IKEA's kitchens got that much better with the launch of their latest system, METOD - and it's just arrived in Australia. They're calling it a 'breakthrough' in kitchen design; I'm calling it 'bloody awesome', having become an IKEA kitchen convert when we bought one last year.
Affordability was probably the major factor when we decided to buy an IKEA kitchen. We bought it on the last day of their big kitchen sale, so it was insanely reasonable. We still haven't finished it (yes, we've been living with a half-done mess for more than 12 months - don't ask!), but we're genuinely loving so much about the useability of our kitchen, even if we do have wires and cables hanging out of the wall.
So you can understand that I'm feeling ever-so-slightly pained that while we've been living with a half a kitchen, IKEA's gone and launched an amazing new system. And now I'm wishing I could start all over again.
So let me cut to the chase with the 10 things that IKEA have done to make METOD their best kitchen system yet. (And I'll try to restrain my envy.)
1. It's like building with blocks. METOD cabinets are simple and modular, with even 20cm increments for width and height.
2. More freedom when planning cabinets, doors and drawers. For instance, an 80cm cabinet can have two 40cm drawer fronts that open to reveal additional inner drawers.
3. New smooth melamine cabinet finishes in white or black-brown. This means that METOD cabinets can be used without cover panels. And you can cover those ugly pre-drilled holes with new cover caps.
4. Integrated LED lighting. This is pretty genius, and the one feature I wish I had in my 'old' IKEA kitchen. In METOD, they've fitted the lighting systems into the new worktops, cabinets and drawers, and all the cables are hidden behind cabinets. There’s a new wireless control, too.
5. One-person installation. IKEA have developed a new suspension rail for cabinet installation. Apparently you just attach the rail to the wall, hang the cabinets and then lock them in place.
I have to say, the installation stage of our kitchen was the most painful part, and we even hired someone to do it for us. But our kitchen doesn't have the most straight-forward design, as we live a pole house and we had to design our kitchen cabinetry around the timber poles.
There is absolutely no way we could have managed installing the kitchen on our own. I wonder how much of a difference METOD's new suspension rail would have made to our installation? I'm guessing not much. It sounds like METOD might be easier to install for DIY-ers with a more conventional kitchen design.
6. More flexibility to customise your kitchen style. With drawer heights as small as 10cm and door fronts as tall as 200cm, you can make your kitchen look as traditional or as modern as you like.
7. New base cabinet heights which create more space. The new 28cm legs mean you can have a lower worktop height, too.
8. Two new price classes of drawers — the soft-closing, fully-opening MAXIMERA and the super affordable FÖRVARA. I have to admit: I really love my soft-closing drawers in my 'old' IKEA kitchen, and they're so much more affordable than the quotes I got from custom kitchen suppliers. Full-marks for IKEA's drawers!
9. New VARIERA drawer organisers in bamboo and high gloss plastic.
10. More storage space in base cabinets. IKEA have lowered their standard plinth in METOD from 16cm to 8cm. Sounds simple, but it makes a huge difference.
Check out the new IKEA METOD kitchen for yourself - online or in store. And one day, I promise, we will finish our kitchen. We just need to tile the splashback, replace the windows, finish the carpentry and paint the ceiling. And then naturally, I'll blog all about it. It shall be entitled 'The Epic Diary of An IKEA Kitchen Renovation'. One day...
All photography courtesy of IKEA.
