Fantastic Find Fridays - IKEA Kitchen Planner

Welcome back to Fantastic Find Fridays! Today's find is something that I will probably treasure and use for, well, as long as we renovate or build houses. As you can read from the title, this find is the IKEA Kitchen Planner. We came across this gem when we were flipping our first house, and couldn't believe how easy it was to design and order a kitchen! We live in Winnipeg, and unfortunately IKEA has yet to make an appearance here (even though I keep hearing that it's coming...) so we figured that an IKEA kitchen would be a great selling feature. Although they've changed parts of the program (you used to download it straight to your computer, but now you do it all online - things like that), it's still just as easy to use and just as awesome. It might take a bit of getting used to, and figuring out all it's quirks, but let me tell you, it's definitely worth it - our first kitchen (appliances excluded) was a super cheap $3000 (approximately)!
So today I'm going to show and tell you a bit about it and how it works. It's fun even just to sit and plan your dream kitchen, whether you're planning a renovation or not!
Ok, first things first. I apologize in advance for the bad pictures. Then, after you've forgiven me, go to the website (here). And click on "IKEA Planning Tools":

 Click the big "Start" button and it will open a new window that looks like this:

This is where you want to add in your dimensions (top right side). At the bottom they also give pre-shaped designs that you can use and then alter accordingly.

Once you have the proper dimensions (and windows, partition walls, etc - which you put in by clicking on "Doors&Windows" or "Obstacles" under Room Layout) you're ready to start building!

Click on Kitchen (left side), and a large drop down menu will appear. This is where you can find all the cabinets. Like I said, you may have to fiddle around and find stuff, as I realize I'm not being very clear. Anyways, this screen shot (above) shows one cabinet placed against the wall. All you have to do is click on the picture of the cabinet and it appears on your floor plan. Then you can move it around to the proper location. On the right side it gives you options which you can change to suit your preferences.

Once you have something you think you like, you can check what it looks like in 3D (which is what I really like about this program). The first arrow on the above screenshot is pointing at what you click to bring you there. The second arrow is pointing at how you can move around (pan) the kitchen.

Once you're happy with your design, you can see what everything costs (the scary part)! On the left side menu at the bottom you will see "Your Selected Items." Click that, then click the one underneath it again. It will bring up a list of what you've placed in your kitchen, and at the very bottom, the grand total. This includes everything that comes with IKEA's cabinets - legs, plinth, hardware, screws, etc (unless you've specified otherwise). ACK! So CHEAP! Obviously, I don't normally think $7000 is cheap, but for a kitchen, and compared to custom kitchens - CHEAP! So after everything is said and done, save the design and it will be available at your nearest IKEA store for you to upload, and then order with their kitchen department staff. That's it that's all! Easy peasy.
And then, if you're like my husband, you can take it too far one step further and input your WHOLE HOUSE plan in order to have a 3D picture of what it would look like. Then I had some fun and added the design elements (flooring, furniture, wall paint, back splash tile, the fake tree, etc). It lets you do it all! Please note that this is not what our new house will look like.

Our first kitchen we did through this program was super awesome as well because the cabinets we ordered were being discontinued - cheapER! Here's what that one looked like:

 

This kitchen was small and such an odd layout that it was tough to figure out a functional plan. But we were happy with how it turned out, even if we only got to use it for about half a year.
Our next kitchen was a bit bigger and was easier to design. I desperately wanted a pantry, and I think that was the first cupboard that I put in. Everything else had to be designed around it. HAD. TO.
I still love this kitchen and will be sad to leave it behind, but hopefully our next one (which, obviously, we will be doing through IKEA again) will be the same or better. Here's what that one looks like:

Apparently this is the best picture I have of it. Please notice the nice big pantry cupboard on the left instead of the nice big mess on the counters and lack of trim on the window (which has since been cleaned and installed). Oh! And that open cupboard reminds me that all these doors are "angry wife cupboards" - which means they all come with those awesome stoppers that make the doors shut nice and quietly. But keep in mind that you will get used to this and will shut these doors a bit more forcefully than normal. So when you're visiting someone and go to get a glass from the cupboard, shut. their. doors. very. gently. Trust me.

Hope you have a Fantastic weekend!

-jes