This project started out feeling a bit chaotic: we were attempting to hang IKEA cabinets in our laundry room while also re-hooking the washer and dryer. Midway through both tasks we were stalled, and the best progress shot we had looked like this:
Fortunately, in the last 24 hours several last-minute pieces fell into place. The appliances are fully reinstalled (Sherry celebrated by dancing for twenty minutes with the baby in her arms) and all the cabinet doors are hung (more celebration, including singing). I’ll cover appliance installation details in a future post—connecting the overflow drain and washer pan required some effort—but today is focused on the cabinets.
We wanted to try IKEA cabinets since we’re considering them for a future kitchen remodel. They’re widely used and often appear in design magazines, but we’ve experimented with other routes in past homes: custom cabinetry before, and refinishing and repurposing used cabinets in another. Despite having a lot of IKEA furniture in our lives, we’d never tested their cabinetry. The laundry room felt like a good, lower-risk space to learn the process and decide whether IKEA is right for our kitchen.
We began with IKEA’s online Kitchen Planner to map the space. We’d used it previously to visualize a different kitchen and found it easy and free to use. The planner lacks a dryer option, so I substituted a dishwasher to keep dimensions realistic. Within a short time we had a plan and a printable shopping list to bring to the store.
The photo above shows the plan after an IKEA kitchen expert helped us fine-tune it. Arriving with an idea saved time, and consulting with an employee prevented unnecessary purchases—she pointed out items we didn’t need and suggested trim to conceal under-cabinet lighting, which we added at the last minute to improve visibility for treating stains.
While deciding on door styles at the store, we changed our minds. Online, the Ramsjo looked close to what we wanted, but in person it read as a whitewashed wood with pink undertones. The Adel, labeled “off-white,” appeared closer to the solid white look we wanted. It wasn’t perfectly stark white, but IKEA products tend to be slightly creamy.
Everything was in stock, so an hour and roughly $800 later we were packed and heading home—right into Friday afternoon traffic near I-95. Our trip, which normally takes two hours, stretched much longer when a truck spilled acid and the highway was closed. It turned into an unexpectedly long drive.
Once home, assembly began. We heard that assembling an IKEA kitchen is the most dreaded part, but with only three upper cabinets and one lower cabinet it wasn’t too bad. We assembled the three uppers in an assembly-line fashion, which sped things up.
The panels on the back required several nails each, which was the most time-consuming step, but nothing too difficult.
We were impressed with IKEA’s hanging system. Unlike traditional cabinets that screw directly into the wall, IKEA uppers hang from a metal rail installed into wall studs. That rail made alignment and installation much easier than some other methods we’ve used.
The rail comes as an 80″ piece, but we only needed space for three 24″ cabinets. The instructions suggested a hacksaw; we used a Dremel for a faster cut.
Deciding how high to hang the rail took planning because we’ll add crown molding to match the rest of the house. The cabinets attach a few inches down from the top, so we accounted for the molding height when marking placement.
I started by marking the center of the back wall and drawing a level line across. Because the rail would cover that line, I marked a second, more visible reference line above it and also located the studs so the screws would bite into solid wood.
Our wall was flat, so we could screw the rail directly into studs. If your wall is uneven, the instructions recommend shimming the rail.
With the rail secured, we inserted the bolts from which each cabinet frame would hang. The frames were light without shelves or doors, so a single person could lift and place them on the bolts. Sherry lifted one herself without breaking a sweat. We installed them one at a time—middle first, then right, then left—adjusting each with a metal clip and nut to level them.
After leveling, we clamped the cabinets together and drilled through peg holes to bolt them into one solid unit, which eliminated gaps. I initially drilled the wrong hole (one reserved for door hardware), but it was easy to correct by re-drilling in the proper top and bottom holes and securing them with the supplied screws.
The final step for the backs was snapping on white plastic caps to cover the hanging hardware.
With the three uppers installed they already improved storage and function, though they still needed side filler pieces, crown molding, shelves, and doors to look finished.
Adding doors was straightforward: IKEA’s hinges attach by pressure and include adjustment screws. Our first door fit well without touching the frame.
The downside was color. The Adel fronts read cream in person—several shades darker than the Simply White trim that runs through our house. After some research we discovered another IKEA door style, Lidingo, is frequently noted to match Benjamin Moore’s Simply White much more closely. We hadn’t noticed that at the store because online photos can be misleading; the matching paint swatches look very different than the product photos.
We paused door installation and planned a return trip, which felt like a hassle given traffic memories. By luck, my parents were visiting family in Northern Virginia and were able to swing by IKEA on their way home to pick up Lidingo doors for us. The Lidingo doors are a clear improvement over the Adels and look much closer to our home’s trim color. We even sat the base cabinet in place—it still needs to be fastened to the wall and finished with trim, hardware, a countertop, and a toe kick.
There’s still a fair amount to do: fill nail holes, add crown molding, install shelves and hardware, attach the base cabinet permanently, and add a countertop (we’re planning a butcher block to warm up the white). Those finishing details will make the room come together, and we’re excited to tackle them.
We’ll return the unopened doors and drawer fronts from the first color on our next trip through the area. For now, we’re just relieved to be doing laundry at home again and happy with the progress on this room.