“Just renovate the kitchen” - A throwaway line used by many real estate sales people. But what does it actually take to renovate a kitchen?

In 2016 I purchased an apartment in Redfern with my partner at the time (same guy I am now married to, so at least we can say we stayed together through renovating!) There aren’t too many ways you can add value to a one bedroom apartment, but upgrading the kitchen is certainly one option.

We had questions about:

What does it cost to do an IKEA kitchen renovation?
Is IKEA or Bunnings better for the kit option?
What are the steps and in what order do we need to do things?
Will it stand the test of time given we plan to own the apartment for the long term

It had a fifteen year old run down L shaped kitchen with no pantry. This is what the kitchen looked like when we purchased the property…

We were keen to renovate and so we headed off to an IKEA store. IKEA stores have full kitchen displays set up. For someone who is uncreative like myself, this is really helpful.

This is a photo of the instore kitchen design we decided we would base our design on. It also gives you a base indication of price in store.

The process of an IKEA kitchen renovation

Visit IKEA store and choose the 'style' of kitchen that you want to go with (you can customise everything, but easier if you have a base style)

Choose to either take your own measurements of existing kitchen, or have an IKEA representative come out and measure up for you (I did the home measurements because we were sticking with the same design and not relocating any appliances etc. If you do this, take photos so you can reference these when doing the design in store)
Book a design session where an IKEA rep will build your kitchen based on your measurements and preferred style - the IKEA software provides a 3D design (you can use the software yourself, but it is a little confusing). This is where you also can discuss ideas about drawers versus shelves, cupboards open to the left or right, how to maximise use of corner cupboards etc. Ask them about stock quantities if you are not yet ready to place the order.
Once the design is finalised, you book a time to 'order' the kitchen. The IKEA rep will check everything is in stock and do a once over on your design. Once you do the order, the IKEA policy is you pick it up ASAP or delivery is in the next few days, i.e. You cannot 'order' weeks in advance.
Choose delivery - the kitchen comes in many boxes etc and you do not want to be loading and unloading that yourself.
The IKEA software allows for your design to be instantly sent onto HiPages for installers to quote on installing your new kitchen. Highly recommend choosing an installer who does IKEA installs regularly - otherwise you will be in flatpack heaven with vague IKEA instructions to follow for days!

Removing the existing kitchen (you can pay the same installer to also do the demolition)

Technically you should have an electrician remove the oven and/or gas fitter remove the gas stove
Cupboards to be removed - we did this part ourselves and had a friend come around to help so it took about half a day
Remove splashback tiles (you need to get the wall to be flush to allow for the new tiles to go on a flat surface)
Remove flooring (if being re-tiled or floorboards)
Remember to book a council clean up and/or have a method of where you will responsibly dispose of your old kitchen
Give your neighbours a heads up on the noise

Replacing the floor tiles

This was a challenging one for us. It would require a lot of manual labour (which we needed to do ourselves as we didn’t have the budget to pay for it), but we knew it would make a huge difference. Removing the tiles took us two full days. While I’d never want to do it again, I am so pleased we did.

Old tile versus new tiles just installed (not yet cleaned as still ‘setting’ which is why it looks a little grainy)

Putting in the new kitchen

Delivery of new kitchen (do this before you do the flooring so that you don’t need to unnecessarily walk over the new floor). It comes in A LOT of boxes and packaging - see picture below.
If you want to paint the wall (especially if new cupboards will not exactly cover where old cupboards were), then you are best to paint the wall before the new cupboards go in
New flooring to go down (note: most new floor will need a few days to 'settle' before you can install the new kitchen)
IKEA cupboard & benchtop install (1 - 2 days with a hired IKEA installer)
Delivery of new appliances and install
Plumber attends to connect plumbing & waterproof sink area
Electrician attends to connect appliances
About 5 days after the bench top is installed (and it has 'settled'), you can have the splashback tiles installed by a tiler
To ensure the waterproofing and silicone seals fine, it is best if you don't use the tap or kitchen for a few days after it is all fully installed

What costs do you incur for an IKEA kitchen

These are the items that you will need to cover. See below for my exact costings.

Labor

Demolition (can do yourself)
IKEA kitchen designer in home (optional as you can do in store and the cost becomes a credit on your order)
Delivery of IKEA kitchen
Electrician and/or plumber to remove existing appliances
Electrician and/or plumber to connect new appliances
IKEA cupboard Installer
Floor installation
Splashback tiler

Goods

Costs to dispose of old kitchen (plus a lot of cardboard boxes) - council pick up, skip bin, or cost to dispose at local tip
New appliances (if you choose to not use the old ones) - exhaust fan, cooktop, oven, dishwasher, fridge
Cupboards & benchtop
Splashback tiles (can source from Beaumont Tiles, National Tiles etc).
New floor tiles or floorboards

Other things to know about installing an IKEA kitchen:

The IKEA kitchen won't include splashback tiles and you need to source these separately. If you like the tiles they have in store, ask for details and you can source these.
Doing the kitchen while you live in the property

The IKEA kitchen comes in many boxes and you need space to have these delivered and be unpacked. If you are living there you also need space to store all your kitchen items (because you will have demolished all the cupboards). If you have the option to install the kitchen before you move in, life will be more pleasant.
If you are there, ensure you have tarps/sheets to cover existing furniture and floor to avoid any damage
I did my renovation while we lived there but if I had my time again I would avoid that.

If you are replacing the flooring (or putting new flooring on top of existing flooring), consider if the height of the floor impacts any parts of the design
Airtasker is your friend if at any stage you need someone to come and help with any part of it. Also having an extra person on deck for the parts you do yourself to do a Bunnings run for anything you might need can be handy.
All up I would say allow 3 - 4 weeks from the start of demolition to the point you have a fully functioning kitchen again.

2017 cost to do an IKEA kitchen

This was on a one bedroom apartment so obviously costs would have increased now (and a one bed kitchen is not a huge sqm area for tiles) but this is what we paid:

New oven and cooktop for $1100 (didn't have a dishwasher)
IKEA kitchen cupboards, benchtop & exhaust fan $2300 (we got a decent discount here as the colour we choose was being discontinued - design is called METOD)
Installer costs $850 (two guys from HiPages and they did the whole install in one day)
New floor tiles $340 + tiler to install was $600
Splashback tiles $300 + tiler to install was $500
Plus plumber and electrician (don't have a record of what I paid for these)
We had a couple of friends help us with the demolition to save costs there

The finished product

We could not have been happier with the result we get, especially given the low cost. Also, seven years later and we’ve not had any issues with it at all. We also had our place revalued just after this (and about six months on from when we purchased it), and the valuation came in $50,000 over what we had paid. Not bad for a ~$6,000 IKEA kitchen reno project!

How to do an IKEA Kitchen Renovation