Build your own dream kitchen
Ikea's adjustable sets will fit any space and meet any need
Ikea has unveiled a collection of kitchen furnishings that are “built-in” but, with adjustable patterns and sizes, can still be customised to fit your home and lifestyle.
Sold with the slogan “Transform your dream kitchen into a reality”, the Faktum kitchen line is nothing if not versatile, including cabinets in all heights and widths, frames for built-in ovens and microwaves and fully extending drawers that close slowly and quietly.
Anders Olofsson is a “kitchen specialist” at Ikea and for a decade ran an outlet in Oslo, the Norwegian capital. “This customised, built-in kitchen was very popular with families – we sold about 50 sets a day. And in Thailand there’s been good feedback and we’re now selling 100 sets per month. We guarantee the sinks for 10 years and the bench tops for 25 years – the quality is that good.”
Pongsakorn Pasatit, one of Ikea Thailand’s own kitchen experts, says the customised model is a great alternative for younger homemakers.
“They can be adjusted to fit any space, even if you live in a townhouse or a compact condominium,” he says. “We focus on function and reasonable prices. Starting with a table, cabinet and sink, customers can adapt and design by just following their imagination.”
The framing is coated in melamine and the bench tops are laminated particleboard that’s water-resistant and long lasting. The Bt41,970 pantry on offer looks clean, spacious and casually chic with white Applad cabinet doors. For parties, Olofsson recommends the Bt66,320 nude-tone kitchen with Abstrak high-gloss grey cabinet doors.
To encourage personalisation, Ikea lets you mix and match doors, colours and materials. The “soft-closing” cabinets, perfect for stowing tableware and seasonings, are also fitted out with holders for plates and drinking glasses.
The soft-closing drawers come with a creative Rationelle Variera insert to keep spice jars in perfect rows, while the wooden Rationell cutlery tray and aluminium drawer dividers organise cutlery in varying sizes.
Housewives will love the waste-sorting system under the sink. There are three bins made of polypropylene plastic for different kinds of recyclable items.
Appliances and lighting are sold separately.
“The Faktum kitchen is a smart solution,” Olofsson says. “It offers a lot of functions. The drawers can be adapted to organise your tools and accessories, you can choose the kinds of doors and materials, and you can match colours according to your preference.”
If it all sounds like too many choices, head to the design corner for some expert advice or
tap into the kitchen-planning software available for download on the Ikea website. The computer program starts with a guide to measuring your space and then leads you through the choices in cabinets and drawers.
“We also have a video on our Facebook page that demonstrates how to design and assemble a kitchen step by step,” says Olofsson, “and a 3D kitchen-planner program that lets you sketch out your own ideas.
“And, on top of that, we offer home delivery and a complete in-home assembly service.”
GET CREATIVE
>> Ikea is at the Mega Bangna mall and open daily from 10 to 10.
>> Until March 9, Ikea is running a kitchen-design competition on the “IKEAThailand” Facebook page. Post your design sketch for a chance
every week to have your dream kitchen assembled for free.
>> Get the design software at www.Ikea.co.th/kitchenplanner.
>>Find out more at (02) 708 7999 and www.Ikea.co.th/kitchen.
