Eco-modernism gets a nice mention on Positive Fanatic Unofficial IKEA® Web Journal

With all the pieces & parts that go into building a good kitchen, it’s nice to be able to get cabinets & appliances in one place. It’s also nice to know that with the built-in models like ovens and range hood, the cabinets will fit them. What else is good about IKEA® appliances?

• affordability: ranging in price from $100 to $1,950 for cooktops, ranges, range hoods, built-in ovens, dishwashers, microwaves, & refrigerators
• finishes: stainless steel, white, and anthracite (black-ish)
• serviceability: Whirlpool, the maker of the appliances in partnership with IKEA®, also services them
• warranties:
  • there is a 25 year limited warranty on AKURUM frames & fronts, RATIONELL & PERFEKT shelves, inserts & components for the cabinet systems, and on the freestanding BRAVAD & VARDE series
  • there is a 10 year limited warranty on all kitchen faucets except the LAGAN faucet

How about the current drawbacks?

• only the dishwashers have Energy Star Qualifications
• appliances are not covered under the 25 year limited warranty. It’s worth asking the store where the purchase is made whether warranties are available for your specific order.

Whirlpool?

With the exception of ranges (not cooktops) and refrigerators, Consumer Reports consistently ranks Whirlpool appliances within the top 10, and in many cases in the top 5 listings in reliability. A word of caution regarding Energy Star compliance: read the fine print.

Answer:

Basically it boils down to price and convenience of bundling kitchen components for purchase and delivery. You definitely can’t beat the price. For specialty appliances, like counter-depth refrigerators, for example, it’s probably better to buy independently.

Hey gang, we’ve just released our IKEA® run dates for 2009!

We opted out of a January run for a variety of reasons. Mainly because everyone will be recovering from holiday insanity and expenditure, and because Charlotte comes online in mid February, which is good news for all of us.  We get back quicker, and can more easily do an interim run in emergencies. Not to mention no more Richmond gauntlet. YAY.

Many thanks!

Thank you very, very much to everyone who made 2008 a success for both our runner service and for expanding our assembly, installation, and especially our design services. May you enjoy it for many years to come.

Here’s to 2009! Cheers!

Good news!

We’re going the extra mile to green all of our IKEA® cabinet installations by sealing them after assembly and before installation. Sealing does a couple of things:

• prevents outgassing of formaldehyde, ammonia, acetone, exempt solvents and odor masking agents used in particle board and plywood products
• waterproofs exposed particle board edges – this is especially critical in kitchen base cabinets, and in any cabinets installed in a moist environment

Additionally, Safecoat® itself has eliminated toxic ingredients that contribute to indoor air pollution, including solvents, heavy metals, and chemical residuals. They’ve been around over 25 years, too.

Green: It’s a continuum, not black or white

Greening building products (or anything, really) is not as simple as it sounds. There are many combinations of what can be done to make a design project environmentally lightweight.  In this case, the manufacturing process of the material itself may not be entirely green. But the local manufacturing of it *is* green, as is the transport in biodiesel vehicles, both of which IKEA® incorporates into its business operation.

By sealing IKEA® cabinet products with Safecoat®, we take it the last mile so you don’t have to. Being healthy and being modern can happily coexist.

Fresh off the wires!

We just got word that the IKEA® store in Charlotte will open February 18 at 9:00am. We may be more ecstatic than anyone else, since those trips to DC & back in a day were getting very long, especially with our increased order volume and kitchen design service requests.  We will announce our run dates for 2009 soon, so stay tuned!

The Charlotte location will shave 2 hours off our runner trips, so we can bring it back to Raleigh quicker.  Here are some store stats:

• 365,000 SF on 25 acre site off I-85 & City Boulevard ( Exit 54, if I remember correctly)
• 400-employee store will be Ikea’s first in the Carolinas and 36th in the United States
• it will stock 10,000 items
• it will have 49 room settings
• 350 seat restaurant, and more!

We did! IKEA discontinued plastic bags for shopper’s hauls at the register, & now offer the new reusable blue guys with handles. For a fifty-nine cent whopping pricetag. They’re heavy duty, too, and you can hang them on the flat cart handles as you shop. Great for smaller lighter stuff like pillows and kitchen utensils.

What else?

IKEA® also uses CFL bulbs in their stores, and partners with local recyclers to properly recycle mercury content from them and any other electrical components. More on IKEA® greenery here.

Zodiaq® is a DuPont product made of 93% quartz. It is non-porous, chemical resistant, and requires no sealants to retain its finish. It is, however, recommended that heat resistent trivets be used on its surface, as well as a cutting board for slicing.  It also comes in a gazillion colors.

What’s it have to do with IKEA®?

It’s now offered as an option for countertop surface from IKEA®, not only an additional option, but a green one, as well. IKEA® also offers wood and laminate surfaces. So good for them on building up their green quotient.

Grassroots Modern is running an Affordable Modern Kitchen Contest. Not surprisingly, many of the entries feature IKEA® cabinets. Yay for IKEA®! Things we also dig in the entries:

• horizontal wall cabinets
• aluminum framed glass wall cabinet doors
• aluminum color toe kicks
• under cabinet and interior cabinet lighting

Over the past 4 or so months, I’ve noticed a trend to delay kitchen renovations. Some of the reasons for that include:

• the economy: it’s tight, unpredictable, and folks want to be safe.
• the election: related to the economy, direction of government is no longer as much in question.
• the holiday season: it’s here, no doubt.
• indecision: uncertainty about design, budget, duration of the project

Actually, the only one of those things we can’t do anything about is the economy. The election’s a done deal. As for the budget and design conundrum, it may be worth a closer look. And maybe the holiday season is not the hurdle it appears to be. (Unless you have to spend it with your in-laws, with whom you share no common political ground. In that case, we really can’t help you.)

Budgeting for a remodel: look again

There is also an increasing trend to be more creative within kitchen design budgets. Two of my most recent clients opted to go with IKEA® cabinets in their remodel projects. The savings on the cabinets gave them more to play with for their countertops and appliances. One even decided to upgrade her master bathroom cabinets as well!

For $4,100, we were able to get 14 IKEA® cabinets for the kitchen and bath I designed, including:

• hardware and inserts,
• sinks,
• a dishwasher and
• over-the-range microwave
• assorted fixtures and fittings

She still has to get countertops and some other finishes like flooring, but what a fantastic price on the bulk of her remodeling components! Additionally, she was able to take advantage of a special 15% off sale, so timing was also an advantage. She opted to do most of the assembly herself, and is hiring out for the cabinet installation, plumbing and electrical, carpentry for wall adjustments. Not bad.

Bottom line: it’s entirely possible to significantly optimize costs within the design budget.

Still debating?

Check out our IKEA® Pros and Cons info in our post here. There we cover info about all IKEA® products, not just kitchen cabinets. Like everything else, IKEA® may not be for everyone. However, we seem to be finding no shortage of people who do love it.

Proudly Enabling the IKEA® Habit

That’s our new tagline! Countless people have written in, ecstatic that they can continue to get their IKEA® “fixes” in the Raleigh area, even without a store closer than a 4 hour drive away. So we thought the adjustment in the tagline was fitting.

[diagram images courtesy of jessica hagy and indexed]

SmartWay was launched by the EPA in 2004 to provide cleaner and more efficient transportation methods in the United States. Subsequently, SmartWay Transport was begun as a joint effort between the EPA and the freight industry — trucking companies, railroad carriers, maritime cargo — to achieve the same environmental and energy goals.

To become part of the program, the EPA ranks each freight carrier’s fuel efficiency methods and environmental performance. Penske’s 200,000-vehicle fleet received a 1.25 rating, the highest score possible. Penske’s cutting-edge fleet technology, as well as other fuel efficient strategies and ongoing education of customers and employees alike, helped it achieve the score.

Why it matters to Eco-Modernism

We’ve been leasing trucks and vans from Penske for our IKEA® runs to the DC IKEA® store. It would appear we selected a conscientious business truck leasing option. Nice little tidbit to add to the green factor of our making one trip for many instead of the other way around. [via the awesome MATTER blog]

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