How modular is IKEA METOD?

dong ........ Metal rail for the "bench" you have from the tall 80s cabinet. for the 40 cm part it is missing........ since the small cabinet has a fixed "lid" at the top. I now assume that the worktop still fits on top.

Regarding the 1st problem.
Yes, the Hörda are more expensive, but also more finely crafted.
Downside is you cannot adjust the shelves and with fixed 3 small compartments only low items fit in.

Basically, swapping is possible.......... at least I wouldn’t think much about it......
The only thing here would be the back panel.

BUT...... cheapest solution:
If you now solve Problem 2 according to your suggestion and swap. That’s doable.
The 80 cm high cabinet provides the two rails for the "bench". You take the closed lid for the 40 drawer unit. It's installed inside anyway. Or you take one rail and go to a DIY store and get something equivalent.
You also keep the back panel from the 80x80 tall cabinet; it’s a two-piece – so foldable.
If you cut it in half, you have the back panel for the bench and 40 drawer cabinet.
Leftover is then the back panel of the small cabinet with 40x40.

Up top you have 2x 60x60 back panels and 2x 20x80 back panels.
You attach the 2x 60 to the then needed 60x80 cabinets........covers about 2/3 each.
From the 20x80 cabinet you cut off 20 cm each. That way you have 2x 20x20 cm and 2x 20x60 cm.
So for the 80 cabinets you have the missing 20x60 cm part. Place flush to cut and nail.
Now you still have 2x 20x20 cm and the 40x40 cm part from the small cabinet of the bench.
The bench part halved and you already have here the back panel tight with 1x 20 cm and 1x 40 cm as 20x60 cm.

Advantage - is cheap - since everything is present.
Disadvantage - cutting and of course you see the joints from the inside.
Alternatively, go to the DIY store and ask what cut back panels 2x 60x80 and 2x 20x60 cost.

I hope I didn’t write in a “dong”.......
and you can understand what I mean........

Bye Sabine

Hello Sabine,

thank you very much for your comprehensive feedback! However, these pictures are just a fictional kitchen example, as I wrote at the beginning – my planned kitchen would be located on four different walls, and honestly, I wasn’t in the mood for screenshots.

In fact, some aspects correspond to my planning, and even if you “only” save 20 euros, that is a) one more piece of furniture ( ) and b) I am not a fan of throwing away unused components. Replacing walls and floors would pretty much work out exactly in my case.

For example, with the bench: here I would want an 80-wide drawer, which is not planned that way. Hence this makeshift work. And the HÖRDA shelves are nicer, but for me the building does not match the rest. I also don’t like the fixed floor layout. (Especially since I would probably have it next to an equally open cabinet, and the differently thick walls would then be particularly noticeable.)

I will think over your suggestions with the back panels again. But since I use drawers, I might not even visit any, and the cabinets on the outer wall should remain free at the back anyway to prevent mold.

Best regards, Nörgli

A white-coated 3 mm HDF board for the back panel costs approximately €6 / m² when cut to size.

Replacing walls and floors would pretty much come out even in my case.

Did you immigrate from Austria and have you been trying to hide that until now?

Naaaaah, once Berlin, always Berlin! But apparently the large Viennese circle of friends leaves more traces than expected.