Renew kitchen fronts

Hi,

During my last visit to the Netherlands, they only told me that there would be no change this year. No specific date was given to me. I also fear that the sell-off will be limited. After the introduction of Metod in the respective country, Ikea is supposed to be able to supply Faktum spare parts for another two years. So I can well imagine that many things will be stored centrally, just in case there are still complaints. Was there a big Faktum discount campaign in Scandinavia before the introduction?

My dilemma still lies in which fronts are really robust. No matter whether I get them as a bargain or through the proximity to the border as a cheaper, self-made EU import, I have to live with what I choose now until the kitchen reaches the end of its life, but from my point of view, that should be in the next decade. The old Ärlig fronts, as already mentioned, are still quite okay, with signs of use, which I was able to repair with wood filler. It is only noticeable up close. What has always bothered me about the look is the processing of the foil at the top and bottom edge of the front, where the plastic is embedded. The foil there is so grooved or sawtooth-cut as if the cutter knife had a wavy blade. That does not look very high quality, but at the time it could not have been done differently price-wise. I would never have given the doors so long back then; I thought they would be done in three years at the latest. After nine years, the aforementioned grooves have neither swollen as feared, nor is the foil torn in the curves, which happened on two fronts just a few weeks after. They were replaced without any problems and the feared issue did not occur again. Only the fronts of the sink cabinet and dishwasher have swollen a bit from behind, but that is self-inflicted.

It would therefore be great to hear more experiences about your kitchen fronts.
So as already mentioned, our current favorites are
Abstrakt in white, maybe also gray,
or Sofielund, Ädel, and Norje from the wood or wood-look league.

Best regards

If I remember correctly, there was a 200 € discount per 1000 € Faktum. I still have the predecessor of ÄRLIG, which differed only by a thin gray line on the ABS edges of ÄRLIG. I have had the front since 1996 and still without any damage. There is also no fraying there. The edges of the melamine coating are cut very cleanly. Maybe you got a batch that was cut with a blunt saw blade. As far as I remember, my front as well as the corps were produced in Germany at that time. If there are no suitable FAKTUM fronts from IKEA anymore, you still have the option to buy from third-party companies.

My fronts were made in Spain, at least according to the stamp. But that doesn’t mean they work sloppily; rather, I believe that over eight years between ’96 and ’04, the specifications changed in order to maintain the prices. However, I probably have different deliveries, since I bought some cabinets in Germany and others in the Netherlands for cost reasons. Actually, it looks more like a perforation line, always nice small half-circles that reveal the chipboard. Maybe nine years ago they punched out the foils. Anyway, it is not a clean cut edge. That’s why it’s supposed to be something different now, but I’m just not sure what is at least as durable as Ärlig and looks a bit more elegant. I have already found the links with the other suppliers via search engines and calculated after reading about the Metod start in Norway. But quite decent prices came out of that. That’s why it definitely still has to be an original front. I doubt, because of the many articles online about foil fronts, that Abstrakt or Sofielund will stay nice for long without warping, bubbling, or whatever else is written about foil fronts from branded kitchens. I can only find nothing about Abstrakt. Does IKEA use a different manufacturing technique? I have a similar question about Norje: If Nexus had problems with peeling veneer or at least some complaints about it, does Norje perhaps have the same? Or is it unproblematic because oak is simply a harder wood than birch? IKEA only offers pure solid wood fronts (which are very robust and can be worked if necessary) without veneer filling with Fagerland, but that is too much like country style for me. So: Abstrakt, Sofielund, Norje, and Ädel.

So first of all Ärlig was melamine coating, has nothing to do with foil.

According to ikea.dk there was a Faktum promotion before Metod, but don’t ask me how many percent, I just wasn’t interested.

Norway also had a Faktum promotion, according to acquaintances, I was surprised because in Scandinavia (except DK) it still apparently applies, kitchen? Ikea or your local carpenter.

My mother has Nexus Birch, the new version without the beech frame, no problems with it. If veneer peels off I see two possibilities, poorly glued -> material/processing error or constant impacts on the edges (bobby cars have no business in the kitchen!), but in that case the wood on the edges should also dent and it becomes visible, which has nothing to do with a lack of glue.

So if you want to be sure with wood, then Ädel Birch, the frame is solid, only the cassette is veneer.
I personally find Norje cool and the veneer is really thick because of the subsequent rolling, but I can’t tell you anything about the glue on the edges.

Just finally, I think the Dutch also know exactly when Metod is coming just like here in D, but I wouldn’t say it either. I don’t tell my customers now don’t buy the car there will be a completely new model in 6, 8, 10 months with half the fuel consumption and much much better, that would be economic suicide. Only the community remains, e.g. here, and keep your own eyes and ears open.

Hello,

So first of all, honestly it was melamine coating, has nothing to do with foil.

At the time it was sold to me as melamine foil and not coated, whatever difference that makes in terms of the process technology.

Just to finish, I think the Dutch do know exactly when Metod comes just like here in Germany, but I wouldn’t say it either. I wouldn’t tell my customer now don’t buy the car because a completely new model with half the fuel consumption and much, much better will come in 6, 8, 10 months, that would be economic suicide. Only the community remains, for example here, and keep your eyes and ears open yourself.

That thought was not foreign to me.

Depending on the choice, it is important for us when NL switches and whether there will still be a discount.
So we take, for example, Norje, because for a wooden front it is really very modern and does not look like Oktoberfest at all:
Price for my fronts, while 9 Avsikt display cabinet doors remain
D 903 €
NL 498€
I can’t imagine that D will come below the regular NL price with discount.

For Ädel the price difference is only about 100 €, so there would also be something in D with a % if I didn’t sell everything off in NL and they were ahead of D.

For Abstrakt the price difference is 250 € and for Sofielund exactly like Norje 400 €.

But the question still remains which front it should now be?

Does nobody here have experience with Abstrakt? It is, besides Norje, my favorite. I still think that foil fronts, as long as they don’t peel off like Sofielund and Abstrakt, are easier to care for than wood or veneer, although of course if they are no longer anything they can be worked on.

Best regards

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At that time, it was sold to me as melamine foil and not coated, whatever difference that makes in terms of processing.
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Well, plastics are not exactly my passion to describe the differences, but according to the word I would assume that foil is thinner than layer. At least that’s how I remember Ärligfrint.

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Price for my fronts, whereas 9 Avsikt glass doors remain
D 903 €
NL 498 €
I can’t imagine that D with a discount will go below the regular NL price.

...

That’s already almost 45%.
If anything, I would speculate about 20% on Faktum. The good NL isn’t going anywhere, you just have to keep your nerves. So far, all changes have been at fixed dates, 01.02, 01.04, etc., and Metod was switched in Scandinavia exactly on a fixed date, so until Saturday we sell Faktum, from Monday Metod. The Danish Aktion for Faktum was definitely 4 weeks earlier on ikea.dk.
If I assume 20%, then the NL Norje fronts would only cost you 398.40 €, maybe as a small poker incentive.
Oh, and has anyone heard anything about Russia, China and Japan, they surely aren’t keeping Faktum, right?