Ikea Kitchen Upgrade: 8 Custom Cabinet Companies for the Ultimate Kitchen Hack

Love the price and functionality of Ikea kitchen components but not the cabinet front choices? An array of new companies is offering custom cabinet fronts to pair with Ikea’s kitchen systems. “Ikea cabinets are like building blocks,” says Finnish company A.S. Helsingö. “The quality is solid,” adds John McDonald, founder of SemiHandmade. “And we especially love their price; even with SemiHandmade doors, you’ll easily save 30 to 40 percent on the cost of a typical custom kitchen.”

With the bones of a kitchen from Ikea (who, by the way, source all hardware, hinges, and drawer slides from reputable company Blum) and customized fronts from one of the below seven companies, the high-low, semi-custom kitchen is more accessible than ever.

1. A.S. Helsingö

Above: Finnish company A.S. Helsingö offers oak cabinet fronts that coordinate with Ikea’s Metod system. Shown is the flush-panel Ingarö door made of oak veneer framed with solid oak rails. Also available: Samsö doors, which have a clean, seamless look, and Ensiö doors, which have a more traditional design. All cabinet fronts are available in smoked or natural oak or in a painted finish.

2. Superfront

Above: Superfront designs and manufactures doors for Ikea’s Metod and Faktum kitchens (shown is a Faktum kitchen with Superfront’s No Pattern Doors). Doors are available with or without pattern and in a range of color options. They’re made in maple or birch and can be customized with different hardware options. For more, see our post Superfront: An Instant Upgrade for Ikea Cabinets.

3. SemiHandmade

Above: LA-based company SemiHandmade designs a range of door fronts (shown here in Sarah Sherman Samuel’s kitchen are the SM Clay Shaker fronts) in natural wood, painted, and printed finishes that coordinate with Ikea’s cabinet boxes. “We offer low-priced doors that match Ikea prices and we have doors that are three times that much, but it’s worth it for people to get exactly what they want,” says founder John McDonald. For more, see Ikea Upgrade: The SemiHandmade Kitchen Remodel.

4. Dunsmuir

Above: Designers Jeff Madalena and Jason Gnewikow did a gut remodel of their Brooklyn kitchen working with Ikea cabinet boxes and Dunsmuir cabinet fronts. Dunsmuir designs custom fronts for Ikea kitchens that include end panels, appliance fronts, kicks, and spacers in everything from MDF to white oak and walnut. See more of the above kitchen in our post House Call: A Brooklyn Brownstone Goes Gothic.

5. Kokeena

Above: Kokeena, a company founded in Portland, Oregon, designs ready-made doors for Ikea’s Sektion, Akurum, and Godmorgon systems. Their offering includes The Minimalist (white painted slab doors), The Woodsman (wood-grain panel doors), and The Slabtown (textured laminate doors, shown).

6. Koak Design

Above: Designers Sandy and Frank Sonnemans of Netherlands-based Koak Design create Ikea kitchen and drawer fronts from European hardwoods. The fronts are available in a range of finishes from painted (shown) to whitewashed and black-stained. While based in the Netherlands, Koak Design does ship their kitchen doors internationally. Contact the company for more information.

7. Reform

Above: Danish company Reform offers architect-designed cabinet fronts for Ikea kitchens. They offer their own design, Basis, inspired by 1960s architecture, along with designs by firms Bjark Ingels Group, Henning Larsen Architecture, and Norm Architects (shown). For more, see our post High-Brow Hack: Norm Architects Reinvent the Ikea Kitchen.