KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF of IKEA kitchens!!! 1.5 years construction site, 10 vacation days wasted, 4 assembly appointments, 2 planning appointments, 2 surveying appointments, broken electrical appliances, countless emails and telephone calls ... Kitchen still not free of defects, zero service, zero compensation, just trouble !!! I'm moving out of my apartment after just two years - IKEA (https://www.ikea.com/de/de/store/muenchen_eching/) still has not managed to finish the kitchen. I've lived here until the very end in a kitchen construction site with broken, blended worktops, falling out stove, gaps in the cabinets, broken electrical appliances and leaking sinks! In addition, I remain with € 300 uncompensated TV repair costs, because during assembly of the defective stove AND defective oven about 5x the fuse popped out, whereupon the TV mainboard was fried. I was always promised compensation during the 1.5 years until I actually wanted to claim it. For example, the clerk Ms. Sandra H. (customer service IKEA Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Eching) offered the option to withdraw from the purchase contract in an email pledged for defect removal costs of € 1,400, i.e. 38% of the purchase price (‘Of course you are also free to withdraw from the complete purchase contract." Email of Sandra H. from 19.09.18). When I wanted to take this a week later, the resignation was again denied ("This is smaller (legally ‘minor’) deviation from the agreed condition, which is why your client has no right of withdrawal and regarding a purchase price reduction , we consider here a reduction of 5% of the purchase price of the kitchen for appropriate.’ Email of Sandra H. from 27.09.18). The € 1,400 costs estimated by IKEA itself for defect removal are suddenly ‘legally minor’?!?! This customer-devaluing attrition strategy from IKEA customer service is absolutely inappropriate! In the meantime I have given up even with a lawyer involved, because I have to hand over the apartment to the new tenant - I have refused the offered 91 € impairment and remain on my kitchen defects and repair costs. I did not mention many annoying details in this summary. Should anyone still want to buy an IKEA kitchen at IKEA, here is my review of the appointment / assembly process, which she/he should plan with: - 11.05.2017 1.surveying appointment at home: normal - 15.05.2017 1.planing apptmt at IKEA: normal - 12.06.2017 1.installation apptmt at home: Planning error (measures copied incorrectly), broken kitchen appliances, broken TV, cabinet gaps, no worktop - 13.06.2017 2.planing apptmt at IKEA: complete replaning due to 40cm length planing error - 28.06.2017 2.installation apptmt: incorrect parts delivery, scratched, incorrectly cut worktop, broken rear wall - 04.07.2017 2.surveying apptmt: new measurement for worktop - 13.11.2017 3.installation apptmt: worktop supplied by 5cm too narrow - 02.06.2018 4.installation apptmt: worktop supplied by 2cm too wide & 2cm too short - about 12 repetitive hotline calls (always longer than 30min) including waiting loop - 10 WASTE HOLIDAYS - 26 Email pure for the coordination of the kitchen installation - 43 Email with IKEA "customer service" for the misclaimed "claim settlement" - 300 € collateral damage - Zero compensation (91 € were offered to me, which I refused)

Was reading back over earlier comments and it's funny because most of you guys like either the black or copper. LOL. Now no-one likes the black :o( I know most of you like the bronze - but I really don't. Sorry! Antique brass is nice but can't see to find any of the knobs I like in that tone as they only do the bronze or brushed brass/silver/matt black. Thought I was doing well to narrow the choice down but now you have all thrown me, LOL. trouble makers ;o) The reason I wanted black is because I didn't want handles at all. Thought this would be a discreet way of making them look less obvious. The shaker style looks beautiful and for me, better without handles but that wasn't an option for this style of unit I chose so I have to have them. I think if I don't go for black then I might have to go for silver (brushed or burnished if I can find any). Something I didn't want - but actually it will tie in with the rest of the appliances and then not clash with whatever splash-back I choose?

I don’t see why they should stain and have material flaking off. We’ve not fitted Zenith solid laminate but have fitted Evolve so perhaps that’s another option for you. All I can comment on Evolve is that they are hard, very hard when trying to cut them regarding fitting. Never had an complaints with the Evolve brand. Don’t forget wooden worktops need maintaining. Perhaps look at an alternative like Mirostone?

We have fitted Zenith once. Customer was happy with it. Haven’t had any further feedback and it has now been installed for around 6 months so I presume all is well and good. It is a very hard product to cut, so beware. As an alternative you could look at Fenix, Mirostone, Minerva or Dekton. All these should be fabricated and fitted by qualified fitters.