How to Save Money on an IKEA Laundry Room Installation

Insider Tips from IKEA Installers on Saving Money During Your Laundry Room Design Installation

In this article:

• Learn about the different levels of DIY.
• Building cabinets and making a trip to IKEA can help you save.
• Doing DIY demo and cleanup may be easier than you think.
• A professional design is cost-effective.

If you’ve decided to use IKEA for your laundry room design, chances are affordability is important to you. IKEA is renowned for stocking on-trend products at a price that makes them accessible to most homeowners. However, most homeowners don’t want a laundry room design that looks like it came off the same shelf as their neighbor’s.

That’s where we come in. IKD designs custom IKEA laundry rooms that transform bland SEKTION cabinet combinations into functional systems that fit your family, lifestyle, and aesthetic. The best part is you might just enjoy spending time in your IKEA laundry room.

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Your IKEA Laundry Room Installation

Many of our customers are intimidated by the idea of tackling a laundry room renovation and installation on their own. IKEA products are for the DIYer, and our design packages spell out each step, from shopping lists to hack diagrams.

Some give it a try and find success with little or no help from professionals. Some want to buy the parts and come home one day to a beautiful new laundry room as if it happened by magic.

Then, there are those who are interested in what we call DIY light. These homeowners aren’t comfortable with tackling the whole project on their own, but they’d like to cut costs by performing minor tasks in their comfort zone throughout the renovation.

If DIY light sounds like something you’re interested in, then this article is for you. Many of our IKEA installers (which our customers can find by searching the Install Connect database), are more than happy to let the homeowners get involved in their IKEA laundry room project.

Below are four tips on making your IKEA installation affordable from Maryland IKEA installer Bill Shipley.

4 Tips to Save Money on an IKEA Laundry Room Installation

Picking Up IKEA Items Yourself: A Simple Cost Saver

If there is one thing we’ve learned from our design customers, you either love going to IKEA or hate it. However, by going to the store and picking up the items needed for your laundry room design, you’ll save at least $250 with this IKEA installer.

“We have a VIP service or white glove service where if your design plan has been solidified and finalized, we will go pick it up for you. Once it’s delivered, we will inventory everything to make sure it’s there, but that is an additional service.” –Bill Shipley, independent IKEA installer

In some cases, this may be the cheaper option for homeowners. If you have to rent a truck and take a day off work, then the white-glove service may benefit you. However, if you’re able to access a truck and have time to perform the task yourself, then you can save some cash.

Just make sure to complete the inventory step! Checking the items you’ve received against your laundry room design shopping list to ensure nothing is broken or missing is vital to your IKEA project’s success.

DIY Cabinet Assembly: A Smart Way to Reduce Costs

Most of our designs are created with IKEA SEKTION cabinets. Our customers enjoy the versatility, hackability, and internal design organization options SEKTION provides in their laundry rooms. However, these cabinets (like everything from IKEA) do not come pre-assembled. Either you’ll have to put them together, or your contractor will.

“We have pricing for assembly and installation, and we have pricing for handles and knobs. We also have pricing for tall cabinets. Our base and wall cabinets are pretty much the same pricing, but tall pantries and oven cabinets are at a different price point.” – Bill Shipley, independent IKEA installer

If you’ve assembled any IKEA furniture successfully, then you are up to the task. Assembling your own SEKTION cabinet boxes is an easy way to save money on your IKEA laundry room installation.

Save by Handling Your Own Demolition and Cleanup

If you’re willing to buy a pair of work gloves and get your hands dirty, you can save quite a bit of cash on your IKEA laundry room installation. Demolition can be a simple (but labor-intensive) task, especially if you aren’t changing the existing laundry room footprint.

We always recommend using professionals for any plumbing and electrical needs. However, moving appliances, removing old cabinets and flooring, and even sanding and painting are projects most homeowners can tackle independently.

“For all the other services, such as demo, disposal, flooring, painting, wall repair, lighting, and electrical, they all have set standards, but it scales depending on the work and the material.” –Bill Shipley, independent IKEA installer

If you speak with the contractor in advance, you may also be able to save by agreeing to clean up the job site yourself. It’s typically cheaper for a homeowner to make several trips to the landfill than to pay a contractor for dumpster rental and removal, as well as the labor cost involved.

Use a Professional Designer

Bill discusses why he prefers a design from a professional home designer rather than taking on projects based on a plan from the online IKEA home planner.

“It’s crucial to have solid measurements because it’s an awkward conversation to have with the homeowner to tell them the design is not going to work right. It’s a night and day difference when you have a well-annotated plan.” –Bill Shipley, independent IKEA designer

In an industry (like construction) where time is money, the ability to move forward without any unexpected complications is a natural money-saver.

“Being off a quarter of an inch doesn’t sound like a big deal to a homeowner, but it can ruin everything. Having plans that are highly annotated and accurate makes everything go much smoother. With a professional design, I can put my plans on the wall; I can pop my lines and determine which cabinets need a custom cut.” –Bill Shipley, independent IKEA designer

Common issues that Bill has experienced with the home planner, which aren’t problems when his customers choose IKD, include:

• Missing extra materials, like fillers.
• Having to return unnecessary extra items, like under cabinet lighting.
• The inability to show custom pieces, like open-faced base cabinets.

“If you don’t have a solid plan and you’re willing to go ahead and spend all this money on cabinetry, it tells me there’s a flaw in the process.” –Bill Shipley, independent IKEA designer

Supporting Semi-DIY Efforts in IKEA Laundry Room Makeovers

Unless you’re a very experienced DIYer, we wouldn’t recommend tackling an IKEA laundry room installation – or design – on your own. However, there are certain steps you can take to alleviate some of the cost associated with installation while achieving a laundry room that looks anything but cheap.