Farewell Faktum, hello marvellous Metod

I’ve had to bid a fond farewell to a loyal friend this week after an 18 year close working relationship. We’ve been through thick and thin, long days and piles of cardboard, missing bits and too many legs. Faktum has been a stalwart since my very first property, many client homes and virtually all of our rentals, it’d probably be safe to say I’ve designed & installed over forty kitchens using those chunky white boxes and quite possibly used every style of door Ikea’s ever produced. Bye bye Faktum, it’s been fun and you’ve been a star but it’s time for a change. No longer will I be able to design a kitchen without even referring to the brochure, knowing every combination, height, depth and unit. I’ve got to make a new friend named Metod.

And guess what, I’ve already designed and bought one! A mini Metod this week, aided ably by Glen in Ikea Ashton and it was very exciting if a little mind blowing, apparently Ikea stopped counting when they got to 400,000 combinations. They gave me a sneaky peek into the new room sets being developed and they did indeed feel very different to previous room sets in lots of ways.

Main changes for the good, as noted by Team Moregeous:

• The buying experience is better, there’s more space, with large rooms sets incorporating working kitchens, you actually feel like you could be in someone’s home. Very aspirational.
• Metod looks more like furniture and less like a kitchen, which is very much on trend. Many of us yearn for open plan kitchen diners, incorporating huge islands, family living and brilliant storage
• Emphasis on super-sized islands with incorporated storage, often open fronted to enable gorgeous items, books and stylish kitchenware to be displayed

• Lots of hidden storage in large units – a very US / Scandi feel. This hasn’t been something I’ve seen a lot of in affordable UK kitchen ranges, it’s usually seen in expensive designer brands or where a clever designer has been at work. Large doors opening up to reveal cool internal shelving systems.
• Great new lighting options, lots of choice, plus an allowance has been made with the new Metod units for space for cables etc

• A very linear feel with increased options on sizes. New 10cm and 20cm units and drawers give an elongated, contemporary feel

Practical implications of Metod replacing Faktum:

• There’s a new frame / track system now which attaches to your walls and onto which the base and wall units fix. Very good idea this, keeps things in line and aids the fitter, plus gives space for electrical wiring.
• There are now lower skirtings, previously 17cm with Faktum, only 8cm high meaning the kitchen looks closer the the ground when a recessed plinth is used – a much more contemporary feel.
• This lower plinth height also gives the option of using a more traditional deco skirting style like the one in the grey kitchen above.
• What this reduced plinth height does mean is that the previous full height Faktum door, which was 70cm high, is now 8ocm high – crucially meaning that the new Metod doors will NOT fit the old Faktum system.
• For landlords like me, with properties having Faktum units in, this is a bit of a nightmare. I recently updated a 12yr old Ikea kitchen simply by replacing the doors and it looked amazing, like a new kitchen had been fitted. Soon, I won’t be able to do that as the old Faktum doors will be phased out. This upsets me as it’s the reason I’ve always been loyal to Ikea on rentals. A door got damaged, I could simply buy another one. This change to Metod is going to prove quite expensive. But, everything in life changes, so I better get over it!

Our mini-Metod was delivered this morning, I’ve chosen the new Brokhult pale walnut style panels and doors, like the ones above, and look forward to sharing some images in a couple of weeks when it’s fitted and finished in Project Pad.

In the meantime, here are some of Ikea’s inspirational Metod images to get your kitchen style tastebuds watering….

Love the clever combination of stairs & kitchen below, and the crisp white and walnut:

If dark & mysterious is more your thing, try mixing black traditional style doors with funky trompe l’oeil styling: Bang on trend for 2014 with bare brickwork, copper accents and vivid blues:A wider range of sizes means much more interesting cabinetry and storage design. Even if you need ladders to reach the pots 😉 When is a kitchen not a kitchen? When it looks like a library, obv. New mini drawers means a more streamlined life – get organise people! Funky coloured boxes give another non-kitchen look. I’ve bough two of the charcoal ones, looking forward to seeing them up!

See the range: HERE

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