Martha Stewart Cabinets offers a premium, high-quality cabinetry line with timeless-to-modern designs and extensive customization options sold through specialty kitchen retailers. In contrast, IKEA provides a highly affordable, modern cabinet system that comes flat-packed for DIY assembly and is geared toward budget-conscious homeowners. The primary differences lie in price, materials, quality, and the overall shopping and installation experience.
Let's compare everything you need to know to choose the right kitchen cabinets for your home remodel.
Martha Stewart Cabinets: The Timeless, High-End Option
The Martha Stewart Cabinet line is known for its classic style, durable construction, and attention to detail. Aimed at homeowners who plan to invest in a polished, long-lasting kitchen, this brand emphasizes sophisticated design and allows for a high degree of personalization. These are not flat-pack cabinets, they're high-quality pieces you buy through a professional design process with a dedicated retailer.
- Product mix: Primarily high-end kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, including base cabinets, wall cabinets, pantry units, and islands.
- Style/vibe: Timeless and versatile, ranging from classic shaker designs to modern flat-panel doors. The aesthetic is sophisticated and refined, featuring a broad palette of painted, stained, and glazed finishes.
- Price point: Mid-to-high end. Expect base cabinets to start around $300–$500 per linear foot. The final cost increases with premium finishes, custom sizing, and hardware upgrades.
- Quality & Materials: Constructed with superior materials like solid wood, plywood, or furniture-grade MDF. Features like soft-close hinges and full-extension dovetailed drawers are common, ensuring long-term durability.
- Customization: This is a key strength. Options for custom orders through partner retailers allow for precise fitting in unique or complex kitchen layouts. A wide array of finishes and hardware creates a bespoke look.
- Shopping Experience: Sold through authorized kitchen dealers and official showrooms. The process is hands-on, involving personalized design consultations, professional measurements, and expert installation guidance.
- Sustainability: The brand emphasizes responsible sourcing, with some collections featuring FSC-certified wood and finishes that meet environmental standards.
Martha Stewart Cabinets are an excellent choice for homeowners looking for a durable, customized kitchen with a sophisticated aesthetic and are willing to invest accordingly.
Shop Martha Stewart Cabinets: marthastewart.com
IKEA: The Budget-Friendly, DIY Solution
IKEA is a global leader in affordable home furnishings, and its kitchen cabinet system is one of its most popular offerings. Known for modern Scandinavian design, modular functionality, and flat-pack delivery, IKEA kitchens are a go-to for DIY renovators, landlords, and first-time homeowners. The brand provides powerful online planning tools to help customers design and build a functional, stylish kitchen on a tight budget.
- Product mix: Extensive modular kitchen cabinet system (SEKTION) including frames, doors, drawers, hardware, countertops, lighting, and appliances. IKEA offers a complete kitchen ecosystem.
- Style/vibe: Predominantly modern, minimalist, and Scandinavian. Styles are characterized by clean lines, simple hardware, and a range of finishes from matte white and high-gloss gray to wood-effect laminates.
- Price point: Highly affordable. Base cabinets typically start between $70–$150 per linear foot, making it one of the most budget-friendly options on the market.
- Quality & Materials: Primarily made from particleboard and fiberboard with laminate or foil finishes. While not as robust as solid wood, they are functional and perform well for daily use for many years. Soft-close hinges come standard, which is a great feature for the price.
- Customization: Highly modular, allowing for countless configurations. Customers can mix and match drawer fronts, doors, and hardware to achieve a personalized look within the standard sizing palette.
- Delivery & Assembly: Products are delivered flat-packed and require DIY assembly. IKEA's picture-based instructions are famous, but assembling an entire kitchen is a significant undertaking that many homeowners choose to hire out.
- Shopping Experience: Primarily self-service. Customers use online planning tools to design their kitchen, then purchase items in-store or online. In-store showrooms allow you to see and touch everything before buying.
- Sustainability: IKEA has strong commitments to sustainability, using a high percentage of FSC-certified wood and recycled materials in their products and promoting energy-efficient manufacturing processes.
IKEA delivers exceptional value for those comfortable with a DIY approach and who prefer a clean, modern aesthetic for their home.
Shop IKEA: ikea.com
Martha Stewart Cabinets vs. IKEA Comparison
Price Comparison
There is a substantial price gap between these two brands. IKEA is the clear winner on affordability, with cabinets starting around $70–$150 per linear foot. This allows homeowners to complete a full kitchen renovation for a few thousand dollars, making it accessible for nearly any budget.
Martha Stewart Cabinets are a significant step up in cost, starting at $300–$500 per linear foot. This positions them as a premium investment for homeowners who prioritize higher-quality materials and a more traditional purchasing experience with professional design support.
Quality & Construction
Martha Stewart Cabinets excel in this area. Built with materials like solid wood and plywood, their cabinets are designed for long-term durability. The craftsmanship resists warping and heavy daily wear better than mass-market options. Features like dovetailed drawer boxes and high-quality finishes create a product that feels and looks substantial.
IKEA cabinets are made from particleboard cores with laminate, foil, or paint finishes. While functional for average use and surprisingly durable given their price tag, they are more susceptible to water damage and chipping over time compared to solid wood or plywood constructions. IKEA's quality is excellent for its price point but doesn't compete with the premium build of the Martha Stewart line.
Style & Aesthetic
Martha Stewart Cabinets cater to a more timeless, elegant aesthetic. They offer a diverse range of styles, from classic shaker that fits a modern farmhouse look to traditional raised-panel doors and sleek modern options. With a wide selection of paint, stain, and glaze finishes, the collection allows you to create a more customized, high-end design that integrates seamlessly into upscale homes.
IKEA’s look is distinctly modern and European. The aesthetic is defined by minimalist, flat-panel doors and simple, clean lines. While IKEA has introduced some more traditional shaker-style fronts (the AXSTAD and LERHYTTAN lines, for example), its core strength remains in contemporary design. If you're looking for a state-of-the-art, Scandinavian, or minimalist kitchen, IKEA’s style is a perfect fit.
Fit, Sizing & Customization
For custom jobs or kitchens with unusual dimensions, Martha Stewart Cabinets have the upper hand. Sold through designers and cabinet retailers, the brand offers a wider range of standard sizes and the ability to order custom dimensions ensures a precise, professional fit.
IKEA’s system is entirely modular and based on a set of standard cabinet box sizes. This system is brilliantly flexible for standard layouts and allows for easy planning, but it can be restrictive if you have awkward corners or need non-standard widths. Working around these limitations often requires filler panels or creative DIY solutions.
Shopping Experience
The experiences of buying kitchen cabinets from these two brands are entirely different. Purchasing Martha Stewart Cabinets involves working with a kitchen designer at a showroom. You receive personalized attention, professional advice, and expert layout services, resulting in a guided, high-touch process that leads through to professional installation.
Shopping at IKEA is a self-guided journey. You're responsible for measuring your space, using IKEA’s online 3D planner to design your layout, generating an item list, and placing the order. The entire process relies on your own efforts, capped off by the famous - or infamous - DIY assembly requiring time and patience.
Which One Should You Choose?
The right choice depends entirely on your budget, style preferences, and how much hands-on work you're willing to do. Both brands can deliver a beautiful kitchen, but they serve very different needs.
Choose Martha Stewart Cabinets if:
- You have a healthy budget and view your kitchen as a long-term investment.
- You prioritize higher-quality materials like solid wood and plywood for durability.
- You want a timeless, classic, or highly specific design that requires custom finishes and sizing.
- You want professional guidance and a full-service experience from design to installation.
Choose IKEA if:
- You are renovating on a tight budget and want the biggest bang for your buck.
- You love a modern, clean, and minimalist design aesthetic.
- You are comfortable with DIY assembly or have a contractor to handle installation.
- Your kitchen has a relatively standard layout that fits a modular system.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Martha Stewart Cabinets more expensive than IKEA?
Yes, significantly. Martha Stewart products fall into the mid-to-high-end cabinet market, with costs starting around $300-$500 per linear foot. IKEA is one of the most affordable options available, starting at just $70-$150 per linear foot.
Which brand has better quality cabinets?
Martha Stewart Cabinets are made with objectively better and more durable materials, such as solid wood and plywood for frames and doors. IKEA uses particleboard, which is very functional for its cost but is less durable and robust over the long term, especially against moisture.
Which cabinets will last longer?
Properly maintained, an IKEA kitchen can last 10-20 years or more. A Martha Stewart kitchen, with its superior materials and construction, is built to last much longer, making it more of a permanent fixture in the home.
Can I customize IKEA kitchen cabinets?
Yes, within IKEA's modular system. You can choose from numerous door and drawer front styles, finishes, and combinations of hardware. However, you are limited to their standard cabinet box sizes. Companies like Semihandmade also make custom doors specifically designed for IKEA boxes to expand visual customization.
Where can I buy Martha Stewart Cabinets?
You cannot buy them in a dedicated brand store. Martha Stewart Cabinets are sold through a network of authorized kitchen retailers and specialized showrooms, such as The Home Depot, in some of their past partnerships.
Is IKEA a good choice for a kitchen remodel?
Absolutely. For thousands of homeowners, IKEA is an excellent choice for a kitchen remodel due to its incredible value, stylish modern look, and modular flexibility. As long as you are prepared for the DIY assembly or budget for a third-party installer, it can yield a fantastic result.
Who actually makes Martha Stewart cabinets?
The Martha Stewart brand name is licensed to high-quality manufacturers. In the past, they have partnered with major cabinet makers like MasterBrand Cabinets to produce the lines sold in retail stores.
Are IKEA cabinets hard to assemble?
This depends on your experience. The individual cabinets are relatively easy to assemble thanks to clear, picture-based instructions. However, installing an entire kitchen - leveling and securing cabinets, cutting filler pieces, and adding countertops - is a major project that can be challenging for a novice.
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