With 20+ years of customizing and installing IKEA Kitchens & Bathrooms, how did John Webb Construction & Design get there? Was the launch of Dendra Doors more or less innevitable? How did John and his team learn to believe in IKEA quality and become some of the most skilled IKEA Kitchen installers in the greater Portland Metro Area?

We sit down with John Webb of John Webb Construction & Design to learn about how he and his team started to completely customize IKEA Kitchens as they became more familiar with their products.

“We started doing all custom work so I started doing my own custom overlays. Custom doors, custom panels, the same as IKEA, that go over the cabinets. They were just specialty, a few here and there. But, we’re custom builders, so we make anything anyway. Anything!

If we can’t buy it we make it. And the nice thing about IKEA is that the boxes are all a certain size. And, we modify them to make them anything you want when we’re doing custom panels and sizes. It’s always a good base that you can go and buy tomorrow, right off the rack, and get going. If you wanted to order cabinet doors and they didn’t have something you wanted, that’s something you can do.

As things progressed over the years, IKEA went to SEKTION, a new cabinet line, and they discontinued the AKURUM. The parts doubled. So lets say AKURUM had 2000 parts, SEKTION has 5000 parts. So, that means 5000 options. With drawers-in-drawers and slide-outs and sizes and how they’re stacked together. They simplified how they’re installed, the boxes are still nice, they have really nice German hardware, soft closes, and a good base price. All of which you could get tomorrow. And, you could buy all their drawers. Some of their doors I feel are a better quality than other.

The old solid wood butcherblock countertops were really good. Some of their things have gotten a little thinner and some of their countertops are not as well made. And, I’ve tried all of them. I have some in the house that are the laminate. And, we use those – they’re a nice thick cabinet counter. You just learn to seal things. You have to prepare. You have to think farther ahead of what could happen. And, you seal edges if your cutting with particleboard because water will damage it. But, the old solid wood butcherblock countertop was really quite nice and it was really well priced.

Everything they have it really just gets better. It’s thought out. Sometimes it’s simplified a little bit. You know, I like some of the doors better than the newer doors. I mean, I think that it’s a little bit of the appearance. And, after so much time I can tell how it’s all lasted, how it’s going to be more timeless and still looks great after all these years. I always get a little nervous when I try some of the new stuff. Is it going to hold up? I’ll try new products all the time in our own properties. Just to see how they wear and tear. I’ve had really good luck. 

Dendra Doors 

Archive Images from the IKEA MUSEUM

This Is IKEA

Posted June 24, 2022 by John Webb