Countertops get a lot of attention these days. The hype is all about quartz and granite. They can be very beautiful but also come with a hefty price tag. The average cost of a granite countertop including installation is around $3500.
In my dreams I would love these countertops!
SO pretty!
Erin Hoopes via Houzz
Okay back to real life, I don’t have that kind of money to spend on countertops and that’s okay. If you don’t like your countertops but don’t have near that amount to spend either never fear you can still achieve a beautiful, custom kitchen. Trumpets sound and enter IKEA countertops!
When we first moved into our home it had dark gray laminate countertops (pictured below). They were in good condition but with cherry cabinets and dark gray tile floors I knew we were going to have to replace them in order to lighten up the kitchen.
In our condo I had tried Rustoleum’s Transformation Countertops kit on our ugly laminate countertop. Although I liked the outcome better than what we had before, I found the product difficult to work with and the results too obviously fake. So much so that our realtor had us put in new countertops before we put it on the market!
So, when looking at options to change out our dark gray countertops I knew I wouldn’t be going down that road again. Thankfully I came across Ikea’s Pragel laminate countertop line. It comes in two sizes 73 inches for $59 or 96 inches for $69. I chose this white stone effect and have been very happy with it.
PRÄGEL
countertop
$59.00
Unit price
Length: 73 1/4 “, Depth: 25 5/8 “, Thickness: 1 1/2 ” Length: 186 cm, Depth: 65 cm, Thickness: 3.8 cm More options
It might be hard to tell from the pictures but it is off-white with brown and gray specks. It is heat and scratch resistant and has a nice rounded edge which helps conceal it true laminate identity. After almost two years I’ve had no stains or dings or other problems with it. So my review is that it’s a good, quality laminate.
If you don’t care for the white stone look they also have a black granite knockoff. Get the look these kitchens.
With these Pragel Ikea Countertops:
Mineral Effect
Stone Effect
White or black not your thing ? How about wood?
www.countryliving.com
www.ikea.com
Ikea’s thrifty Pragel line also boasts laminate wood effect countertops.
Walnut Effect
Light Oak Effect
I am not getting paid or have any relationship with Ikea. I just love a steal of a deal and this is one of them! Depending on your countertop total length you could get new, nice looking countertops for $69-$210. Can’t beat that!
For a little bit more money they also have butcher block wood countertops. The benefit of these is that you can stain them to your desired color and after they are sealed they can be paired with an undermount sink. With a Numerar your looking at $169 to $500. Not bad for beautiful countertops.
In my opinion the installment of these countertops could be done by even a novice DIY-er. I’m usually really good about doing my research but for some reason I just assumed this project would take power tools I didn’t have and that would be too expensive to buy. Since I’m like batman and work alone I was worried I wouldn’t have the muscle power to carry and move the counter top around so I hired out (something I very rarely do).
The person I hired brought his teenage son to help. It did seem like it was convenient to have a second pair of hands when moving the countertop around. They cut the hole for the sink by placing the counter up on two sturdy buckets, one on each side. At first he used a circular saw he brought but it gave out midway. He timidly asked if I might have a saw on hand. I told him apologetically that I only had a jig saw. Much to my surprise he declared that would be perfect. So he finished up cutting the hole with my $40 jig saw.
Doh!!! If I would have known I already had the tool I needed to cut the hole I would have done the countertops on my own and saved a couple hundred bucks. Oh well, doesn’t happen very often that I make that mistake and hopefully you will learn from it. Save your money and install it yourself! Here are some links for tutorials on installing Ikea countertops.
Anybody else want to share their experience with IKEA countertops?
For 9 More Insights on getting the Look for Less in the Kitchen, Click HERE.
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Your countertops look great with the white subway tile backsplash!
Woah!! That backsplash looks super nice. Who did that??
Love your blog and your humor 🙂
You asked me if I was looking at white princess and I couldn’t think at the time. It’s not that, but that granite is so pricey because it is so dang difficult to find! The one I am *planning* on getting is actually quartzite. Amazing! Hopefully our money tree blooms soon so I can go buy it!
Ashley, yes the backsplash does look good!:-). Thanks again for helping me with it. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have known how truly easy and do-able it is. I’m going to be tiling some more in the near future. Stay tuned…:-)
We had laminate Ikea countertops in our last kitchen. They were just great – they looked good and were totally heat resistant. We recently installed the Pragel Walnut countertop on our storage unit in the family room and they really look good. I’m a fan!
What a great idea to use them on furniture, C.K.! Thanks for commenting (twice)!:-)
We JUST got the white stone effect pragel installed. They were in the As-Is section for $25 each, so $50 later, new countertops! My father-in-law is a cabinet maker and took the counters to his shop to cut them to size. He was impressed by the quality, saying the rolled edge is difficult to do. And everyone at his shop was stunned to learn they weren’t stone or Corian.
Carol, what a steal! I’m so happy for you! I’ve had some people tell me they thought my countertops were corian too. A great locking, great quality product for a great price. Gotta love that!:-)
Thanks for the info! We’ll be doing a kitchen re-do at some point, and I want to keep it as frugal as possible. I’ll look into Ikea. 🙂
Definitely!:-)
your countertops look really nice! I’m impressed that they’re laminate; I’d never have guessed from the pictures :). We put in Ikea butcher block just before selling our last house….I loved it–wish I could have enjoyed it longer!
Thank you! Bummer you didn’t get to enjoy them longer but good to know you liked them! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Carol, your counters looks great. We have stained our kitchen cabinets a dark espresso color and have slate floors so we want a light countertop and the Ikea PRÄGEL white stone seems perfect, especially with our slate/glass/brown backsplash tile. BUT I have a concern… we have a peninsula (so a U-shaped kitchen w/an open side). Is the countertop finished on all sides? And would I need to only add the cover strips on the ends I cut? Ikea is over an hour from me so having to run over there w/2 little ones is not always ideal. Thanks so much!!
Hi, Amanda! This is a great question! I wish I could answer it but to be honest I can’t remember (it’s been almost a year and a half since we installed them and I’ve had a baby since so my brain is mush) if the countertop was finished on all sides. Here is a link to IKEA customer service http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/customer_service/contact_us/contact.html there is a option called “Ask Anna”. All you do is type in your question and they will find the answer for you! I am confident they will be able to answer your question! Sorry my memory failed you on this one! The white stone sounds like a great possible option for your kitchen! Hope it works out!!:-)
The counters are finished in 3 sides. You have to glue on the finish strip that comes e the counter
Also— we have an Ikea black counter in the kitchen and after 2 years of use, there is viable wear (dullness) in the most-used areas. Nice for the price, but if you can afford, there are better laminates out there.
We installed the Ikea butcher block counters in our old house. I only used them for about 6 months before moving but I liked them. They’re super easy to stain (wine, oil, juice from thawing out bananas) but the good news is you just need to sand it with a fine grit sandpaper and then reseal that spot. It sounds like a lot of work but only takes a few minutes.
Thanks SO much for sharing, Emily!!
The precut countertops from ikea come in standard lengths. This means that you will need to cut the peice to fit the actual length of your counter. It comes with a strip of laminate material that you must glue to the cut end to conceal the particle board. Not hard to do but you want to be sure to do your cutting nice and straight. I imagine if not careful this could be botched up. Something to consider. Cheers!
Yep, thanks for sharing Andrew!
Hi Tamara, I am blessed that I cam across your page through Pinterest. I am very much interested in obtaining more info on your countertops. We just painted our kitchen cabinets Sherwin Williams Alabaster white and we are looking for a countertop and I think we might have just found it. =) I would love to know how they are holding up and any thoughts you may have on them now that you have had the countertops for a good while!!! =) They look beautiful in your kitchen!
Hi Krystal! We have had our IKEA countertops for 3.5 years now and I am happy with how they have held up! There are a couple of small spots that have stained yellow but they aren’t very noticeable. They really are an amazing countertop for the price!! I feel so blessed to have found them because they are SO affordable yet still have a designer look. I am really happy with them! Congrats on your alabaster white cabinets!!:-). Isn’t it fun to transform your space into something you love!?
You are such a creative and resourceful woman! I admire you for all of your successful projects I have seen here. Thanks especially for helping others. That’s so important.
Best regards,
Nickidolce@gmail.com
Aw, thank you for the kind words, Nicki!!:-) Blessings!
Hi! The link to YouTube isn’t working for me. Would love to see how you joined the edges where they are rounded 🙂
I could use some more cabinetry at my house. I just don’t have enough to store all my cookware. These cabinets look great! I should look into them.
We just picked up the Saljan in the same color. I believe they replaced the Pragel. We loved the Pragel dark wood in an old house and figured why not. They look really nice. I am just curious, what was your overhang? I may have to add trim under the cabinet to lessen the effect as it’s about more than 1.5 inches. Looks weird for sure.