Ikea LIXHULT Storage Cabinets Impressions: Steel cabinets galore?

Mention the word "Ikea" and I would probably think about Swedish food, particleboard, fiberboard, and solid wood products. They absolutely do have numerous products made of various other materials but those are the first ones that come to mind. In fact, I'm writing this on a GALANT desk that has a wood-ish table top and a metal frame support. But I was still a bit surprised when Ikea came out with a new line of supposedly steel cabinets.

Frame under a GALANT desk

Disclaimer: I had not had any firsthand experience with any LIXHULT products when I wrote this piece. Details were quoted from the Ikea United States website or Canada website in mid July 2016. Details on this page are NOT guaranteed for accuracy.

First Impressions: The Ikea LIXHULT Cabinets
Looking at the first photos of the Ikea LIXHULT cabinets, I was reminded of the metal TV/media shelf cabinet I had seen at the store and in catalogs before. It was still available as the "Ikea PS" cabinet for US$ 99.00 in blue, red, and white on the American Ikea.com when I wrote this. The item used to be only in red and may have had a different name, if I remember correctly. I have always thought that it was a nice looking item, but I'm not a huge fan of metal furniture unless they're stainless steel with no paint or varnish -- more on that later.

They were found under the "Dining" and "Dining storage" sections. Under the "Product description" for the Ikea LUXHULT cabinets I looked at, the common items I noticed appeared to be "Steel" and "Pigmented epoxy/polyester powder coating." There seemed to be four distinct rectangular LIXHULT cabinets available at the time I checked -- used the search bar and typed in "LIXHULT." I think they were very recently made available on the American Ikea website and were not found on the Canadian site yet. More than a dozen options showed up under the search results but many looked to be combinations of the four distinct pieces or different color variations. Colors listed under the products included white, yellow, orange, blue, red, green, and gray -- not every color was available for every cabinet size though.

The four sizes I found (width x depth x height):
25 cm x 25 cm x 25 cm
35 cm x 35 cm x 35 cm
35 cm x 35 cm x 82 cm (with legs)
60 cm x 35 cm x 57 cm (with legs)

It also looked like the weights listed under the "Package measurements and weight" were under 20 lb for the four sizes. My guess was that they were made from relatively thin sheets of steel so this wasn't too surprising. I was actually somewhat impressed as a KULLEN 2-drawer chest's package was listed on the website as "21 lb 13 oz" despite being 35 cm x 40 cm x 49 cm (width x depth x height). Prices ranged from US$ 15.00 to US$ 35.00 for the four base pieces.

I could see myself using some of these cabinets, especially due to their low prices. Their sizes appear to be reasonable to store random office items, and some may be small enough to fit on my existing IVAR or BILLY shelves to help with optimizing storage. Having worked in numerous offices and been responsible for filing before, cold steel furniture brings back some bad memories. There's a warmth that solid wood or even veneers bring. Steel, no matter how colorful, is a bit on the colder side. However, if my GALANT table's legs are any indication, the LIXHULT should be fairly easy to clean with a dry cloth.

Final Thoughts
Colorful cabinets supposedly made from steel. I liked the way they looked, and I don't mind powder coated steel. The colors were eye catching and attractive, and prices seemed pretty reasonable. However, my preference is for more more "boring" furniture made of solid wood or at least showing a wood grain. There may also be a big yellow Ikea LACK table in my home that I kind of regret buying...