Ikea (plus others) kitchen remoldel

A complete kitchen gut and remodel.
*Options I considered for this project:
I looked at Lowes and Home Depot, but was concerned about there stock availability of cabinets. We wanted a more Modern look, which was more affordable at Ikea, except for appliances.
*Questions and unexpected events that arose during the project:
The electrical wiring behind the old cabinets was completely visible and totally wrong. We had to get an electrician to come fix it (approx $400)
* Cost Comments:
The price is an estimate. Just for cabinets and appliances was under $5000. I am including in the cost some minor wall repair, electrical, the flooring, and a gas line run for the oven.
*My motivation to do this project:
When I bought my house, the kitchen was a complete disaster; completely unusable.
*Project Steps:
First, our contractor demo'd the old kitchen and installed new hardwood floors. Then, we painted the walls ourselves. I designed our kitchen layout by measuring the room (very accurately), then used Ikea's down-loadable design software to design the layout. I changed the plan at least 4 times before I was satisfied. Then, I went to Ikea and ordered all of the components. I then called a local subcontractor approved by Ikea to schedule them to come build and install the cabinets. After the cabinets were installed, we ordered appliances from Lowe's, and had our general contractor install them. Finally, our contractor installed the kitchen counter tops and sink.
Advice:
Do - Make sure the design is functional, if you don't have a good eye for design, have someone else do it for you. The layout of our medium size kitchen is perfect. Don't - Allow yourself to get sucked into more than you can afford. In the kitchen, more than any other room of our home remodel, we were up-sold on essentially everything.