The IKEA AKURUM kitchen was discontinued in early 2015 with door fronts for the cabinet system being phased out of production in October, 2015. After nearly 20 years in the market cabinet doors for this system had vanished to coincide with the release of the new SEKTION system taking its place.
Why wERE IKEA AKURUM CABINETS discontinued?
IKEA is one of the biggest kitchen providers in the world with well over 50 stores in North America to date. On average they sell up to 10 kitchens a week, per store. Over the course of 20 years... That’s a lot of IKEA AKURUM cabinets!
They have always been a leader in home furnishing innovation, so it comes to no surprise that after having the same cabinet line in the market for over 20 years with very little changes that it was time to bring a new evolution to the product line.
In early 2015 the SEKTION brand of cabinets were released boasting brand new modular sizes with a wide variety of predrilled cabinet slots to allow the average consumer to buy a wide arrangement of new parts allowing for more robust customization options for their new cabinet door and drawer configurations, far beyond the limitations the previous line had offered.
Before you continue your journey on finding the perfect replacement solution for you there are a few questions you need answered first.
How do I know which ikea cabinet system I have?
If you recently took ownership of a home or are ready to upgrade your older kitchen and are not quite sure what IKEA cabinet system, you have we have a quick and easy trick to help identify the differences.
To identify the differences, you’ll want to open a few of your cabinets and look at the interior drilled holes.
- If there are four rows of holes in the cabinet interior you have a Sektion system.
- If there is only a single line of holes on the cabinet interior you have a discontinued IKEA Akurum system.
So, it turns out you really do have an AKURUM cabinetry system and you’re not sure what to do- well, you’re not alone.
None of these drilling configurations look like my cabinets, help!
There are a wide variety of companies that supply modular systems that look very much like our favorite Swedish furniture maker’s older famous line of boxes. Often times you may think you have a branded cabinet system only to learn that the owners before you had contracted a carpenter to specially craft a one, many or all of the boxes from scratch. If this sounds like your situation, we have you covered. Skip over the IKEA replacement info to get your solution.
What if my IKEA parts are defective?
The good news is IKEA continues to honor warranties for their discontinued line of AKURUM cabinets. Depending on the year the IKEA Akurum system was originally purchased will determine if the warranty is still valid.
According to IKEA's official warranty page:
AKURUM Kitchens purchased:
Prior to 2003: 5 years limited warranty.
2004-2008: 10 years limited warranty.
2009 – 2015: 25 years limited warranty.
The bad news however is that as of October 2015 they no longer manufacture parts compatible with this line of kitchens and any previous stock in inventory has all since dried up. This can make the warranty process lengthy and leave you with the responsibility of searching for an alternative way to find replacement doors and drawer fronts for your existing kitchen.
What if the doors don’t qualify for their warranty?
There’s a very good chance your kitchen might be starting to show its age over the last seven to twenty plus years and your cabinet doors are starting to look worn down, scratched, water damaged or discoloured from old age.
Unfortunately, if you don't qualify for IKEA's limited warranty, most roads lead to purchasing and installing a new SEKTION cabinetry package which compared to getting replacement doors could be expensive and time consuming. But not to worry, you have options.
What are my replacement door options?
While you may be able to find spare parts floating around on auction sites, garage sales and second-hand retail stores it’s important to take into consideration that you are still purchasing second hand Ikea Akurum replacement doors that could meet the same untimely wear and tear as your old components. There’s no guaranteeing the quality of second-hand products.
There are however a handful of reliable companies who offer DIY solutions that can be installed by replacing existing kitchen cabinet doors, drawer fronts and panels that ship directly to you across Canada and the United States.
Of all the options available we suggest Swedish Door to help with all of your discontinued Akurum replacement cabinet door, drawer and panel needs. We have been specializing in making high-quality, long-lasting kitchen Akurum replacement parts with flawless painted finishes for all models of cabinetry including custom and the discontinued IKEA AKURUM cabinets line.
The Swedish Door difference allows you to buy cabinet doors, drawer fronts, panels and trim that match your existing kitchen style, or let you explore near limitless style, colour, and material choices to give your old kitchen a full custom kitchen look that fits overtop of your existing cabinet boxes.
The most popular choice is the painted HDF option. The unique 8 layer painting process ensures an unbeatable durable painted finish that gives a fully finished custom kitchen look in your choice of 21 popular paint colours, or ask about the custom colour match to get any known colour in the market.
Why not replace my existing kitchen?
If you’re unhappy with the layout of your kitchen and your existing cabinet boxes are failing there is only one way to go- and that’s renovating your entire space.
However if you’re happy with your layout and your boxes are in good shape- simply put, replacing your entire existing kitchen costs a lot of time and money.
As the average full kitchen renovation can range between $24,000 - $70,000+ depending on the project size, materials chosen and labour. When you consider the average renovation typically budgets upwards of 30% of the entire cost in the cabinetry alone it is easy to see why homeowners may opt in on replacement cabinet doors.
A commonly overlooked expense in any renovation is the time cost. It is easy to conceptualize a budget on paper for general cost of labour, materials and installation. However most homeowners don’t take into consideration how much time the average family unit spends in the kitchen.
Having your kitchen out of commission for the duration of your renovation certainly has an impact the flow of your home. The difficulty of preparing meals in a renovated state tends to be problematic and the likelihood of your grocery bill increasing during this period is something to take into consideration as well- take out isn’t cheap and it adds up quickly.
This is typically why budget wise homeowners look to refacing their kitchen as a cost-effective solution to their kitchen renovation woes.
Summary
Renovating your entire kitchen can be expensive and finding the perfect replacement parts for your discontinued cabinets (IKEA or otherwise) can be difficult and costly. Contact Swedish Door today and we can help you find the perfect custom door replacement parts to get a brand-new kitchen look without the hassle of a full kitchen renovation.
Looking for a single Akurum replacement part, door or drawer bank? We carry a wide variety of Akurum compatible parts exclusively online here.
