Akurum (2003-2015 older kitchen system) FAQ

Akurum is IKEA's older, discontinued kitchen cabinet system. It was replaced with Sektion in 2015. Sizes and drilling patterns differ between the two systems. IKEA also changed measurements for Akurum sometime in 2003.

Absolutely. Not sure how to tell which system you have? Find out here. Our pre-drilled fronts are compatible with models after 2003.

As noted above, we don't copy any of their door styles. If that doesn't work, you might need to get creative by threading in a few Semihandmade doors. Read blog posts here and here.

But you could also consider replacing a run of doors. For example, keeping the exisiting wall units and replacing the base cabinet fronts. Or vice versa. The same holds true for just replacing an island or wall of cabinets.

There really are many ways to get creative when it comes to replacing and mixing in new doors with older existing doors.

Our team will need cabinet measurements & layout. This can be something like a marked up photo or hand drawn specs. Here are some examples:

No, we do not drill for Akurum's steel glass doors, they require different drilling than we accommodate. If you want to replace those doors, you will need to get solid doors and find the old hinges to swap them out. 

​​​​​​​Akurum 6"h drawers do not come in shaker style, only slab. Minimum is 8" for shaker style

In 2015, Ikea changed from their Akurum kitchen system to their current Sektion system. What that means is, there are so many older Ikea kitchens that unfortunately, IKEA can no longer service in terms of warranty; they don’t even offer replacement fronts if you want to skip a full reno and just want do a simple refresh. However, it is still a good idea to reach out to IKEA to see if they'll help with replacement costs. But, great news for owners of Ikea kitchens bought as far back as 2003: we can help!

Not all older Ikea kitchens are clearly marked, and some people moving into a new place have never had an Ikea kitchen before, so how do you know if you have an Akurum kitchen? You can also send us pictures, like the ones below and we can help you identify!

Here are a few tips to easily identify which Ikea system you have

1. Drawer

• Sektion: All white drawers (side back, and center bottom panel are all white)

  

• Akurum: Grey/white drawers (side and back are silver grey color, bottom panel is white)

  

2. Hinges 

• Sektion: has two sets of holes that run vertically down the sides of the walls. The hinges come as a 2-piece set with a base plate that connects to the cabinet wall and a hinge that attaches to the door front, allowing you to easily snap the door on and off.

  

• Akurum: has a single line of holes that run vertically down the sides of the walls and a butterfly shaped hinge.

  

  

We used to think the "1999" meant the year it was produced, but in fact, it doesn't. On this sticker, you can see a four-digit number "0834". This means the year/week of the year that particular piece was made. In this example "08" means 2008 and "34" means the thirty-fourth week of the year, so mid-August.

This sticker can be found on any of the pieces, sometimes behind panels, behind toe-kicks, under drawer boxes, even in the hinge cup holes on a door. The easiest way for us to determine the year of someone's kitchen is by this sticker. If they can't find it, that's okay, we still have other ways to determine the approximate year.

Here's a response from one of our installers:

The stabilizing rail on either side need to be disconnected from the back of the drawer first then folded down to a 90 degree angle... this releases the pressure of the ribbed plastic insert that is spread open inside the drawer front and holds it tight.... while keeping it at a 90 degree angle, the insert that is attached to it needs to be carefully pried out of the front... I usually use a tool that we call a 5 in 1. It’s like a flat, rigid scraping knife that has a curve and a point that allows you to get in the crevice to pull it out... Unfortunately, THAT'S the easy part.

• The drawer box itself is attached similarly to how the maximera drawers are attached to the sektion fronts, but they are A LOT more secure... which of course, can be viewed as a good thing, up until it’s time to change them out.

• In the side opening where you will find the drawer adjustments, all the way in the front, closest to the drawer front, there’s a Phillips head shaped cut out in a piece of metal, that is halfway shielded by yet another piece of metal..... the shield actually has movement to it, to allow you to get to the Phillips slot.... you’ll need the 5 in 1 for this too.... first, you take a Phillips screw driver, get it fitted into the slot and turn it counter clockwise.... this will separate the drawer box from the front.... but it has a mechanism that WANTS to keep pulling towards the drawer front.... so, when you get the one side separated, you have to jam your 5 in 1 between the drawer front and the drawer Box, so it cannot be allowed to re-attach... when you repeat this process on the other side of the drawer, the box will fully release from the front, at which point you can pull the hardware off, re-install it into the new SHM front and move on.

We also have some Youtube videos saved in our Installation FAQ help page that address this.

Options are slightly limited because it is a more specialized drilling. We can drill the following materials for AKURUM:

DIY (Shaker, Slab, Quarterline)

Supermatte (Shaker, Slab) - White, Black, Night Sky, Light Grey, & Stone

Impression - Tahoe, Sonoma, Smoke, Beach

Walnut - Vertical & Horizontal