If your IKEA kitchen works but you’re tired of how it looks, you don’t need a new kitchen. Refacing replaces the doors, drawer fronts and visible panels and keeps everything else: the cabinet boxes, the drawers and inserts, and usually the counters. Because IKEA’s sizes are standard, it’s one of the easiest kitchens to reface.
First, check which system you have
Kitchens bought in Canada and the US since 2015 are almost always SEKTION. Older ones may be AKURUM, whose sizes and drilling are different. Your original order or receipt shows which. Not every maker makes AKURUM fronts, so mention it up front.
Make a list of every front
- If you still have the IKEA plan, its item list is the easiest thing to send.
- If not, count the doors and drawer fronts on each cabinet and note their sizes. IKEA fronts are ⅛ inch smaller than their nominal size, so a door measuring 14⅞ × 29⅞ inches is a 15 × 30.
- Don’t forget the extras: cover panels, toe kicks, fillers and any dishwasher or fridge panels.
What you can reuse
IKEA’s hinges and drawers stay, and new fronts are drilled to fit them. If hinges are worn or you want soft-close everywhere, now is a good time to replace them. Handles are your choice: many people pick new ones to suit the new fronts.
Make it more than a colour change
Refacing is also a chance to add what you’ve missed. Because the inside is standard, you can add inner drawers, pull-outs or organisers before the new fronts go on, or change a door cabinet to drawers if the box allows it.
Next step
Send your plan or list through our quote form and choose makers who serve your area. If you’re undecided on style, start with our guide to door styles.
Photos are illustrations of looks makers build, not the work of a particular maker.