Ikea’s Sektion kitchen wall cabinets caught my attention a few times, and I cannot resist playing with them nearly every time I visit the store.
They offer a version of Blum’s Aventos hinges, Utrusta, which lifts a cabinet door up and out of the way. So it’s part hinge, part “stay.” They’re adjustable, for matching to a door’s size and weight.
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The hinges are pretty pricey – $49 per pair. The last time I checked, Blum Aventos of similar power weren’t any cheaper.
I’ll be exploring the benefits of these vertical lift hinges in an upcoming cabinet installation. Because the doors open up and out of the way, one could potentially leave the door open when retrieving things from a cabinet or moving things back and forth.
Open a traditional horizontal wall cabinet door, and the door will get in your way.
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So with these hinges, I’d think you get the access benefits of using an open cabinet or shelf, but also the benefits of having a door you could close.
Gas springs are another option, but can be finicky to work with, and might not fit into the “look” of a kitchen, home office, or other place you might have kitchen cabinets.
I first came across these hinges and vertically-lifted doors in one of Ikea’s office furniture displays. There was a double-bank of cabinets with a single door lifted by 4 of these hinges.
It reminded me of cubicle-style furniture I had at my lab desk. There was a large hutch over the short section of my L-shaped desk, with metal doors that opened up and then pushed inward. These hinges seem to be similar, except for not being able to be docked within the cabinet.
They do take up a lot of space, too, more than traditional cabinet hinges.
Have you used these hinges before, either the Ikea Utrusta or Blum Aventos? The initial cost seems high, but I’m thinking they might be worth it, at least for longer cabinets.
Nate818
Seems perfect for uppers
fred
With Blum’s servo drive they are even more versatile. You can have an articulated – 2 panel upper cabinet that opens skyward revealing cabinet contents. I never saw this on “my watch” but its just the thing our six figures (or more) kitchen customers would likely ask about.
For the “Tool-A-Holics” – Blum sells a batch of pricey jigs for their hardware installation, line boring etc. Back when we started using more and more Blum hardware, I always cringed at their prices – but generally not their made-in-Austria quality.
BTW – your selection of hinges for cabinets is not limited to 90 degree opening. Traditional style hinges come in “wide throw” or 180 degree designs – and folks like Blum and Grass make 160 to 170 degree opening “European-Style” hinges. We liked the Blum 170’s for face frame cabinets.
fred
I am getting old – emailed one of my successors about this and he reminded me we did use some of the Aventos hinges on a couple of jobs in 2011. We bought Blum’s jig (65.1051.01 – EAN 9002617781458) and paid $64.63 for it – putting it into inventory on 8/22/2011. Y=The jig – probably not essential – now seems to sell for over $100
Stuart
I didn’t want to spend the the money on Blum’s drawer slide template, and bought Rockler’s instead. Rockler’s drill bits and lock collars suck, so I had to buy my own. And the jig doesn’t work well if the back notch is imperfect in any way. I believe Blum’s jig references other parts of a drawer to drill the rear holes.
Ultimately, I find myself now regretting not buying the Blum. If I proceed with another Blum undermount drawer slide project in the future, I’ll likely upgrade to the Blum jig. It’s $41.50 at Lee Valley, plus $19.50 for the “tool set.” I can’t find a 2.5mm extension anywhere, but have been doing alright with 3/32″ bits and very careful drill angling.
Anton
Are you redoing your kitchen? The double articulated doors fred mentions is more practical so you can go higher with your cabinet then. Otherwise you are limited in height by your or your wifes reach. There are motorized opening options as well, if you have the budget for it.
We’re just getting into the kitchen business right now, but from what I’ve been told is the slides that ikea uses are diffrent then what Blum sells to others because they were trying to keep the price down.
Stuart
No. Office workspace cabinet.
I’ve been back and forth about what to put over my desk and workbenches, I decided that I need something ready to go. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll put them elsewhere and build some plywood cabinets to different dimensions.
I’ve been back and forth about which direction to go – open shelves, bench-mounted shelves, garage-style cabinets, kitchen cabinets, DIY cabinets, and the time has come for me to act quicker.
Our kitchen has traditional hinges with soft-close. My wife and I both need a small stepstool for the highest shelves.
Ikea’s Maximera hinges ARE different than Blum’s. Max load for the 24″ x 24″ drawer is 25 kg, or 55 lbs.
Similar Blum Tandembox Antaro have a load capacity of 75 lbs. The “contents” load capacity of the Antaro might be lower if you take into account the weights of the front, back, and bottom, but that’s not going to be 20 lbs.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70265662/
http://www.leevalley.com/us/hardware/page.aspx?p=73741&cat=3,43614,43616&ap=1
I didn’t see the Blum Antaro in person, but I have seen the Ikea Maximera drawers. The photo looks pretty accurate. The Ikea slides are not fully supported, or at least not fully supported but more supported than Ikea’s Maximera slides.
I’m sure that Ikea’s Blum-made hardware is specially spec’ed to help keep price down, but I would also assume they did a fair amount of testing to match capacity to 90% of users’ needs.
I have really grown to like Ikea and some of their stuff. I’ve found that they iterate like crazy, improving little things here and there. Sometimes it’s obvious, other times it’s not. And when they do iterate, previous generation items sell for a steal.
Jonathan
TLDR all the thread comments with that said:
A far less expensive alternative
a pair of Drop Leaf Folding Support I picked up a few for a project for less than $5 ea ( I got them at Lowes but NLA) but here for < $5 http://www.dlawlesshardware.com/dropleaf1.html\
or for heavy duty application like shelves
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Knape-Vogt-12-in-Heavy-Duty-Folding-Shelf-Bracket-in-White-HD-206-12WH/203906168
Googling "Drop Leaf Folding Support " will show a multiltude of iterations and options (also check images)
firefly
That Blum’s servo drive is so nice. Look like it would require a power source to work. Does it work manually when the power go down?
fred
I pulled together a list of some of the Blum tools and jigs. The list is probably not complete – but lists those items that I know about.
65.0590 INSERTA DRILLING GAUGE (2 PC.)
65.1051.01 TEMPLATE FOR VENTOS
65.2950.10 TEMPLATE – DRAWER FRONT ADJUST
65.3300 BLUM DRAWER SLIDE JIG-IT
65.5000 BLUM BLUMOTION DRILL JIG (4PC)
65.5010 BLUMOTION/DOORS BORING JIG
65.5030.01 BLUM PLATEMATE DRILL JIG (4PC)
65.5050 TIP-ON TANDEM BORING TEMPLATE
65.5070 INSERTA 5MM HOLE JIG
65.5300 PLATE GUIDE TEMPLATE
65.5310 BORING TEMPLATE – CLIP PLATES
65.5631 LEGABOX TIP-ON FRONT GAP TEMPLATE
65.7500 QUICKFIX JIG
65.7510.03 QUICKFIX HINGE MOUNTING JIG
65.7590 QUICKFIX JIG EXTENSION
M31.100.0 ECODRILL DRILLING JIG SET
M31.2000 SERVO DRIVE SWITCH BORING TEMPLATE
M31.ZB08.02 8MM ECO DRILL BIT
M31.ZB35.03 35MM ECO DRILL BIT
M52.1056 DRILL PRESS
M53.1053 DELUXE DRILL PRESS
METATEMP METABOX LAYOUT TEMPLATE SET
MZM.0040 UNIVERSAL INSERTION RAM
MZW.1300 ECODRILL TOOL KIT (7PC)
T65.1000.02 BLUM TANDEM DRILLING JIG
T65.1600.01 UNIV TANDEM INSTALL TEMPLATE
T65.9000 BLUM TANDEM JIG ACCY KIT (5PC)
ZME.0710 BLUMOTION HINGE KNOCK-IN TOOL
ZME.1600 METABOX INSERTION TOOL
ZML.0040 BLUM METABOX DRILL JIG (4PC)
ZML.1090 SERVO DRIVE BUMPER TEMPLATE
ZML.1150 SERVO DRIVE TEMPLATE
ZML.1500 BLUM STANDARD MARKING GUAGE
ZML.3580 TANDEMBOX LAYOUT TEMPLATE
ZML.3600 TANDEMBOX GALLERY MARKING TEMPLATE
ZML.7000 LEGRABOX BORING TEMPLATE
fred
I’m corrected again – jig can be had for $76+
http://cabinetreecollection.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=&products_id=748
Brian Auerbach
I built a built in fish tank shroud on a 240g tank. this was years ago, 10+, but Blum had a version of this hinge even then, assisted lift and hold. I used it to lift the doors above the tank.
well, 10 years later, in close proximity to salt water, still works perfect, and it does work perfect. at the time I think it was more like $140 per set, worth every penny.
whether your usage justifies the price tag only you can answer, but the hinge is great.
Stuart
Thanks! I know they have heavier duty versions, and it’s great to hear they’ve lasted 10 years for you without issue.
Ben
I have these vertical hinges in part of my SEKTION kitchen. They are great, just like the maximera (Blum). In particular, they are good at holding the door at any opening angle, so shorter people can still get into the lower part of a cabinet.
They make sense if you want a shorter cabinet and clearance above for aesthetic reasons.
IKEA makes/sources a lot of crappy stuff, but SEKTION is a special exception.
Rob
I’ve had an ikea kitchen for over 7 years.
The ikea aspect is low grade.
The blum style hinges and slides are legit
and have held up very well.
I can’t stress enough, you can likely get a custom cabinet
job, installed by a professional finish carpenter,
for less than the cost of a n uninstalled Ikea kitchen.
fred
We made a good part of our living doing kitchen and bath remodeling and a portion of that was involved in ripping out DIY or Handyman work with which clients were no longer satisfied. Having sold up and retired – it is no longer self-serving for me to say that many folks are happier in the long run with hiring a professional – but that not all so-called professionals are cut of the same cloth. Of course there is a pride that may be taken from doing a job yourself – especially if turns out well. The risk is that if you want to live with your work for 20 or more years – it should be done well.
Witek
I have replaced normal hinges with Blum Aventos HK in my kitchen over five years ago (five sets). They are awesome and I like it very much. One of the main reasons for buying them was that they opened wider than 90 degrees and that prevented me from hitting open doors with my head ;).
After four years one of them broke down – bluemotion brake failed, but I replaced it with a smaller HK-S model, that was introduced later. The rest works flawlessly. I cannot imagine using gas springs or those friction based hinges anymore.
Jerry
My wife says not in her kitchen. She is short enough our cabinets got lowered a bit so she could reach them. As it is she needs a step (or me) to reach upper shelves. Upward opening doors would be out of her reach.
fred
If you went the servo route – you could mount the actuation button low enough to reach.
alex
I got some of them in my kitchen and I think they are much more practical then normal hinges. Those are great especially on cabinets above appliances that are deeper than the cabinet itself like a stove exhaust hood or a refrigerator for instance.
fred
They do indeed seem to fit well with modern – sleek – no embellishment door faces for kitchens, entertainment walls etc.
We had customers who liked this look and those who preferred cabinets that looked more like furniture with applied extra trim moldings, crowns, columns etc.
One dilemma was always about extending cabinetry to the ceiling versus adding a crown trim or as in older-style a soffit (more out of fashion now). Of course with high ceilings – reaching upper cabinets can be a chore – but we did quite a few kitchens/pantries where we installed a rail and rolling library-style ladder to reach to the 10 or more foot ceiling.
On more down to earth kitchens – the cabinet over the (non-built-in) refrigerator was also a dilemma. As you note – typically not as deep as the appliance – it invited use of the refrigerator top for storage – which then prevents access to the cabinet. A tambour door was one solution to this problem – if it could be made to fit in with the style of the rest of the cabinetry. One way to do that was to construct an appliance “garage” on an opposing countertop with the same style tambour door.
Stuart
My wife wanted our cabinets straight to the ceiling, and it seemed like a good idea, but I’ve been disappointed. Not because the topmost shelves require a stepstool, but because the ceiling is not perfectly straight – I guess the floor above settled, because the drywall is brand new – and there’s an uneven gap between ceiling and molding.
I think the contractors could and should have warned us of this, or found a way to make it look better. If I had to do it over, I would have wanted a few inches of separation, even if the molding was installed maybe 2″ lower. There’s straight molding, so there’s space to lower it. Maybe eventually.
The gap goes from maybe 1/8″ to 1/2″.
Or maybe we would have went with everything dark, instead or white and dark two-tone. The dark cabinets we have on the oven/fridge side (and for the island and bottoms everywhere) don’t show the gap as much at the top.
The fridge and wall oven cabinets are all DEEP. The pantry has slide-out shelves on the bottom, and the cabinets above are caverns. I have yet to figure out a good want to organize those cabinets. Getting to the very back of the cabinets above the fridge and oven requires more than just a small stool.
fred
I stand behind my prior comment that not all “so called professionals” are cut of the same cloth. The top trim molding – or face frame (sometimes extended) if no molding – should have been scribed to match the ceiling. It is the rare house indeed where every wall and ceiling is perfectly plumb, level and square.
There are some folks out there who do not have even a grammar school compass in their tool kit, and believe in such phrases as:
“hammer it to fit and paint it to match”
Top cabinets can be the devil – because pull out drawers often don’t really improve access unless you have a side where you can put a ladder. If the door hinges can take the weight – adding some storage with a rack behind the door can be one solution.
Toolfreak
$50 a PAIR? Seesh, you can get regular style hinges for half the kitchen or both bathrooms for that. Online, that is. In-store prices for cabinet hardware are crazy.
I like the aesthetic part, and agree these would be just the thing if you want a long, horizontal cabinet that can’t just be an open shelf for some reason.
Other than that though, I’d stick with vertical doors, since you get the best use of space from cabinets that go from about arm height to the ceiling, and you can open and close the doors at the bottom, with these, if you have a higher cabinet, the door might open too high to reach without a stepstool, making it a hassle every time you need to get something on the highest shelf.
That and it just doesn’t make much economic sense, enough of these and you’re talking as much money as a whole new set of vertical door cabinets with regular hinges.
Stuart
In an office or workshop setting, when you have one level of cabinets that are eye-level, traditional doors can be annoying.
I picked up a pair of 30″ cabinets with these hinges, hope to I stall them this week.
With traditional hinges, the doors would stick out 30″ from the wall. With these, I could leave it open if I wanted or needed to.
There’s a price premium, but the alternative is to buy far pricier office cabinets, or leave shelves wide open without doors.
I figure the initial cost will sting, but the functionality over time will make it worth it.
I don’t even want to know how much some of the other Blum hinges cost, the ones with compound vertical actions.
A full kitchen of these? I would be tempted, but how often does one leave a kitchen cabinet open while working underneath?
fred
We had some clients that just wanted their new kitchen to be different – no matter what the cost. If they saw it on TOH – they didn’t want it because they thought it might be seen elsewhere. Sort of like a designer dress on the runway – no 2 should look alike. So why not use bronze wire or leaded glass doors, exotic woods for the cabinetry, oddball stone, zinc, Inconel, or glass composites for countertops, bronze or copper range hoods and after it is all done – probably never really use the kitchen other than to show off. Not complaining exactly – a $400,000 kitchen install was a lot more profitable for us than remodeling a tract house.
Toolfreak
Yeah, I can see where these apply for an eye-level office cabinet, but the better ones I’ve seen have even fancier hinge mechanisms where the door flips up but goes inside the cabinet and under the top, rather than swinging just up and the entire door sticking upwards or outwards.
Obvious reason being, in an office setting, if you had lots of these things and people walking around, eventually someone is going to meet the corner of one of those opened doors with their face. Ouch.
In an individual office or even a cubicle setting the cabinet could of course be positioned such that a person wouldn’t walk near a corner when it’s opened, but just something to be aware of. Maybe rubber bumpers for the door corners would be a good idea.
Evan
I use the IKEA version of these hinges on a cabinet in my kitchen. The cabinet doesn’t see as much use as a silverware drawer or a cabinet full of plates, but it has held up fine so far. They were easy to install, and easy to adjust to handle the weight of the door. The door is 15″x30″ with glass inserts. The only issue with these is that they can be a problem for shorter individuals. My wife has a hard time closing the cabinet after it has opened, due to how high the hinges leave the door. Also, these hinges will spring open quite forcefully if there isn’t any weight on them and you try to open them by hand. I cut my hand on one of them when doing this.
Arlene and Tom Berry
How do I adjust the ikea hinges. To stay up ?
Stuart
There are adjustment screws for the counterbalance. Did you follow the instructions?
tilzey
HELP! I cannot figure out how to attach my Ikea horizontal cabinet doors to the hinges.
They want to eat my fingers instead of just snapping together. So, please, give me step by step directions, and photos, if you have them.
The hinges are the “small” ones (vs the “large ones”, if that matters.)
I don’t want to hire someone just to install two cabinet doors.
Thanks!
Peggie74
I love the look and utility of horizontal cabinets – but in my kitchen I wouldn’t be able to reach the top row doors to close them once opened. Installing specialized gadgetry or electric closers would be too expensive, and one more thing to go wrong in a kitchen. When/if I replace my cabinets, it’ll be vertical door uppers with integrated handles, and lower cabinets with nothing but drawers.