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Living in a war-torn country isn't easy, which is why the idea to display a Syrian home in the comfort-addled environs of an IKEA store is remarkable. Shoppers can tour a 25 square meter mock-up that is modeled after a real Damascus-adjacent home that functions as living quarters for a family of... View full entry
Famous rapper, fashion designer, husband of Kim Kardashian West and incorrigible enfant terrible Kanye West announced his desire to design for Ikea in a recent interview with Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1."I have to work with Ikea—make furniture for interior design, for architecture," he told... View full entry
Well that's a downer. In response to multiple child deaths resulting from their distinctive particleboard units tipping over, IKEA is offering a full refund or a free wall-mounting kit for any MALM dresser or chest, and additional models, made between January 2002 and June 2016. In total, that... View full entry
Although the gargantuan stores of IKEA can already be public museums themselves, the Swedish retailer is preparing for the official opening of the IKEA Museum on June 30 in their Älmhult stomping grounds. Originally expected to open last fall, the 7,000 square-meter museum will showcase the... View full entry
The appetite of western consumers for home furnishings has reached its peak – according to Ikea, the world’s largest furniture retailer.
The Swedish company’s head of sustainability told a Guardian conference that consumption of many familiar goods was at its limit.
“If we look on a global basis, in the west we have probably hit peak stuff. We talk about peak oil. I’d say we’ve hit peak red meat, peak sugar, peak stuff … peak home furnishings,” Steve Howard said [...]
— the Guardian
Related:Ikea and Airbnb: a match made in globalized heaven?Get a glimpse of these hacked IKEA kitchens by BIG, Henning Larsen, and NORM ArchitectsUN Refugee Agency Commissions 10k Ikea-designed Better SheltersWhy is Ikea a Non-profit? View full entry
Ikea is to Airbnb what oxpeckers are to rhinos and Donald Trump is to Fox News: a symbiotic partner. [...]
It may seem perverse to stump for standardization when Airbnb is known for its diversity, with lodgings in not just chateaus and cute bungalows, but also tree houses and shoe houses. [...]
But dig a little deeper and you’ll find the cool lingua franca of Ikea permeating Airbnb’s 1.5 million listings like fat marbling rib-eye steak.
— travelandleisure.com
Airbnb and Ikea have previously collaborated on a contest in Tempe, Australia, for shoppers (guests?) to spend the night in showrooms for $10. But the partnership that this piece's author is proposing seems to directly align Airbnb's practices with exactly what its opponents criticize most –... View full entry
Here comes another product collaboration between famous architects and affordable-brand giants. Pretty soon, consumers worldwide can add a hint of BIG, Henning Larsen Architects, or NORM Architects into their everyday kitchen space. Danish furniture brand Reform, whose concept focuses on hacking... View full entry
Ikea's line of flat-pack refugee shelters are going into production, the Swedish furniture maker announced this week, after being tested among refugee families in Ethiopia, Iraq, and Lebanon. The lightweight "Better Shelter" was developed under a partnership between the Ikea Foundation and the ...UNHCR... Each unit takes about four hours to assemble and is designed to last for 3 years — far longer than conventional refugee shelters, which last about 6 months. — the Verge
As the Verge article notes, the announcement comes at a time when there are nearly 4 million people left without homes from the ongoing wars in Syria alone. Globally, there are 45.2 million people currently displaced by conflict and persecution according to a UNHCR report. And even that number... View full entry
IKEA has a little known secret: the company is a non-profit. Ingvar Kamprad the founder of IKEA created the philanthropic Stichting Ingka Foundation whose mission is to “further the advancement of interior design.” IKEA’s bizarre business model looks like this: the nonprofit Stichting Ingka owns a private Dutch Company, Ingka Holdings that owns the majority of individual stores at the franchise level. — onlinemba.com
Friday, August 29:MIT's MindRider helmet draws mental maps as you bike: The prototype is currently being used to create a mental-map and guidebook for NYC, and an upcoming Kickstarter campaign will attempt to fund the project for commercial sale.In Beirut, a grassroots push for more grass... View full entry
In collaboration with vacation rental site Airbnb—no strangers to zany marketing campaigns—an Ikea locale in the Sydney suburb of Tempe, Australia is opening up three of its showrooms to overnight guests for the price of just about $10. [...]
The flatpack furnishing giant also promises a "remarkable wake up call," which hopefully includes some lingonberry jam toast delivered straight to guests' MALMs.
— curbed.com
Ikea, the home furnishings store of choice for college dorms and bachelor pads around the world, is creating a new museum that is expected to open in the fall of 2015. The company will turn its first store in Älmhult, Sweden into a museum that will provide visitors with a survey of its history. — latimes.com
Ikea is to sell solar panels at its British stores for the first time in an attempt to tap growth in the heavily subsidised green energy market.
The world's biggest furniture retailer, best known for cheap basics such as its Billy bookcases and Ektorp sofas, plans to offer solar panel packages at all of its 17 British stores within the next 10 months.
— theguardian.com
As noticed on page 30 of their 2014 catalog, IKEA references parking day in this a fun new video. Park(ing) Day, for those that don't know, is an annual parklet concept, turning parking spaces into gathering places on a more permanent basis. Park(ing) Day 2013 will happen on Sept. 20 worldwide. View full entry
In addition to last year’s unveil of an augmented reality-capable catalog, Ikea now boasts a new app feature that can turn that little book into a virtual piece of furniture. The new AR can now help shoppers envision what the furniture might look like in their apartment by adding the illusion of the product on top of the live view through a smartphone camera. — digitaltrends.com
