IKEA Today

Materials & Methods

, 04.08.20

Challenging a sticky bestie

What happens if you challenge a best friend? To find out, we invited four mechanical engineering students to come up with ideas for an even better BÄSTIS lint remover.

Materials & Methods

, 22.07.20

Designing to help us remember the leftovers

We asked Thibault Poyet, who works as a product design developer at IKEA, about developing the 365+ series and if he can relate to a kitchen drawer full of mismatched lids and containers. Now we also know that baking enthusiasts have something to look forward to.

Food

, 21.07.20

Pickles, pickles, and some hummus

With summertime comes the need for some tasty and easy dinner ideas for the whole family. To make the most of the season, we’ve put together some quick side dishes for your evening grilling using SMAKRIK, a versatile and truly Swedish series of neutral, naturally nutty or gently flavoured oils.

Food

, 16.07.20

Why Sharla will not compromise on taste

There is a good chance that during a trip to IKEA, you had meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberry sauce before you left. At least Sharla has. We talked to her about the coming plant-based alternative to the iconic meatball, being a flexitarian and why she is “eating the rainbow”.

Prototyping

, 12.07.20

The most essential for small space living

Imagine you have a small space with room for only the most essential things. When developing RÅVAROR, Eva Lilja Löwenhielm and her team studied new forms of small space living. We talked to the IKEA Design Manager about designing a transformable, flexible and extremely multifunctional collection.

Prototyping

, 30.06.20

What role does the sofa play in your home?

Is the sofa your refuge after a long day at work, where the whole family watches movies together, or a place for friends to crash on? This week we will have a summer sit-down with Kevin, Karin and Damien to talk about designing the heart of a home — the sofa!

Collaborations

, 20.06.20

Rajaa’s work is crucial for her family in the refugee camp

Early mornings, Rajaa usually takes the three-hour-long bus ride from the refugee camp to work with IKEA collections at The Jordan River Foundation in Amman. The job gives her family an income — and the design represents both courage and hope. Now she hopes the lockdown will come to an end so that she can get on the bus again.

Interviews

, 18.06.20

From gramophones to a personalised SYMFONISK speaker

If you visited an IKEA store in the early 70s, you might have run into a piano. You might even have the IKEA bongo drums from the 80s. We talked to Per, Anna, Jörgen and Stjepan about the history of the IKEA range connected to music and about growing from analogue to digital.

Prototyping

, 03.06.20

Sketching pots and pans with the 50s in mind

When Mikael started designing the new cast-iron cookware VARDAGEN, he kept coming back to the old everyday pots and pans in his own kitchen. We talked to the IKEA designer about combining a 50s approach with modern 3D printing techniques.

Interviews

, 29.05.20

Exciting morning alarms and dimmed lights at night

What tune did you wake up to today? Or did the sun hit your eyes? Imagine what your home would be like if you could create the perfect atmosphere to match your mood. We talked to Rebecca, Johanna and Bilgi on how they use smart solutions to set the mood in just one click.

Designing with harvest residue for better air

Welcome behind the scenes at IKEA product development