Feb 28, 2018

IKEA + YOU: A NEW APPROACH, TO REAL LIVING

Born from the desire to inspire Australians to find happiness in and live a better, everyday life at home, IKEA has co-created 10 living room spaces with 10 families from around Australia as part of IKEA + You.

The IKEA Interior Design teams from all 10 stores used their understanding of Australian life at home, to then makeover 10 real family living rooms to solve the everyday frustrations faced by these families, bringing their dream spaces to life.

In a complete first of its kind, IKEA has then replicated the real family’s living room in store, highlighting the solutions and creative ideas that the interior designers used in the space. Customers like you and I, can learn how to solve frustrations that are truly relevant, and experienced in similar homes in your neighbourhood based on your closest IKEA store.

IKEA + You was born from the fact that IKEA visits approximately 500 homes from all around Australia each year, interviewing families to understand the real aspirations problems everyday people experience in their homes. These insights are used by the IKEA interior designers in stores to inform the decision and solutions used in the display room in the IKEA showrooms.

THE WOW FACTOR IN THAT?

The replicas truly reflect the local living situation within a determined radius, and shows how to solve common problems faced in homes in the area. Each stores display rooms are completely different and reflect the local community. For example, the city stores focus on small space apartment living, while the suburban stores have a larger display room with more of a considered family focus. At IKEA's Tempe location for example, Heidi and I were walked through the living room makeover won by a family based nearby in Stanmore. With narrow house widths often making for disjointed living plans, this is a problem not dissimilar to many living in Sydney's Inner West and Eastern Suburbs - something that IKEA worked to deliver and highlight unique solutions for, so that others in the Tempe radius could relate.

“AT IKEA WE DON'T BELIEVE IN PERFECT HOMES. WE BELIEVE IN REAL HOMES THAT ARE A TRUE REFLECTION OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE'

IKEA + You is about igniting creativity and inspiring people to buck the trend and rather than create a perfect space, create homes that suit them and their family down to a tee. It’s about designing a space that looks the way you want it to, works the way you need it to and is a space that you love.” [Tiffany Buckins, Head of Interior Design for IKEA Australia]

From these 500+ in-home visits, IKEA knows that some of the biggest frustrations faced by Australians include; how to work with an open plan layout, how to get a coordinated look, how to personalise a space and how to conquer storage and clutter.

Not only do Australians not know where to start, but a lack of motivation is a hindrance to updating the home. The IKEA Life at Home Report revealed that 21% of Australians say they don’t always have the energy to make changes in their home. The report also uncovered that in Australia only 1 in 6 state they always go out of their way to do things differently, meaning often life at home remains the same – even though the desire is for change in the home.

Tiffany Buckins continues, “It was so exciting to be able to work with real families, and put our skills to the test, to tackle some of the trickiest layouts and overcome the most common problems faced by our customers, and essentially families across Australia.

“I hope that the solutions we have brought to life, inspire everyone to unleash their creativity. We want everyone to embrace their own style, their own needs and find solutions that work for them. IKEA + You embraces the art of not trending, and instead following your personal interior design instinct to create a look that truly represents you and the people you live with."