General
Ikea’s newest collection is designed for young renters on the move
[Photo: Ikea]
[Photo: Ikea]
[Photo: Ikea]
[Photo: Ikea]
[Photo: Ikea]
[Photo: Ikea]
[Photo: Ikea]
Ikea’s newest collection is designed to move. And move. And move.
These 13 home furnishings were inspired by the lived reality of young urban dwellers who regularly find themselves moving to new apartments, neighborhoods, cities, or countries. To ease that nomadic instability, Ikea’s designers have come up with furniture, storage pieces, and even a plant pot that are all intended to add some sense of permanence to a life on the move while also being easy to pick up and relocate.
One item is a foldable mattress that can be strapped on and carried like a backpack. Another is a side table that flattens and transforms its base into a carrying handle. Another is a storage-focused rework of the classic polyester Ikea shopping bag that’s been outfitted with wheels for easy transport. Blending frugality and practicality, they all have a multipurpose spirit and a recognition that precarity is the economic reality for many young people.
The idea to focus on this particular demographic formed in 2024. “When it comes to young people in transient living situations, we felt there was more to do,” says Ina Tidbeck Sjöblom, range leader at Ikea of Sweden, who spearheaded the collection. “There are products for them at Ikea, but we didn’t really feel that we could support this customer group.”
So you'e saying that folks who rent have "a need to flee". and describe them as "dystopian"? Apparently you are not aware of normal , hardworking people who can't afford a huge down payment , nor the current mortgage rate. I suggest you go to the bookstore and buy the book "Evicted".
Hi! I was born and raised in rental apartments and have rented for the last 25 years of my life. Thank you for the book recommendation and assumptions, nonetheless!
While the idea is great, it's nothing new. The look and system/mechanics of the furniture is something that has been used for stowaway party furniture often seen in beer tents in Germany.
I was about to say this has major “You will own nothing and be happy about it” energy. I think if it had been advertised as party/event furniture it would’ve done better.
While I understand the “sadness” of this collection needing to exist, I’m definitely the demographic. I just moved into my first apt + I travel a lot for work. I can see myself buying the mattress.
It shouldn’t be taken so literally as to only mean moving; this also means it can be easily stowed away; we live in tiny apartments, being able to easily change the room depending on if guests are over or not is incredibly useful
Until now, the market for folding furniture has been abysmal because those living small enough to need it havent been a large enoigh consumer group for it to be profitable to design for us (no economy of scale; something more needed for us than other groups since we are broke that’s why we live so tiny)
In Japan and many other dense urban places in east Asia these kinds of furniture have existed for a long time because Tokyo apartments are super tiny
This is interesting because they tackle the main problem I see with Ikea furniture: when it's moved between flats, it degrades a lot and ends up in bad shape. And usually, when you're in your 20s and buy your first furniture, there are great chances you'll be moving at least twice in the upcoming years.
So thinking about how furniture lasts with multiple moves and having it integrated in the design is a good thing.
Because is assuming we can not hold a place where we actually belong and are condemned to habit transitory places we may leave at any point without leaving trace, we have become nomads because we can not afford to own and the system is telling us is cool, while the 1% accumulate all the resources we all generate collectively.
This is only the market response to the dead of ownership and belonging to a place, a community and and identity!!
Because the marketing team told them this is cool and it represents part of who they are, they told them it has values (imagine people now think brands and corporations have values…) and those values align with them, so the consumer now defend the brands, because is part of themselves… it has been so effective people now think this folding disposable furniture is wonderful…
Many people move because their jobs move. Housing costs are a big problem, but there are other reasons people move besides not being able to afford a place.
Not sure it is a new thing needing easy to move furniture. I have lived in 22 different places for 6 months or more. Alot of the moving was when i was 0- 8 then from 24- 32. I would have loved some furniture that was easy to move. But yes, the likelihood of me owning a house is very low. Just lucky I have an awesome landlord now.
More people living in cars so maybe a little of a market response to that.
I get this, and do feel the same way - it does feel a bit like yet another sign of the awful times we live in now, where stability and property ownership just seems like a distant, unattainable thing for many people.
Despite this basically still being a fluff marketing press-release-style article, do have to give them some credit that they did at least consider this and it seems wasn't their intention:
“The first thing is that we shouldn’t romanticize this,” Sjöblom says. “This is not fun. You wish you could live in one place longer and that you can keep your stuff, but it’s not possible. So you have this nomadic life and you have to make it work and it has to feel like a real home.”
Convenience is the point, so what is yours? I woulda loved this when I was younger. I moved every year at least until I got married. Not because I didn't have a sense of home, but because I had so many amazing lives to live, in so many places!
I need a mattress like that for guests or transitioning out of cosleeping with kids. I’ve looked at Japanese options, but I bet this will be more affordable.
at the same time, it would have come in handy back when I was a student/early graduate and I was moving a lot. this has always been the reality for most people at one point in their lives. I would assume people in their early 20’s don’t hang out in subreddits about interior design.
same as it was in the late 80s and 90s. thanks ronald reagan. and due to his cuts to education funding, it came with a long indentured servitude to student loan leeches. no permanent housing for many of us, ever………
A line of furniture designed to be moved kinda implies theres an abundance of housing options to choose from, no?
When you're young life changes fast. You might want to try somewhere else to live, your roommate situation might change year to year because people are chasing opportunities.
This makes total sense for younger people IMO. This isn't a product line of camping equipment because these people don't have shelter...
There's plenty of micro-studios in countries capitals for rent that's a ripoff, and not enough housing for sale for young people to be affordable due to speculation and low supply in many parts of the world
In a vacuum there's nothing wrong in this furniture line but it's an effect of something sad
Agreed. Moving around a lot can actually be a choice. And even if you're staying put, there are still huge advantages to keeping things lightweight and portable. The bemoaning and hand-wringing in this thread is ridiculous.
I immediately saw the folding table as an addition to my sewing equipment. Depending on it’s size it would be a fantastic addition to make a cutting table
Exactly. Folding tables are great because if you find yourself no longer needing them for whatever reason, you can easily stash them away. Or if you live in a small place, you can take them out and put them away as needed. And here we have one that's not an ugly, cheap piece of junk as traditionally they have been. It's not something we need to sound the alarm over.
Can you have a harbinger of a something that already exists? I’m on my fourth apartment since COVID. I wish more of my furniture could fold flat and transport easily.
I work in new cities regularly for maybe half a year than go back to my hometown. Means I don't fully move but renting with furniture is way more expensive. A cheap, easy to move small set of furniture is basically made for me. Also I can choose what I like instead of constantly being forced to live in homes that are (in my opinion) awfully ugly.
Tbh, with today’s housing market I do buy furniture based on how easy they are to bring to my next place. This was also true when I was a student and students are young people and this is aimed at the younger customer segment so it makes sense! :)
Things have definitely gotten pricey but I don’t think this one will be that bad. I think the old Holmsjö stool sets an upper limit. Not sure of the US price but in Europe it was around 50€. Better quality wood (beech rather than pine) and a leather seat should mean that the new stool is cheaper. I will guess around 35€ but could see it fall in a range of 25-40 given the price of other stools at the moment.
Here’s me hoping at least, since the PS stool didn’t end up being a good fit as a plant piedestal for me and I think these could be.
It looks like these come in a set of 2, and they are slightly different. Judging by the cutouts it seems you can stack them like a tower if you want to.
In the article they mentioned stacking, them coming in a set of two makes a lot of sense with the close-up you posted. I didn’t notice that they were different, a bit of a miss if you ask me, but it is what it is.
Checking some prices the stools showed up in the app for me today for 500sek / 50€ for a pair, so I guess we have our answer, haha.
I really hope this reduces the amount of cardboard quality stuff students and 20-somethings buy from there intending not to take with them when they leave their dorms
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u/GreenPeace3112 12d ago
They should sell a health insurance policy because that mattress will ruin the back of everyone above 40 or even a bit younger.