Overview
Turn your Hilver into a Klimpen in just three easy steps. Homeware giant IKEA are officially developing their own ‘hackable’ furniture, monetising a concept their customers have already been embracing for years.
Announced at IKEA’s second annual Democratic Design Day at company HQ in Sweden, the official IKEA hack kit will allow shoppers to alter their furniture at will. Customisable items would be marked as such in the store, with ideas for various hacks listed online. From there, customers can purchase a hack kit and voila, your desk chair is suddenly a six-piece outdoor lounge. Well, not quite. But you'll be able to change things up a little.
The concept behind IKEA hacking is certainly nothing new. Plenty of customers have tried mashing different IKEA items together over the years, treating the products like the oversized Lego kits that they’ve always vaguely resembled. This Italian company, for example, has come up with some genuinely amazing designs.
In the past, IKEA haven’t taken too kindly to people straying from the instructions. They even threatened legal action against the fan-run blog IkeaHackers.net, although they eventually backed down in the wake of widespread public backlash.
From both a business and public relations perspective, it certainly seems to make a lot more sense for IKEA to embrace this trend. That being said, the fact that these would be official products, complete with instructions, does kind of take away some of the fun. That you’d have to pay for the hack kits doesn’t really help things either.
IKEA haven’t actually moved past the initial design phase yet, so no word on when the hack kits will become available — if they become available at all. They’re also considering an official swap program, wherein you can trade in your old IKEA furniture and get credit towards new pieces. And yea, the circle of life continues.
Via Gizmodo.
Image: Teste Di Legno.