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At the beginning of summer, the annual global event Democratic Design Days 2019 was held in the Swedish town of Elmhult, where IKEA designers answered the main question: how will we live tomorrow?
For this annual “celebration of new ideas” the IKEA team invited journalists, experts and designers from all over the world to present interior trends, innovations in furniture production and new directions in the development of the company. How can you improve your daily life and at the same time be conscious of nature and its resources? How to connect reality and the future?
Based on the results of this event, it is possible to single out several main trends presented this year and which became the answer to the everyday and global problems of mankind.
Sustainability in production
Many brands have long thought about using recyclable materials to manufacture their products. The Scandinavian countries are especially far advanced in this matter. For example, Swedish clothing manufacturer H&M has since the early 2000s launched a collection made from recycled raw materials – cotton, wool and even plastic. This good trend is also supported by large furniture factories.
So, IKEA’s reaction to the plastic clogging of the seas was the MUSSELLBLOM collection, created from recycled plastic waste that fell into fishing nets. Already at the end of this year, the brand’s branches in Italy and Spain should have items from this unusual material caught off the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. In general, the company promises to completely abandon traditional primary raw materials by 2030 and switch to renewable or recycled materials in the production of its products by 2030.
And in order to avoid an oversupply of garbage and its unsustainable recycling, IKEA has found new uses for rice stalks, the burning of which in large quantities negatively affects the state of the air. Therefore, in the new FÖRENDRING collection you can see rugs, lamps and tableware made of unusual natural materials.
People all over the world have also begun to think about what they eat. More and more, they are choosing healthy food restaurants using exclusively natural products. Such food should make our menu not only tastier, but also healthier. And plant components will have to make us not only healthier, but also contribute to the preservation of the environment.
Multifunctionality of furniture and living spaces
With the growth of the urban population, the space for human life decreases. To make city life more comfortable, even with minimal living space, IKEA presents transforming furniture in the new year. At the touch of a display button, the bed turns into a sofa, and a table top slides out of the cabinet. And all this is due to sliding and sliding shelves and levels of so-called smart furniture.
Living in “modern communes”
Another response to the lack of living space in the city is the development of urban village projects. In the future, you and I are offered to revise the standard forms of urban life and unite to live “modern communes”. Not only at the level of apartment interiors, but also in terms of the architecture of the buildings themselves. These forms of urban life should help save money, resources, living space and improve the quality of life through close communication with neighbors and belonging to a group.
Democracy and minimalism
The unchanged brand trend now and in the future remains the democratic price and minimalist nature of interior items, which distinguishes this unique company from other furniture manufacturers for many years and promises success and prosperity in the future, where people are more conscious and more economical about their lifestyle. and the life of the entire planet.