IKEA Museum in Älmhult, Sweden

The first IKEA Museum in the world opened on 30 June in what was the very first IKEA store, in Älmhult, Sweden. A journey through the home furnishings of this Swedish giant that in one way or another took the world - and our homes - by storm.



IKEA - the Swedish furniture brand that revolutionised our idea of home and of furniture, by making Scandinavian design available to everyone - has opened its own museum in the space that housed the very first IKEA store in history back in 1958.



The township of Älmhult is located in Småland, southern Sweden - the home of Pippi Longstockings and Emil of Lönneberga by famous writer Astrid Lindgren, who also came from this region. Here the founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad opened his first furniture store after starting out his sales by mail order only; the first catalogue came out exactly 65 years ago, way back in 1951!





His idea to add a restaurant inside the store so it wouldn't remain empty at lunch time turned out to be brilliant, just like the idea to pass on savings to customers by getting them to assemble their furniture.
Now Älmhult has the IKEA Museum to celebrate the brand that brought fame to the town of just under 10,000 inhabitants. To do this, much of the outside of the building that housed the historical furniture store was restored to its original modernist style, designed by architect Claes Knutson (1919-1977), while the interiors follow the logic and needs of a contemporary museum space. 





The main exhibition is divided into three theme areas - the roots, the IKEA story and the story of the customers. A real journey back in time, accompanied by their classics, like the Billy shelves and the Klippan sofa, reserving a place of honour for the Allen key, the essential tool for assembling the furniture. Another part hosts the temporary exhibitions that will be changed twice a year - right now the theme is the kitchen.





Of course, there is also the restaurant and the store, and it's all accompanied by a varied programme of educational activities, thereby creating a multifunctional centre that enables visitors to approach the world of design. When interior decor becomes culture.

Christiane Bürklein

Project: IKEA Systems B.V.
Location: Älmhult, Sweden
Year: 2016
Images: © Inter IKEA Systems B.V. 2016