IKEA's First Ever Hackable Collection

IKEA's products have long been the inspiration for “hacking” and that’s exactly what sparked the idea behind Tom Dixon's "hackable" furniture capsule collection for the Swedish super-store earlier this year.

Now, IKEA has unveiled an entire collection based around the concept of personalisation.

Cottoning on to our desire for more personalised stuff, IKEA'slatest collectionSJÄLVSTÄNDIG(meaning "independent" and "free from outside control" in Swedish)is inspired by personalisation and DIY movements.

See Also:IKEA’S New Storage Collection Is All About Celebrating Ordinary Stuff

Launching in October 2018, thelimited edition collectionis comprised of unique pieces thathave been designed and produced with the intention of them being adaptable so that customers can make them their own.

From modular, velcro-joined rug tiles that can be put together to form all sorts of off-the-wall shapes, to floor pillows that extend as far as you want, to furniture legs that can be stacked together any number of ways and and unique "imperfect" vases that add a bit of personality, this line is IKEA's first truly interactive collection.

The limited-edition linecollection is versatile, colourful and creative, and is bursting with personality, and above all else, individuality.

See Also:Collab Alert; IKEA X NASA's Futuristic Collection

Exploring the realm of personalisation and DIY, IKEA's design team focused on how to design “unfinished” products that would allow people to modify them.

“We have a lot of research in IKEA showing that people want the option to personalise items,” explains Creative Leader Maria O’Brian. But why? It turns out, personalisation is not only about wanting to separate ourselves from the crowd, it’s also about bonding with the things wecherish the most.

Upon altering our belongings to suit our style preferences, we’re actually building a closer relationship with them. It’s all about sharing more of who you are through the tweaking and customising of products.

See Also:2018 IKEA Collections To Look Forward To

“We really drilled down into creativity and started looking at what it means to be rebellious and independent with products and home furnishing,” Maria continues.

The design team’s digging resulted in a collection with loud aesthetics, bold colours and patterns; such as a metal chair in a hot salmon pink.

“We also explored how we might be able to enable people to modify, play with, and build upon what we’ve made.”

Thanks to the hook and loop fasteners, the modular carpet allows you to create your own configuration, mixing and matching to create unusual shapes and patterns.

See Also:Collab Alert: IKEA X SONOS

To create one-off, individual vases, the design team asked factory workers to squeeze each one, molding each vase into a slightly different shape. The factory workers then signed each one with aunique handprint andChinese character –so no two are exactly the same.

Floor cushions can be made longer or shorter, and even furniture legs are customisable;allowing you to build your own height for that special cabinet or armchair.

You canmake legs longer or keep them short, you can paint them, rearrange them, and play around with different looks.

In a nutshell, the idea is to make the products into anything you want or whatever makes you happy. As IKEA Creative Leader Maria O’Brian says, “Go crazy, express yourself.”

The collection launches in UK stores October 2018.