IKEA to open its own museum at the end of June

Here at Pamono, we’ve taken note that the market for vintage IKEA furniture is really taking off. So when we heard that IKEA is set to open an IKEA museum—in the building that once housed the company’s very first showroom, no less—we just had to share the news.

All you diehard IKEA fans start planning a pilgrimage to Älmhult, Sweden. On June 30^th, the IKEA Museum opens to the public, presenting three stories of installations showcasing IKEA designs and artifacts collected since its inception in the 1940s. To get the scoop, we reached out to the museum’s manager, Carina Kloek-Malmsten.

 

Pamono: How did the idea to create an IKEA museum arise?

Carina Kloek-Malmsten: After more than seven decades, Ikea has plenty of stories, of course. We think it’s time to share them with the public. The format—a museum—gives us the opportunity to show and explain who we are in a different way than we do in our retail environments. The museum project has been around for some years, but the concept reached a new level of intensity when we got the opportunity to establish the IKEA Museum in the original building that housed the very first IKEA store. 

P: How will the museum be programmed?

CKM: The main exhibition takes you on a journey through different times and contexts—the ideas and driving forces, the people and furniture, the mistakes and lessons learned since the beginning. In one part of the exhibition, we highlight the stories of the longest-lived products in our range; for example, the Klippan sofa, much loved for its kid-friendly design and changeable covers. You’ll also find temporary exhibitions, which at the moment focuses on life in and around the kitchen. Here, there is lots of space for imagining what life at home will look like in the future.

P: We’ve noticed a spike in interest around collecting vintage Ikea designs. Do you have any thoughts on this phenomenon?

CKM: It always takes some decades to re-appreciate things, especially when they’re designed for every-day-use. The IKEA quality and design, which might have been taken almost for granted by one generation, gets a new value for the next generation.

P: What are some highlights from the museum collection that you’re especially excited about?

CKM: I think that the shifting projection of the patterns and textile designs on the Klippan sofa over the years is fantastic!

 

You can find details about visiting the IKEA Museum here. Save some meatballs for us!