Robotic Furniture Will Be Coming To IKEA

Photo Credit: IKEA

Bella Breakdown

IKEA is giving new hope to renters living in apartments way too small to furnish. At this year’s annual Democratic Design Day, the DIY retailer unveiled a new line of robotic furniture that will help create big spaces at just the touch of a button.

During the two-day event, the Swedish company announced its partnership with Ori. The Boston-based company is known for its “robotic interiors” and gained mainstream attention for its “pocket closet.” Through Ori, IKEA will release a collection of “innovative and flexible home solutions for people who have big dreams for small space.”

The line will include beds that roll away underneath storage units and closets, couches that double as guest beds and a living space that can also convert to a bedroom space.

“All of our homes are getting smaller and smaller, there’s no denying that,” Ori CEO Hasier Larrea said during the IKEA partnership announcement in Älmhult. “That means we can’t design our homes the way we used to when they were twice the size.”

Seana Strawn, product developer for IKEA stated that the robotic collection has been in the works for a long time and with living quarters becoming smaller, especially in big cities, IKEA wanted to fix the issue.

“It’s like something you’d see in movies,” Larrea said, “but now more and more people can live with this [technology] in the very near future.”