6.25.2021 | DIGS.NET 35
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P R O F I L E | I K E A T I N Y H O U S E
Renowned Swedish furniture
company IKEA created a tiny home to
showcase how healthy and sustainable
living can be accessible to all.
W R I T T E N B Y K A R I N E M O N I É
P H O T O G R A P H S C O U R T E S Y O F J O S I A H A N D
S T E P H P H O T O G R A P H Y
Small Space,
Big Style
S
ince its debut in 1943, IKEA has been a pioneer. At that
time, its founder, Ingvar Kamprad, was only 17 years old.
He started the company with a small sum of money that his
dad rewarded him for doing well in school. He chose the name
IKEA as an abbreviation of Ingvar Kamprad from Elmtaryd (the
family farm), Agunnaryd (the nearby village, located in southern
Sweden). The rest is history.
With each of its pieces of furniture being stylish, easy to assem-
ble and accessible in terms of pricing, IKEA has become a design
reference worldwide. The ambition of the brand, however, goes far
beyond its impressive success. Promoting healthy and sustainable
living is at the heart of everything IKEA does today. This mission
translates into products that save water at home and use renewable
materials, while the brand also seeks solutions to democratize
solar energy, avoid food waste, eliminate single-use plastics and
fi nd plant-based food alternatives, among other efforts. This vision
has become even stronger in light of the events of the past year.
The year 2020 "marked a change in people's relationship to
their home," say Inter IKEA Group CEO Jon Abrahamsson Ring
and Chief Sustainability Offi cer Lena Pripp Kovac in the IKEA
Sustainability Report FY20. "As the coronavirus spread, millions
of people have been staying in their homes for weeks or even
