Published 12 October 2022 • Inter IKEA newsroom

IKEA brings marine life into the home with the new BLÅVINGAD range

This October will see the launch of the new BLÅVINGAD range. Inspired by children’s curiosity about marine life, it was created with input from the Kids Advisory Panel.

The BLÅVINGAD collection is designed to inspire interest in life under the ocean's surface – home to thousands of creatures. From inspirational soft toys of kids' favourite marine animals and aquatic textiles to games and dreamy lighting, this collection will spark play and curiosity about the ocean. The collection is aimed across two age groups, from ages 3-7 years old and 8+. Much like the ocean, a child's imagination is an immersive place of wonder. With the BLÅVINGAD collection, IKEA has taken inspiration from the ocean's vibrant atmosphere in the development of a long-term range of items that are both expressive and playful.

"Play is at the heart of Children's IKEA, and we are inspired to create products that encourage more opportunities to play for both children and families," says Jorge Omar Santoyo Henaine, Product Design Developer at IKEA. "Through the creative process, we learned how important it was to continue to create a range that supports play but also meets functional home furnishing needs of home," he adds.

The idea behind the range is based on the IKEA Kids Advisory Panel findings. IKEA learned that children are concerned about the ocean, and specifically the animals that call it home. As a result, IKEA based the design vision around marine life, while also consciously taking small steps to include more sustainable materials such as 100% recycled polyester, which is found in select items, including the soft toys. Through the work with the Kids Advisory Panel, we learned which ocean creatures children from different countries like the most. This informed the creation of the characters you see the most in BLÅVINGAD, which are the dolphin, orca, blue whale, turtle, and octopus.