How we design and innovate with wood
We’re always looking for ways to make the most of the wood we use. Find out how we challenge ourselves to improve how we design wood-based products.
One of the wonderful qualities of wood is that there are so many things you can do with it. It can be sanded and shaped, laminated, bent and folded. Or why not recycled, recomposed and moulded? It works in the bedroom and bathroom, the living room and library. You can walk on it, sleep on it, eat off it. You can use it to store things and stir things. At IKEA, we’re always looking for new ways to make the most of this precious resource and we constantly challenge ourselves to innovate and improve how we design wood-based products.
The stories behind our wood-based products
Wood is part of our Scandinavian design heritage. For around 80 years IKEA designers and product developers have been inspired by the many qualities of the material and created hundreds of beautiful, functional and affordable products that make life at home a little bit easier. And our current crop of designers is just as happy to be working with wood.
We’re always looking for ways to use wood as efficiently as possible without compromising on quality or function
FRÖSET: bent for comfort and strength
Assembling multiple layers of veneer in special moulds and pressing and gluing them together allows us to create curved components. FRÖSET easy chair uses bent wood in different thicknesses. The back rest is thinner so it flexes, while the seat is thicker to provide support where you need it most.
Types of wood-based material used by suppliers for production of IKEA products
In FY25, our products contained lots of different and efficient ways of using virgin and recycled wood material. Particle board, a strong composite material, represents approximately half of all the wood-based material used in our products in FY25.
The case for particle board
Did you know that half of our wood-based products including bookshelves, wardrobes, kitchen frames and TV benches such as PAX, MALM, BILLY, NORDLI and METOD are made from particle board? Particle board uses all the pieces of wood which are left over from the production line or are not suitable for solid wood products – even the sawdust – and turns them into a whole new wood-based material. And the best part? When a particle board based product reaches the end of its life suitable material can be recovered and recycled for use in the production of new particle board, which can then be used in the manufacture of new furniture.
As part of our Forest Agenda to drive innovation to use wood in even smarter ways, we are one of the first in the furniture industry to encourage our suppliers to increase their share of recycled wood used in particle board production.
Designing products with circularity in mind
We apply the IKEA Circular Design Principles to product development to design products, where feasible, to be reused, repaired, refurbished and, as a last resort, recycled. This means, when feasible, we use materials from renewable or recycled sources and develop products and services for people to reuse, repair, refurbish or recycle.
Opening the door to innovation with ASPUDDEN
Thanks to a special production technique, the ASPUDDEN kitchen series opens the door to more design possibilities, with a focus on materials and quality – at an affordable price.
Paint innovation is on a roll
At IKEA, we’re always on the lookout for smarter ways to make furniture affordable for the many people. For the past decade, our Production Development team has been perfecting a new paint application process that’s more efficient – without compromising on quality.
Behind the scenes with IVAR
A lot of innovation has gone into the production of IVAR side units. Let's step into the forest and through the factory, getting to know the wood, people and robots that bring IVAR into the world.