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Affordable by design

What do flat packed furniture, chairs made in trolley factories, sustainably affordable LED light bulbs and delicious hot dogs have in common? They’re IKEA things. Meaning, things we do or make, to make things more affordable, without compromising on quality. We call it… affordable by design.

Explore the wonderful things we do to make things more affordable. 

How do we keep our prices so low? It’s simple. We ask the customer to do some of the work. Then, smart distribution and stock management reduce costs even further. Flatter, densely packed, stackable packages are also better for the environment, since far more of each product can fit into trucks and containers. This means fewer lorries on the roads, and lower environmental impact. A win for the planet is a win for everyone.
IKEA children’s products are designed to be safe regardless of their price level. That’s why when we test them, we consider both intended and unintended uses - to ensure they’re not only affordable, but safe, and durable too.

IKEA wanted to make its seating cheaper and flatpackable. So it looked to cars and eventually, a shopping trolley factory, to figure out how to make frames that were collapsiable and inexpensive. They were immediate sales successes, and soon we began making more products out of industrial metal.

To create these lightbulbs IKEA designers needed to question everything.  Efficiency. Materials. Whole value chain. In the end, they found that by choosing parts with higher quality for the LED part, we could get rid of certain parts in the bulb’s power supply, and thereby end up with a lower end cost.

Save energy with LED lights

Ever wonder what’s in LED bulbs? Among other things, there’s a circuit board and tiny, rice-sized diodes. Did we mention LED bulbs use up to 85% less energy than older incandescent bulbs. Now that you know, let's focus on finding the right LED light bulbs for your light fitting. The E27 bulb is one of the most commonly used base types (we carry all the standard bulbs), and we have them in dimmable, decorative, or colour-changing smart bulbs for your light.

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Rebel in the comfort of home

At IKEA, we believe home is the one place where the rules aren’t invited. Where you can always be your true self. Where you’re in charge of levelling up your living room with a gaming set-up, moving your dining room outdoors or decorating your bedroom with bold colours if you want to, IKEA smart solutions encourage everyone to break the rules and rebel in the comfort of home.

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