The IKEA Home of Tomorrow to inspire your home today

ikea home of tomorrow
Photo Credit: IKEA.com

How will our future homes look and function? IKEA’s vision of it is a plant-filled, self-sustaining haven.

And …

IKEA has made this vision come alive in Szczecin, Poland’s greenest city.

Housed in an abandoned 120-year-old apartment building, the IKEA Home of Tomorrow is an experimental showcase of self-sustaining circular design solutions.

It offers a peek into what’s possible when we design and live with greater intentionality and harmony with nature.

Visitors to the venue will learn about the new role of houseplants. They’ll find new, efficient ways to process waste. Even regenerate themselves with light and try cooking (and eating) zero waste cuisine. 

IKEA Home of Tomorrow, Poland
Over 600 plants live in this home | Photo: IKEA.com

As per Dwell, Polish designers Joanna Jurga, Paulina Grabowska, and Justyna Puchalska created the 2,700-square-foot concept home in response to looming global issues including climate change, dwindling natural resources, and indoor air quality—a growing concern for those spending more time indoors amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

A circular process

IKEA Home of Tomorrow, Poland
Photo: IKEA.com

At the heart of the home is a soil-free indoor garden employing aquaponics, hydroponics and aeroponics to grow a range of vegetables, microgreens, fruits and spirulina.

Waste generated during food preparation is then composted and turned into a natural fertilizer for the plants. And thus the metabolic process goes on and on.

Room full of ideas

IKEA Home of Tomorrow, Poland
Photo: IKEA.com

Visitors to the Home of Tomorrow are free to explore all the rooms, with each room serving different functions.

There’s a Home Farm that displays scalable urban farming solutions.

Home Farm
The IVAR system is the main frame of the Home Farm, with various sizes of KUGGIS boxes connected to an aquarium for an aquaponic system | Photo: IKEA.com

A Creative Zone where experienced carpenters teach visitors to renovate worn-out furniture and give them a second life. (Sounds like IKEA hacking to me!)

Creative Zone
IVAR with fold out table and cabinets with KULLABERG swivel stools form the Creative Zone | Photo: IKEA.com

There is also a Home Sun room, an installation that imitates sunlight. The light will help the body rest and boost a person’s energy levels. In another installation, made of 100 TRÅDFRI light bulbs, visitors will experience the effects of light colours on their body and the surroundings.

Home Sun
In the Home Sun room, shelving on PERSHULT brackets hold up CYLINDER jars of Spirulina | Photo: IKEA.com

And before visitors leave, they can head to the Planning Space. In here, visitors will learn how to make their kitchen and whole house more friendly towards the planet and its resources. Visitors can meet with IKEA Kitchen Specialists to create a practical and functional kitchen design for free.

Can’t get to Poland?

Living plant wall
Multiple SÖSDALA memo boards and KAFFEBÖNA plant pots form a living wall | Photo: IKEA.com
IKEA Home of Tomorrow, Poland
NORDVIKEN bar stools to sit and dream of your future home | Photo: IKEA.com

You can participate in this initiative without leaving your home. Help IKEA create solutions that will reduce waste in Szczecin. (Update: This program has ended.)