IKEA museum set for 2015 delivery

Frances Cha, CNN
2 minute read
Published 5:15 AM EDT, Mon May 19, 2014
IKEA has filed to build a museum in Almhult, Sweden, on the site of the recently relocated IKEA Almhult store (pictured). This is also the site of IKEA's first store built in 1958. The museum will open in fall 2015.
A design history —
IKEA has filed to build a museum in Almhult, Sweden, on the site of the recently relocated IKEA Almhult store (pictured). This is also the site of IKEA's first store built in 1958. The museum will open in fall 2015.
courtesy ikea
IKEA was founded by Ingvar Kamprad (pictured) in 1943 as an odds-and-ends company selling products ranging from cigarette lighters to nylon stockings.
First store —
IKEA was founded by Ingvar Kamprad (pictured) in 1943 as an odds-and-ends company selling products ranging from cigarette lighters to nylon stockings.
courtesy ikea
IKEA maintains a corporate presence in Almhult, with furniture testing facilities and an exhibition of the company's history entitled "IKEA Through the Ages." This photo shows the first IKEA store in 1959 or 1960.
'IKEA Town' —
IKEA maintains a corporate presence in Almhult, with furniture testing facilities and an exhibition of the company's history entitled "IKEA Through the Ages." This photo shows the first IKEA store in 1959 or 1960.
courtesy ikea
Today, there are <a href="http://franchisor.ikea.com/FranchisingtheIKEAway/Pages/All-IKEA-stores.aspx" target="_blank" target="_blank">355 IKEA stores</a> in 44 countries, including France, where this innovative "bathroom" billboard stands in Paris. The latest store opened in Tachikawa, Japan, in April.
Disrupting design —
Today, there are 355 IKEA stores in 44 countries, including France, where this innovative "bathroom" billboard stands in Paris. The latest store opened in Tachikawa, Japan, in April.
FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images
When record high temperatures hit China in 2013, an <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/09/travel/gallery/china-heat-ikea-gallery/">IKEA in Beijing saw a surge in interest from citizens</a> looking for air-conditioning, comfortable sofas and a good nap.
Using IKEA to escape a heat wave —
When record high temperatures hit China in 2013, an IKEA in Beijing saw a surge in interest from citizens looking for air-conditioning, comfortable sofas and a good nap.
Feng Ke/CNN
From the IKEA Museum, we expect at least one exhibition devoted to meatballs -- <a href="http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2013/02/26/ikea-horsemeat/" target="_blank">horsemeat scare</a> and all.
Can't forget the meatballs —
From the IKEA Museum, we expect at least one exhibition devoted to meatballs -- horsemeat scare and all.
MARCEL ANTONISSE/AFP/Getty Image
IKEA to open museum in 2015

Story highlights

IKEA Museum will be on site of first store in Älmhult, Sweden

The 7,000-square-meter museum will also have a museum shop and food for visitors

Museum expected to draw 200,000 visitors per year

CNN  — 

Why do their cheap meatballs taste so good?

Why are bookshelves named Billy?

Why can’t store layouts be normal?

These questions, and more, will no doubt be posed by the visitors who head to the new IKEA Museum opening next year.

Of course, we might need to hammer together our own answers, having wound our way through thousands of irrelevant facts first.

But perhaps a DIY museum experience will be even more satisfying once completed.

The furniture company that changed the affordability of design has filed to build a museum on the site of its first store in Sweden.

Tentatively scheduled to open in fall 2015, the museum will take up 7,000 square meters on the site of the recently relocated IKEA store in Almhult, also the site of IKEA’S first store opened by founder Ingvar Kamprad in 1958.

IKEA town

Almhult is known as “IKEA Town” for being the birthplace of IKEA, which still maintains a strong corporate presence in the city.

While the then-17-year-old Kamprad had already registered IKEA as a business in 1943, selling products ranging from nylon stockings to cigarette lighters, the Almhult site was the first brick-and-mortar store as well as the company’s first furniture showroom.

READ: The hotel room you can pack and and bring with you

A small exhibition of IKEA’s history, titled “IKEA through the ages,” is already in place at the basement of the corporate culture center in Älmhult, but company reps are hoping that the new museum will be a much bigger tourist draw.

“In the IKEA Museum we plan to tell the IKEA story, focusing on range, business and people development over time,” said Michele Acuna, managing director for IKEA Tillsammans, the corporate culture center.

“We also plan to have a museum shop and food services for our visitors,” said Acuna, adding that the museum is expected to draw “roughly 200,000 visitors annually when it is in full steam.”

Would you pay a visit to the IKEA Museum in Sweden? Let us know in the comments.

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