IKEA and LEGO have officially unveiled their much-anticipated collaboration after months of speculation. The debut of the product has led us to a realization, however, that the two are one and the same, as IKEA furniture is essentially LEGO for adults.
At the center of the IKEA x LEGO partnership is a range of storage solutions referred to as BYGGLEK. BYGGLEK is a box that not only stores LEGOs but also acts as a display stand. The idea behind the collaboration is to create more room for play throughout the home. And when it's time to clean up, the LEGO creations don't have to be taken apart, as they can simply go right back into BYGGLEK.
“You can play and pause without scattering your project all over the floor,” said IKEA designer Andreas Fredriksson.
IKEA insists BYGGLEK is more than just a box. It is also meant to serve as a launchpad for the imagination, inspiring, and promoting creativity through LEGOs. One of the largest molded items in LEGO history, BYGGLEK is made from the same type of high-quality LEGO bricks. "It is important that BYGGLEK has the same quality and the same feel,” Fredriksson said.
The two biggest BYGGLEK sets are flat-packed and designed so that a small child can put it together, no instructions necessary. “The good thing is that you cannot put it together the wrong way, and you don’t need any tools," said LEGO design manager Rasmus Buch Løgstrup. "You just klick it together. It is a quite unique solution.”
Inside the box you will find play starters to help jumpstart the creative process. These include food items and minifigures that adhere to a "life at home" theme. You can then build from the inside or outside and include the box as part of the build.
"There are no building instructions. The box itself can be a house, a swimming pool, a sports arena," Løgstrup added. "There is no right or wrong."
As kids we built LEGOs and as adults we're forced to move on to more grown-up tasks like assembling furniture. If you've ever purchased something from IKEA, then you know the process of piecing it together rivals that of a child's LEGO set.
IKEA furniture generally comes in a package with many pieces, on occasion with a set of small tools — i.e. an Allen key — to assist in the build. Without fail, it seems like you always end up in an ongoing trial-and-error process to find the right piece that connects to the previous one, à la LEGOs.
The IKEA x LEGO BYGGLEK is available in four sizes starting at $9.99. The collaboration also includes a 201-piece BYGGLEK LEGO brick set ($14.99) exclusive to IKEA stores.
IKEA x LEGO BYGGLEK launches October 1.
