IKEA Family Live
4th January, 2011
Images from the current Australian issue of IKEA Family Live magazine - The home of artist Graca Paz in Portugal. Photos by Adrian Briscoe.
Images from the current Australian issue of IKEA Family Live magazine - The home of artist Graca Paz in Portugal. Photos by Adrian Briscoe.
Images from the current Australian issue of IKEA Family Live magazine. The home of artist Graca Paz in Portugal. Photos by Adrian Briscoe.
I have a love / hate relationship with IKEA. They do have some truly great stuff, at seriously unbelievable prices - but then if I see ONE MORE EXPEDIT bookcase in someone's house / office / studio I may die of brain RSI. Aggh it is taking over the world! I would not be surprised if the Expedit was more prevalent in homes world wide than Harry Potter. Or possibly even Facebook.
ANYWAY. There is a reason IKEA are taking over the world and mainly it is because they really do design great products. AND then they style them really, really well. That is why everyone loves visiting IKEA, and also flicking through an IKEA catalogue!
Towards the end of last year IKEA Australia launched 'IKEA Family' - a loyalty club much like Everyday Rewards or Fly Buys or that Spotlight VIP thing. I dutifully signed up one day and got my little orange credit card and didn't think much more of it. That was UNTIL I received the IKEA Family Live magazine in the post just before Christmas! Oh my. It is seriously genius!
IKEA Family Live is a really well put together little magazine, full of beautifully styled homes from all over the world (including Australia), great inspiration and ideas - but of course the only product you'll see mentioned is IKEA product! And yet it looks so freaking GOOD, in no time you'll find yourself subliminally convinced to hang all your kitchen pots from a stainless steel rail, or set up a study nook in that 50cm cavity under the stairs. It is quite amazing marketing. Bravo IKEA! Seriously on to it.
You can sign up for IKEA Family HERE, and whilst you're waiting for the next quarterly magazine to be delivered, you can browse many of the stories and images from previous issues on the IKEA Family Live website. It's in beta mode currently so is a little bit slow, but there is much eye candy to uncover if you are patient!
Images from the IKEA Family Live website - Katrin and Moritz' 56m2 apartment in Austria.
Images from the IKEA Family Live website - Katrin and Moritz' 56m2 apartment in Austria.
These images are getting me all excited about my trip to Ikea this week! I didn’t know about family live. thanks for the info!
The link to join was directed to Ikea UK. The Australian one is http://ikeafamily.com.au/website/Registration.aspx
I’m also a family live member..Love Ikea and now will be looking for my mag in the mail.I’ve just become a follower..xx
OH thanks for spotting that Giselle! I just fixed the link.. whoopx! x
I have a fantastic end of my day, finding myself in this awasome blog. Thank you for that.
From Portugal
Graça Paz
OH GRACA I am so glad to hear from you! Thanks for saying hello! I have just made links back to your website :) your house is AMAZING! x
Sadly over here in WA we are considered the “black sheep” of the family as are our SA cousins.
Unfortunate really when so many of us are huge IKEA fans. The magazine looks amazing!
When I get to NYc I will have to get into Ikea, my cousin took me there 5 years ago, I had such fun.
Happy New year , it’s my first visit. Do stop over to my place sometime.
yvonne
Oh Lucy – I too have a love/hate relationship with Ikea! If they didn’t keep coming up with such genius it wouldn’t be a problem – but they do! And it kills me, but I can’t resist.
Have you seen the IKEA iphone/ipad catalogue app? How do they do it?!! Arghh!
Thanks for Family Live tip off, I’ll reluctantly check it out and uncontrollably love it to bits no doubt.
Happy new year
Ingrid x
yep, like sue i found that us west australians aren’t invited to join the family. what a gyp!!
awww, sucked in and signed up. thanks for the tip. i do love myself a bit of ikea thrown into my roadside pick up/op shop mix.
I also loved the IKEA Family magazine. The card itself is pretty handy for getting discounts on certain items too!
Am so there, Ingrid and Lucy! IKEA is the design equivilant of MacDonalds. It’s cheap and cute and they are just so good at problem-solving, damn their economical Swedish hides!
I have a dream of having a totally IKEA-free home one day, but having said that, it’s such fun spotting a little IKEA object in fabulous homes featured in glossy shelter magazines all over the world! I give up…am going to look at IKEA live now…the siren call is just too strong. See you at the meatball counter…
xox, mk
having lived in a town without ikea for most of my life, and now, having to travel 2 hours to get there, it’s like a pilgrimage. friends call each other before they take the journey – ‘need anything at ikea?’ – and it’s much cheaper for me if I just place my order with them instead of being snaffled into the body of the beast myself. that artist’s home in the family catalogue made me salivate. they are probably the best marketers in the world, no? and there is so much business knowledge to learn from them. they constantly keep it fresh, and by noting the actual designers, make you loyal and impressed. amazing stuff.
I am a happy embracer of Ikea but do know what you mean about Expedit. I am, however, about to buy two great big ones to house my old Dad’s expansive vinyl record collection. Can’t go past how handy and sturdy and relatively cheap it is.
I’ll admit it- my name is Edwina and I am an IKEA fan. Always have been, always will be. Yes, I avoid the EXPEDIT and BILLY and the like (everywhere!!) but there are too many gems not to love it. (Not the least, the awesome playground so my cherubs can play while I wander) Signing up to IKEA Live now…thanks Lucy!
It´s ME who thank you for the post and for the link! A kiss from Portugal and a very happy year*
Sue and Alex: It’s because Ikea in SA and WA is a franchise. Completely weird, I know. It’s also why we don’t get the entire range, and why they won’t order in things available in other states. Drives me crazy! I’d give anything to be part of the big, non-franchised Ikea family! A salesperson at Ikea explained it to me when I was completely confused by the lack of double beds at WA Ikea.
Graca: I adore your living room rugs! Wish they were from Ikea, then I could get a couple for myself ;)
What coincidence – I was just planning a trip to ikea tonight to pick up some picture frames for some new artwork! Can’t get past those minimal ribba frames.
I know what you mean about the love/hate relationship!
Some of their products are so cute and handy, but sometimes, and especially with the furniture – at the end of the day you get what you pay for.
I too have a love/hate relationship with ikea and must admit I own a few EXPEDIT’s – I blame my lack of funds at uni and my overly large collection of books and magazines that need somewhere cosy to live that isn’t the floor. Thanks for the link to Ikea Live!
Hello Lucy
The IKEA FAMILY team love your blog! Thanks for the post and so happy that you love IKEA FAMILY LIVE.
Look, there´s my (former) house! How lovely (and bitterweet, since I don´t live there anymore, sniff) to see it here! Thank you for including it!
Hi Lucy,
Thanks so much for the lovely post about the LIVE website. We’re so happy to hear that you uncovered plenty of eye candy. We love your blog.
We’ll be clicking back often to see your posts!
love/hate relationship here too! great that they make simple design so affordable but I think it also means that people think it’s disposable. So much of what I see thrown on the side of the road is Ikea. I’d like to see some program to recycle their furniture as people don’t seem to hold on to it for long.
These photos are fantastic and extremely inspiring. Oooh.. how I can’t wait to have a home of my own!