IKEA Museum, Sweden

It’s not on everyone’s list of places to visit when in Sweden, but if you do find yourself in Älmhult (or Smaland, Sweden more generally) then a visit to the IKEA Museum is a must-do. In the recently refurbished original building of the very first IKEA store, the IKEA Museum is a walk through the history of IKEA, its founder Ingvar Kamprad, and an introductory overview into what inspired the company from the beginning, and what was happening in Sweden at the time.

Moving through from the early days and inspirations, onto the first products as IKEA expanded and morphed into the flat-pack furniture empire we know today. Moving through the decades, there are furnished rooms set up from the 1950s all the way through to the 2010s. Original advertisements line the walls, and iterations of the IKEA logo are shown on a timeline, giving you a sense of how the company progressed from being the humble mail order business it started out as, into a company that is still very much focussed on democratic design; making the best value product sustainably for as many people as possible.

Any trip to IKEA isn’t complete without a stop in the restaurant; although there weren’t any hotdogs to be had, there were cinnamon buns and coffee, finishing my tour with fika was the perfect way to end.

IKEA Museum
Ikeagatan 5, 343 36
Älmhult, Sweden
40 SEK adults entrance