Ikea may have just made your life easier. No, really. While you’ll still need to find your mini tool set and have some alcohol nearby to console you as you build away into the night, this one’s actually a game-changer, even if you never thought you could have an indoor garden.
Space10, the design lab for Swedish furniture giant Ikea, has just revolutionized the home garden. In particular, it’s targeting homes without a spoonful of soil anywhere on the property. And it’s just what you’d expect from the modern and DIY-focused home furnishings store and then some.
Earlier this year at the September London Design Festival, Ikea revealed a prototype for Lokal, its mini indoor garden that can grow herbs and fresh greens inside your home in Ikea’s uniquely compact and edgy style. No sunlight? No problem. It takes a futuristic slant on the kitchen garden–a bit of a science and a bit of sci-fi all wrapped in one delicious salad grower that can grow food pretty much anywhere there’s a power outlet.
The idea is to “explore how Ikea could develop a new, local supply chain for its own food,” Space10 spokesperson Simon Caspersen told Business Insider.
The indoor farming system relies on hydroponics (water) and LED lights in a climate-controlled box. The LED lights mimic natural sunlight but can actually increase production with crops growing three times as fast as they would outdoors, Ikea claims. And that speedy growth means the system requires 90 percent less water than required by outdoor (or soil-based indoor) gardens, making it super sustainable for growing greens and herbs.
And these gardens full of healthy food are sure to sell out, because, as anyone who’s ever put together Ikea furniture knows, you need to be healthy, strong, and energized to do it.
This post was last modified on December 15, 2020 6:25 am