Everyone's favourite meatball—sorry—furniture and homewares store, IKEA, is throwing a mammoth festival, and you’re all invited.
A mecca for chic design, genius storage options and unbeatable prices that can turn even the tiniest sharehouse bedroom into a palatial-feeling haven, IKEA is no stranger to bringing dreams to life. This year, they're bringing all your domestic dreams to life at the extensive IKEA Festival, taking over stores around the globe IRL and online between Friday, August 26 and Saturday, September 10.
From Interior Design Speed Dating to plant-based cooking demos, IKEA expert talks and indoor plant workshops, a huge range of activities are taking over Aussie stores throughout the festival. Sydney’s Tempe location will be representing Australia on the world stage alongside New York, Stockholm, Tokyo and Paris with a bumper day of IRL and online activations on Saturday, September 3. Plus, every store across Australia will be treated to activations and offers throughout the festival period and local and international events will be readily available to experience online for around-the-clock inspo.
Read on for all of the must-do events taking over IKEA stores on Saturday, September 3, and head over here for all the details on what’s happening at your nearest store throughout the entire festival.
If you’re keen to bring a little bit of creative energy into your home by revamping some interior design but don’t know where to start, we recommend starting small. Ease into your creative brain and visit the IKEA Festival Beauty Salon at Tempe to get a free shellac mani from nail professionals in IKEA’s signature festival colours. You’ll soon be swapping the nail bar for assembly nails as you’re whipping up a new flatpack addition to bring new energy into your home.
The twist? They’re meat-free. Yep, that’s right, you can learn the secret to creating your very own IKEA-inspired meat-free Plant Balls recipe created by vegan food aficionado Liz Miu. Learn the ins and outs of creating Sticky Soy Garlic Plant Balls as the IKEA Food team walk you through the process. Sydneysiders can join Liz herself for a live demonstration at the Tempe store. The best part? You get to taste the finished product for free. Plus, the festival is stacked with IKEA’s love for food, with multiple workshops and free food sampling happening throughout. 
When you’re renting, there’s only so much you can achieve when it comes to personalising and optimising your home. Head down for some interior design ‘speed-dating’, IRL advice sessions with IKEA’s expert interior designers to learn how to maximise your space with the right furniture and storage solutions. Come prepared with dimensions and any pics of the space you’re working with and head straight in store to start putting your newfound knowledge into practice.
We’ve all found ourselves far down a scroll-hole, admiring the transformation of an unassuming old van into a comfortable ticket to freedom across Australia’s great open roads. Well, it's time to get off your phone and get down to Van Life at Sydney’s Tempe IKEA Festival hub for some IRL inspo—featuring a kitted-out Kombi stacked with super easy space-saving and organisation hacks you can replicate in your own four-wheeled holiday roller. Not a Sydney local? Jump back on your phone to catch the best Van Life tricks and tips online.
Want to add some lush touches to your home, without the headache of protecting your floorboards and surfaces from cumbersome pots? Plant guru Alan Chan will be running a live in-store workshop at Tempe, leading you through the step-by-step process of creating the perfect terrarium. Get your green thumbs moving and breathe some life into your interiors with further workshops at various IKEA locations on how to best care for your plants, and the home they share with you.
IKEA knows how to set the mood in any room, and curating the perfect soundtrack is no exception. Live music will soundtrack the festival, from cooking pots and home-organisation bins transformed into percussion instruments as you’ve never heard before, and live sets from local DJs, including GoJo and Limestone Cowboy. Check out rooms dedicated to Disco tunes, 15-minute dance classes, and even an ABBA-themed flash mob. If you’re in Perth you can also catch a slick silent disco set up to have a boogie and clock some inspo for bringing a little bit of the disco experience into your home.
Want to understand how a global company like IKEA is approaching the challenge? Well, lucky for us, throughout the festival you can access workshops with sustainability at the core. Whether it’s discovering a range of tips and tricks to make your home more sustainable or attending a sustainable dining experience with a bespoke three-course meal hosted in IKEA’s iconic Swedish Restaurant—you’ll be sure to pick up a thing or two.
Catch a heap of online content from all around the world in the comfort of your home with IKEA Festival's online program. On Sunday, September 3 Australia takes over, so tune in for a celebration of morning rituals with digital creator, Sam Evans as he talks about the importance of connecting to nature and making time for yourself early in the day, plus unpacking his surf van for all the space-saving tips it has to offer. Join Liz Miu for a deep dive into her plant-based practices, a step-by-step demonstration of her dish created exclusively for IKEA Festival, and the benefits of embracing plant-based options. Then check out 'Goodnight from Australia', where a live music set will be broadcast from a boat on Sydney Harbour, setting the tone with chilled tunes.
Just like the flat-pack furniture we know and love, IKEA Festival is jam-packed to make the most of every second of the event in the most exciting and efficient way. To check out all of the details and to see what vibrant events are coming to your nearest location, and the full online itinerary, head over here.
What: IKEA Festival
When: Friday, August 26 to Saturday, September 10, online and in store, with activities every day and special events on Saturday, 3 September
Where: IKEA stores nationally
Image credit: Supplied, Nathan Guo
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by IKEA and proudly endorsed by Urban List. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who make Urban List possible. Click here for more information on our editorial policy.
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