Ikea Is Now Selling Tiny Homes and They’re As Stylish As You’d Expect

Food & Wine ^ | December 16, 2020 | Jessica Poitevien

[nickcarraway]

The price on the tiny home starts at $47,550.

For decades, Ikea has decorated and organized homes across the world, thanks to its ready-to-assemble furniture. Now, the beloved Swedish company is taking its dedication to home goods a step further with the creation of its very first tiny home.

With a focus on sustainability, Ikea’s latest product doesn’t sacrifice any luxuries or comforts, despite its compact size. According to Lonely Planet, Ikea partnered with Vox Creative and RV and tiny home builder Escape to design the tiny home with eco-friendly features.

Built as part of the Ikea Tiny Home Project, the trailer is a customized version of Escape’s Vista Boho XL model. The added features include solar panels, composting toilets, and an on-demand heated water supply, powered by the trailer, Lonely Planet reports. Potential buyers can get a better idea of what their new abode might look like through an online shopping experience created by Vox. The Ikea-specific website allows audiences to explore the home and buy furniture or other knickknacks to personalize their tiny home.

"It was a natural pairing," Escape founder Dan Dobrowolski told Lonely Planet. "We feature many Ikea products in our various tiny home designs around the country, as they mirror the renewable, reusable, and recycled materials we incorporate into the actual structures."

The custom build took 60 days to complete, with Ikea senior interior design leader Abbey Stark telling Lonely Planet that she “wanted to source renewable, reusable, and recycled materials when possible to make the space functional as well as beautiful.”

And she succeeded in that mission. The whitewashed panels of the tiny home are made from sustainably grown pine, while the kitchen cupboards are fashioned with recycled bottle tops. The entire home is also decorated with neutral tones and includes practical features such as built-in storage and a collapsible desk.

The Ikea BOHO XL model from Escape starts at $47,550, and you can take a virtual tour of the home here.

Jessica Poitevien is a Travel + Leisure contributor currently based in South Florida, but always on the lookout for the next adventure. Besides traveling, she loves baking, talking to strangers, and taking long walks on the beach. Follow her adventures on Instagram.

This story originally appeared on travelandleisure.com

[Eagles6]

Soy water dispenser included!

[GOP Poet]

Interesting.

[PeterPrinciple]

It’s a camper on a tandem axle trailer. We have lots of theses around.

Now try to get a permit to live in one of these on your own land and see what happens.

[Oshkalaboomboom]

In America many people think that Ikea is the Swedish word for particle board but in Europe, where living spaces are a lot smaller, they are a major supplier. It’s a pretty impressive amount of stuff they can cram into a tiny apartment and still make it look stylish.

[alexander_busek]

The homes start at $50,000 - but the natural-language assembly instructions are sold separately, and cost an additional $20,000.

Regards,

[Dagnabitt]

Good point.

[nickcarraway]

Didn’t the founder of IKEA work with Nazis?

[Oshkalaboomboom]

Didn’t the founder of IKEA work with Nazis?

If he did nobody cares. He's dead and the company was given to a Dutch charity he founded. People still buy Fords also.

[ArtDodger]

Looking at the photo, it reminds me of ‘Park Model’ trailers I used to sell in Florida back in the 80s. Under 500 sq ft so HUD has no voice in the matter. $8,000 got you something pretty grand, back then.
A contractor could probably build you one nicely on an used trailer chassis for under 10k.
If you kept the wheels on, it is considered mobile and you can keep it on your property. All you need is a hook up for water and power, and a dump station.

[Undecided 2012]

dump station? isn’t that what walmart is for?

[wastedyears]

Yeah, God forbid the state/city loses out on a small lot’s property tax.

[SkyPilot]

Now try to get a permit to live in one of these on your own land and see what happens.

Exactly.

In most towns, townships, and counties in the United States, there are these roadblocks to your "tiny house" dream:

- minimum square footage requirement for a permanent structure

- tiny house advocates brag that they don't require a building permit to build their trailer on wheels, but then are aghast when they find that in order to dwell or live in the trailer, they needed a permit (because you are dwelling in a space that needed a building permit)

- people on-line in the tiny house community, and manufacturers of pre-made tiny homes tell future owners that because it's on wheels or it really isn't a permanent structure, zoning and codes don't apply. They are "off the grid" and "free." But the moment they "dwell" in the structure, it becomes a home and the authorities will shatter your dream to pieces

- others believe that they can code their tiny house as an RV, but then find out that because they are not a certified RV manufacturer or mobile home manufacturer, they have to become certified themselves. This process is a nightmare of costs, inspections, legal fees, and bureaucracy

- even if you win the "It's an RV and I built it myself as a certified manufacturer" battle, you then have to find a "home-built" RV, mobile home, or campground park that allows you to live there, and these are not only few and far between, but rapidly disappearing

- people think they can tell the local authorities they are "just camping", but municipalities have rules about time (no more than 30 days is standard)

[Mashood]

Its all about taxing...how does a community/jurisdiction tax personal property or real property.

[SkyPilot]

Yup.

We don't own our property, we only "rent it" from the all powerful state.

[redfreedom]

This is just another gimmick to market an expensive RV. If it has a metal frame with axles it will be coded as a mobile home for tax, insurance and other legal purposes. Many cities have zones that excludes mobile homes and it may have to be parked in a trailer court. I cannot possibly see any gain with this gadget over a conventional RV or mobile home. I have a feeling their resale value will equate to a Yugo.

[HypatiaTaught]

Yup.
We don’t own our property, we only “rent it” from the all powerful state.
____________________________________

We rent everything until we die... :)

[central_va]

So are these swank Ikea home owners still considered trailer trash?

[EBH]

This has been a trend for years! Liberals really like the idea of mobility without hooking into government services etc. And many consider it eco-friendly and smaller footprint. They have been talking about how these can be used for the homeless.