Life at Home Blog

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A Balanced Place

Learn more about the ups and downs of mental wellbeing at home through the stories and experiences of people around the world. Explore our Life at Home magazine, A Balanced Place.

Our Blog

All A Balanced Place The Big Home Reboot The Power of Privacy Ways to Wellbeing IKEA Stories

A Balanced Place

The Big Home Reboot

The Power of Privacy

Ways to Wellbeing

IKEA Stories

At IKEA, we're passionate about life at home. Meet some of our people and discover what life at home means to them.

Life at Home Report

Students coding the way for better balance at home

The Bigger Picture: Future Home

How will we create happy homes for the future?

The Bigger Picture: Space

How have we been adjusting our spaces to better suit the way we live?

The Bigger Picture: Rituals

How can we make our daily rituals work for our wellbeing?

The Bigger Picture: Community

How do we make neighbourhoods a better shared living experience?

Life Lessons

Child’s play with Magnus Thuvesson

Why adults must never forget the magic of childhood

Finding Faces

A visit to the home of artist Olaf Breuning

Sustainable Space

Tips on building a better balance with nature from Country Sustainability Manager at IKEA Retail Denmark, Monica Keaney

Sides of Home: Thriving or Stuck Alone

Two very different insights into coping with lockdown

Happy Hobby

How to make a kokedama

Learn something new and refresh your space with this beautiful Japanese organic art form

The Long Scroll Goodnight

Writer and journalist Emma Beddington studies her own attempts at shut-eye and finds out we’re doing it all wrong

Breathing Space

When four walls get too small

Does Ikaria lifestyle hold the secret to long life?

Photographer and writer Eftihia Stefanidi explores the Greek island where the locals seem to live forever

Sides of Home: Together or Apart

Perspectives from across the world on trying to stay connected

My body is my home

The culinary innovator who feels at home anywhere in the world

The Life at Home Magazine

Issue 1: A Balanced Place

How to build a happy home

Michelle Ogundehin shares her expert tips on how to create a happy home environment

How to feel more at home with male friendship

Award-winning storyteller and comedian, Mark Pagán investigates the role masculinity can play in our friendships – and the spaces we inhabit

Discovering the importance of community connections

Much to their surprise, writer and author Jamie Windust discovers a new sense of belonging in their neighbourhood

Escape Rooms: the architectural psychology of the home

A Seoul-based architect finds new ways to travel without leaving his home

Life at Home Snapshot 2021

A chance for change

We connected with more than half a million people around the world, to understand the changes people are making this year.

Table Talk

Does mental wellbeing start at home?

To launch the IKEA Life at Home Report 2021, we explored the intimate relationship between our homes and our mental health through a live studio panel discussion.

A Balanced Place

5 ways to make your home the key to a balanced life

We speak to two of our IKEA experts and asked them for their tips on achieving balance in five key areas of home life.

Life at Home Insights

The IKEA Life at Home Pulse Report #2: Redefining a Better Life at Home

Five weeks on from the release of the IKEA Life at Home Pulse Report #1, we’re launching our next instalment.

Life at Home Insights

Exquisite clarity (or: what pressing pause taught us)

Make no mistake: the 12-plus weeks of strict coronavirus restrictions brought our needs – both at home and outside it – into sharper focus than ever before.

Life at Home Insights

The new normal is here. But how do we navigate it?

In our most recent conversations with 20 households across five countries, the IKEA Life at Home team has uncovered the new stresses that life beyond coronavirus lockdown have created for the many.

Life at Home Insights

The IKEA Life at Home Pulse Report #1: In the Messy Middle

We’ve created our first special IKEA Life at Home Pulse Report to share our rich pocketful of insights into people’s struggles during this temporary time – and how they’re making the most of it.

Life at Home Insights

How small joys make a big difference during coronavirus lockdown

Twenty households. Five countries. A global pandemic. One shared experience.

Ways to wellbeing

How to cook mindfully – 'quick, calm cooking' with Anna Jones

It can be hard to find moments of calm, mindfulness or privacy in what for most are are busy, busy days.

Life at Home Insights

The power of certainty in an uncertain world

For many of us, the world beyond our four walls has become unrecognisable – and home has become, more than ever, the most important place in the world.

Privacy hacks

Simple, private Valentine's Day ideas

Valentine’s Day is all about you and your sweetheart. But if a quiet, candlelit dinner alone isn’t on the cards – either by choice or because you forgot to call a babysitter – here are some tips and tricks for stealing private moments where and when you can.

The power of privacy

Behind the doors of the IKEA Open House event

What happens when seven experts come together under one roof to ponder the meaning of privacy? A lot of good ideas, that’s what.

Ways to wellbeing

How to breathe to create more space

Because our mission with the IKEA Life at Home Report 2019, is to ‘open up more breathing space in life at home’…

Me, Myself and I

Sarah’s story

In our film we meet Sarah, in Amsterdam, who shares a home with her son, husband and parents.

The power of privacy

Why privacy is a right (and we’re not talking data)

Data privacy is so important, there are laws and regulations to protect us in this area. Yet both as a society and as individuals, we don’t pay as much attention and care to protecting private time in our everyday lives.

Ways to wellbeing

Four simple steps to building private moments into your day

Privacy is like oxygen for the soul, and with just a little each day, you recharge, get to know yourself and grow.

The privacy checklist

Privacy: a goal for 2020 (and whether you’re getting enough)

As we enter 2020, many of us are prioritising our wellbeing in our intentions for this fresh new decade.

Me, Myself and I

Jim and Lynn’s story

In this film we meet Jim and Lynn who have been married for 20 years and live in San Francisco.

Home as a sanctuary

Five ways to take playful, private moments at Christmas

Hosting Christmas this year? While the holidays are about bringing loved ones together under one roof, the reality is that festive spirits can wilt under the pressure of a full house.

Privacy hacks

Help! I need more privacy

Everyone needs breathing space to explore interests, connect with others and grow as people. Privacy is like oxygen for the soul, but it doesn’t grow on trees.

Home as a sanctuary

Kids need privacy too. Here's how to help them get it.

In the hustle and bustle of a modern household, it’s easy to forget that children deserve private time too.

The power of privacy

Tech: help or hindrance to privacy?

It’s often a love/hate relationship with personal technology. Life admin, travel and pursuing hobbies are made easier with the help of smartphones. Yet, fear of an ‘always on’ mentality gives many of us pause for thought.

Me, Myself and I

Mecca’s Story

In this film we meet Mecca, who lives with flatmates in San Francisco.

IKEA illustrator story

Meet... Anna Kövecses

Our illustrator on the Life sat Home Report 2019 describes how she devised the visual themes for this year's report, where her inspiration comes from and explains what ‘home’ and ‘privacy’ mean to her.

The power of privacy

Home: social space or sanctuary? It’s both

As we retreat from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and invite our nearest and dearest to join us while we do, one question comes to mind: is home a sanctuary or is it a social space? Can it be both?

Ways to wellbeing

How to create a sense of space almost instantly

The need for private time can sneak up on you. It might pop up during a lazy weekend at home with your family. It could become quite urgent at work, or while away on a long weekend with old friends. The important thing to remember is that it’s nothing to be ashamed of.

The privacy checklist

Four ways to know you're not getting enough privacy

‘Private time? What’s that?’ It’s a sentiment we hear a lot, and it’s not uncommon from people juggling a job, home life, relationships and a circle of friends.

Me, Myself and I

In this film we meet Wang and her young daughter, who live in Shanghai with their family.

Privacy hacks

Breathing space at home? Here’s how we do it.

Let’s bust a privacy myth: you don’t have to escape a busy home, or wait until you’re totally alone, for a bit of ‘me time’. With the right approach, it’s possible to carve out private spaces for private moments - even in a full house.

The power of privacy

What does privacy really look like?

At IKEA, we make it a priority to understand what we all need from home, which is why we carry out annual research into how people live all over the world.

IKEA co-worker story

Meet… Kate Poulsson Johnson

Find out more about Kate and her life at home.

Me, Myself and I

Sekai’s story

In this film we meet Sekai who lives in Amsterdam with her flatmates.

The privacy checklist

Planned or spontaneous – how do you take your privacy?

Privacy means different things, depending on who you ask. It can be reading alone at home, hiking in nature or walking down a busy city street plugged into headphones.

IKEA co-worker story

Meet... Fredrik Bengtsson

Find out more about Fredrik and his life at home.

Ways to wellbeing

How privacy boosts our wellbeing

Many of us agree that privacy is important to our wellbeing, but we don’t always understand why.

Me, Myself and I

Junaid’s story

In this film we meet Junaid who lives alone in Mumbai.

IKEA co-worker story

Meet… Maja Vujaskovic Djureinovic

Find out more about Maja and her life at home

The power of privacy

Introvert or extrovert, we all need private time

When it comes to personality types, the IKEA Life At Home Report 2019 reveals that, wherever you fall on the spectrum – be it wallflower, life-of-the-party, or somewhere in between – the need for privacy is universal.

Privacy hacks

Need more privacy? Just ask

It’s not always easy getting privacy at home. Life is busy, and most of us share our homes with family, friends and partners - all of whom have their own needs and wants.

Me, Myself and I

In this film we meet Dave who lives in London with his wife and two young kids.