Skip to main content

Pimp my computer desk: Ikea will “open source” a new line of customizable furniture

Its superstore might be hours away, but Ikea goods are all around you. If you don’t have a piece of its carefully crafted kitchenware or flat-pack furniture in your home, your neighbor probably does. The design is always Scandinavian minimalist: slick, clean, and practical, with little room for personalization.

That’s about to change. The Swedish furniture giant is developing a line of “open platform” furniture that’s meant to encourage tinkerers to modify products into new and interesting designs. Dubbed Delaktig (translated from Swedish to “involved” or “participating”), the project was first announced in 2016 as a collaboration with British designer Tom Dixon. Now Ikea has given a price range ($399 to $899, according to the Wall Street Journal), as well as an estimate for when it will be available — the first few months of 2018.

Recommended Videos

The first Delaktig piece will consist of an extruded aluminum low frame, wooden slats, and a cushion. With frame in place, customers can connect accessories like lamps, arm rests, tray tables, or privacy screens to customize the piece how they see fit. A number of these accessories can be purchased from Ikea, and a few third-party retailers already sell aftermarket add-ons. Ikea recently gathered a group of designers for a workshop at London’s Royal College of Art, where students worked together for one week, experimenting with new additions to customize the Delaktig frame.

Ikea may be trying to capitalize on what’s become a trend among DIY enthusiasts who turn their flat-pack purchases into customized furniture. “People hack anyway,” James Futcher, Ikea’s creative lead, told the Journal. “We want to encourage that.” Though the company supports hackers today, its tone has changed since 2014, when Ikea tried to close IkeaHackers — a site for fans to share their methods for customizing the Swedish furniture.

Dyllan Furness
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Dyllan Furness is a freelance writer from Florida. He covers strange science and emerging tech for Digital Trends, focusing…
Tesla Powerwall is the best solar, home backup, and EV charging companion
Tesla Powerwall 3 installed on outside of home

Solar power, and having solar panels on your home, is a fantastic way to conserve energy and cut down on power bills, especially if you live somewhere sunny like Florida or California. There's just one glaring issue. When the grid goes down you still lose power because of how it's connected. Your solar panels cannot generate enough energy or keep it stored to keep your power on. So, essentially, your power setup doesn't offer much benefit there, unless you get a home power backup system. More specifically, something like a Tesla Powerwall is a compact home battery that stores energy generated from the grid. That energy is then used as a backup when traditional grid power is unavailable.

To make it even more clear, with a Tesla Powerwall, the power stays on even during a major blackout or outage. It's whole-home backup, too, which means you can power your lights, appliances, electronics, you name it. If you've ever had to throw away an entire refrigerator's worth of spoiled food because of a multi-day outage -- like I have -- you'll certainly appreciate the option to keep your appliances running. But that's not all it can do. The Tesla Powerwall is an excellent companion for Tesla EV owners, creating an entire smart ecosystem of power. Let's explore.

Read more
Air fryer or cordless vacuum, you choose: Two deep Black Friday discounts worth shopping
Levoit LVAC-200 cordless vacuum in use with pet nearby

Going down probably as two of the most random, unique contenders for smart home and Black Friday deals in a mashup together, we have the COSORI TurboBlaze Air Fryer and LEVOIT LVAC-200 Cordless Vacuum. One will cook your food fast and crispy the other will clean your home fast and effectively. Why not, right? You could even throw some food into the air fryer and get to cleaning while it heats up with the vacuum. Okay, maybe it really is an excellent combo. Nevertheless, these Black Friday discounts will have you a little more excited than normal, let's take a closer look.

 
COSORI TurboBlaze Air Fryer -- now $88, was $120 26% off

Read more
Best home security camera deals: Ring, Arlo, Blink and more on sale
These are the best security camera deals available right now
Prime Day 2022 security camera deals graphic.

If you're the sort of person who worries about the physical safety of their home or live in a rough area, then having home security cameras can help give you much more peace of mind. The great thing is that in the past decade or so, security cameras have come a long way, and nowadays, you can get things like wireless security cameras that let you access them remotely from wherever you are through an application. Of course, that does mean that there is a huge selection out there, which is why we've collected some of our favorite security camera deals below, although if you're in the Amazon ecosystem, it might be worth checking out these Ring camera deals.
Chamberlain myQ Smart Garage Security Camera -- $27 $50 45% off

While this is ostensibly made for your garage, there's no reason the Chamberlain myQ Smart Garage can't work for other uses as well, especially if you don't need the highest quality of recording. It has an HD camera, which isn't a ton, but it does have an impressive 130-degree field of view. The MyQ also connects through dual-band Wi-Fi for a better connection, and it even has two-way communication, which is impressive for something at this price bracket.

Read more