IKEA’s Housewarming Party Dished Up More Than Just Swedish Meatballs

IKEA has been amping up the excitement for its new Oxford Street store with a line-up of activations across London. Back in November, it installed the iconic blue bag on the soon-to-be storefront and later hosted a Hus of FRAKTA concept shop. Now, the Swedish furniture brand is taking to smaller spaces in the city with a series of intimate housewarming parties.

As its name suggests, the event series aimed to rethink the idea of home and how the younger generation experiences community, entertainment, and more importantly, belonging, in the face of rising living costs. Joining music events agency Lab54, IKEA harnessed its range of furniture goods, set to be sold at the new store, and turned five unexpected locations into a homely living space for a one-of-a-kind pop-up party.

A stand-out event from the series took place at a kebab takeaway joint in east London last weekend. Known for its piping hot Turkish treats, the shop switched up its menu and served up music sets from up-and-coming DJs instead. To mark the party, the retailer arranged a sofa bed with a welcome doormat and side table outside, lending itself as a break-out zone from the rave. Inside, the DJ booth was set up behind the counter with floor lamps and string lights shining down on the decks.

Guests began to pack out the venue from 7 pm, where they were met with the sounds of house and bass from Shift K3y. It wasn’t long before the dance floor was full and bucket hats made from blue FRAKTA bags were distributed amongst the partygoers. Raising the tempo, DJ TeeDee later took to the decks and attracted the attention of onlookers joining the party from the street. In true IKEA style, the party wrapped up with a course of meatballs dished up and handed out to departing guests.

Check out what went down at last week’s event in the gallery above. To find out more about the opening of IKEA Oxford Street on May 1, head to the retailer’s website now.