For lots of us, our homes have never been as important as they have been over the last year and a half, and with cosy autumn nights approaching, our enthusiasm shows no sign of dying down. Happily, Swedish home furnishing heroes IKEA are celebrating the best of life indoors with a new kind of festival on Thursday 16th September, which we can enjoy from the comfort of our sofa (or bed).

Available to watch online from 8am CET, IKEA’s Festival will offer a first-hand glimpse into everyday homes, studios, and neighbourhoods around the world.

In recent times our home has been our office, our restaurant, our gym, and our sanctuary from the uncertainty of the outside world. Regardless of our budgets and housing situations, we’ve become obsessed with our homes and interior design after spending so much time inside. And where better to turn than IKEA for home inspo?

Festival season may have largely wrapped up, but don’t let that stop you from donning your spangliest outfit, inviting your best mates over and enjoying a few drinks while you wait for the events to start – all from the comfort of your own home and without a portaloo in sight. 

Artists, designers, DJs, chefs and more will open the door to new experiences: think marathon club music sets, kitchen conversations and interior design insights as they show us around their own homes.

Interiors aficionados will be invited to virtually step into over 50 homes in countries around the world. Expect home makeover inspiration including storage advice (it’s IKEA, after all), ideas for creating a more cooking-friendly kitchen and tips for sprucing up your home with fun, vibrant accessories.

Elsewhere, festival-goers will get an exclusive glimpse into the creative processes of designers and IKEA collaborators Ilse Crawford and Virgil Abloh. What better excuse to invest in some new homewear for autumn-winter?

Foodies are also in for a treat, as star chefs from all over the world let us into their bustling kitchens as they rustle up old and new favourites. Catch the likes of Swedish cook Paul Svensson getting creative with healthy and planet-friendly recipes, cook-offs and challenges, and get handy how-to’s from the Pasta Queen and chef Flynn McGarry.

Then join a dinner party where guests will chat about everything from circularity to small living spaces and the importance of play. (We’re hoping that IKEA’s famous meatballs – or at least their hotdogs – will make it onto the menu.)

For the music buffs who can’t wait to get back on the dancefloor, in the mosh pit or both, there’ll be club music DJ sets and intimate concerts from the most personal stage of all. Join MØ, Kanis and Niki and get to know them as they perform straight from their homes and studios. Enjoy home concerts from Arlo Parks, The Lindas Lindas, and Amaarae; and throw some shapes to Kaytranada, Tokimonsta and Badsista from the comfort of your living room.

At a time when so many doors are closing the world over: doors to affordable and sustainable living, to human connection and empathy; and where people’s real lives and rituals are hidden beyond glossy filters, IKEA is flinging the doors open to celebrate the weird, wonderful, and real.

At Refinery29 we equally appreciate authenticity, which is why we’ve created Sweet Digs Opens The Door To…, a special global edition of our beloved video series in partnership with IKEA. Dropping online in the next few weeks, some of our favourite influencers will open the doors to their lives and homes. From Brooklyn to London to Berlin, we’ll get a real, unfiltered look at how they’ve built their life and what ‘home’ means to them. Home is where the heart is, so what better way to get to know someone?

Make sure you visit the IKEA Festival from Thursday 16th September at 8am CET.

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