Reports around the interwebs, from Huffington Post to CNET, have been announcing that IKEA teamed up with ideabox to manufacture and offer an $86,500, 745-square-foot, 1BR/1BA prefab home to customers in the Portland, Oregon area. This was reportedly unveiled at the Portland Home & Garden Show last week.
Turns out, it is a teaming up, but it’s really just ideabox offering a prefab home that was designed around IKEA furniture, with some help from IKEA Portland designers. “IKEA has not launched and is not selling prefabricated homes in the United States. Any reports saying otherwise are not accurate,” IKEA said in a statement.
One of our U.S. stores, IKEA Portland, has participated in a collaboration with an Oregon-based prefab studio – ideabox (www.ideabox.us) – where a version of one of ideabox’s pre-fab homes is being sold with IKEA items (ie., wardrobes, kitchens, etc.). Interior designers from IKEA Portland helped furnish the interior of this particular home, and an example was on display at the recent Portland Home & Garden Show. Each home of this type sold by ideabox will include those same IKEA products that the local prefab studio will have purchased from IKEA Portland.
To make clear: IKEA is neither the manufacturer nor the retailer of these prefabricated homes. Any specific interest in this particular home, the ideabox concept or its prefab products should be directed to Jim Russell at ideabox: (503) 510-4789.
Why is this on CleanTechnica? Well, first of all, this home is rather small, already making it very energy efficient. Also, reports have indicated that the home features many eco-friendly materials and energy-efficient appliances. This all seems to be true, and it makes the news just as relevant and almost as exciting as if it were actually IKEA manufacturing and offering the homes. “Almost” since it seems that would more easily lead to mass production and sales, but maybe Ideabox can go that route anyway.
Of course, it would be great if the house were greened up just a bit more, and would be totally awesome if it were offered with solar panels.
Here’s more from Ideabox on the home:
Swedish inspired, wide open living, functional, no wasted space, and full of personality!
Working with IKEA Portland designers, we designed aktiv around IKEA systems. In the kitchen, IKEA offers a lot of flexibility in kitchen cabinets. We designed the layout, and our clients can select the colors. IKEA appliances offer state-of-the-art cooking, so we included an induction cooktop and convection oven. A counter depth refrigerator keeps food fresh, and cabinet faced dishwashers provide seamless functionality. Proven by millions walking on them in IKEA stores, aktiv offers IKEA flooring, a perfect match for active Northwest lifestyles.
Every bit an ideabox, from the energy efficiency to the cool assembly of materials, aktiv by ideabox truly is modern living made remarkably easy!
Now, while this is really more of an ideabox home than an IKEA home, maybe the news hubbub around it will inspire IKEA to design and manufacture some small, energy-efficient homes. Given IKEA’s love for solar power and electric vehicles, I imagine it could create a pretty awesome little eco-friendly home!
Photos via ideabox
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