How does Ikea sell the idea of home to the masses?
The term ‘home’ refers to the physical structure in which
one lives on a permanent basis however in terms of psychological significance
it is an environment that influences are emotions, behaviour and mental state
of mind. Alternatively it may be said that home may be perceived to have no
physical location at all but refer to the mental or emotional state of comfort.
Therefore the term ‘home’ becomes an individual’s perception and is personal to
each human being. The importance of this is vital to every person’s identity as
it is what forms their behaviour, emotions and mental well being. Their
identity ultimately is thus created and revolved around the place of refuge or
the physical environment by which they surround themselves with. Home has now
been influenced by consumerism and manipulated the mental connotations of what
we perceive to be home. Due to the ability to shop around for our identities
through product consumption and branding, people now shape there home to form a
particular identity they wish to be perceived. Instead of ‘home’ shaping us as
an identity we build our identity to create a ‘home’ to what we desire to be seen
as by others. Helga Dittmar states "Material
possessions provide people with information about other people's
identities." (1992, P.205) and it is this in which we judge one another,
form opinions on a person and determine their mental state. These material
processions reveal a lifestyle choice, which demonstrate a certain way of
living reflecting the attitudes, habits and values of a person. This is
a prime indicator of a person’s identity as they have generated it to be this
way. Consumerism has impacted on the mentality of ‘home’ and what this reflects
to others through lifestyle stores. Lifestyle is applied to everything we consume
be it what we wear, the furnishings in our home or the food we eat. The
preferences we choose when we shop create a way of life. This then forms an
image of what we are or how we hope to be perceived. We shop to form our inner
self and this is evidenced in what we call ‘home’. However this consumerism
creates a conflict between the personal and individual creation of ‘home’ and
the globe. This can be seen from Ikea, an international lifestyle store that
provides mass-produced furniture across the world. The perception of home is
different based on culture. The culture of home is varied depending on where
you are based and this is affected by your surroundings both nature and nurture.
However Ikea sell the same furniture based on a Swedish interpretation of
current, stylish design to a variety of cultures. The idea of ‘home’ is
ultimately suppose to be a personalised reflection of an individual and yet
mass-produced products that create millions of other people’s identities are
forming this reflection of an individual. It could be argued that this is to
create a sense of familiarity and belonging in society in which we can process
these products collectively as a symbol or sign that we can understand to
perceive and judge upon. However how does Ikea create this unity system in
which we use daily to represent ourselves, validate one another and manifest a
global culture of understanding? The brand as a whole has democratized
our living spaces changing furniture once regarded as family assets to
fashionable, cheap and disposable. People are buying the idea of Ikea, they buy
the brand and it is the brand of many.
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