Ten years in the future, the world will be a very different place. We have to ask ourselves how we will able to live a sustainable life at home. Big companies are already looking into that strange and technological future. Last week IKEA gave its idea on our future home.

Collaborating with IDEO and Swedish and Dutch design students, IKEA gave us a sneak peek in the kitchen of the future. The Concept Kitchen consists of 4 prototypes; A Table for Living, Storing Visually, Disposing Thoughtfully and Mindful Water Use.

The one I consider the most special and innovative is 'A Table for Living'. It's a high-tech table disguised as a normal dinner table. A camera observes what happens on the table and relevant graphics are projected on the surface. Imagine cooking dinner and your table giving you suggestions on which herbs to use based on your ingredients. Or when your kid is having trouble eating, the table can help. Crazy right? This table is more than a table: it's a preparation surface, workbench, children's play area and a place for your family to connect. Watch the video below to get an impression of this prototype.


Although it's a great technological development translated in something we can use at home,
we have to ask ourselves if we want to live in a technological future like this. Of course it has its advantages: it makes cooking a lot easier and you can learn a lot about food in your own kitchen. With all the ingredients precisely measured and recipes with things you already have in your fridge, it will also be a great help against food-waste. Nevertheless it scares me that everything you and your family do will be filmed and saved. And if everything goes automatically and easy, what will this mean for our children? Will it be a advantage or a disadvantage for their learning process? In short: I think IKEA has done great work with this project and it has a lot of growth potential, but I think the world needs a little bit more time to get ready for technological developments like this.

Want more information about this project and the other prototypes? Check IKEAs website on the kitchen of the future.