Beloved Swedish furniture superstore, Ikea, has recently launched a campaign in which they recreate iconic television living rooms using only Ikea products. In a somewhat ironic twist, the series is titled the Real Life collection and can most easily be viewed online, because it’s not something one would find at their local Ikea. The series is on display mostly in the Middle East, with the United Arab Emirates being the country to pioneer the long-term art project. Some of the shows featured so far include The Simpsons, Friends, and Stranger Things.
Vinod Jayan, the managing director of Ikea for several key countries in the Middle East, including the UAE and Egypt is quoted by People saying, “The Ikea team worked closely with the creatives for months. They went through hundreds of items to find the perfect pieces that would bring [together] those iconic rooms.” The Ikea team even saved eager customers the trouble of going through the tireless process of trying to match up the pieces themselves; and so there is list available detailing all the pieces one would want if they were to recreate Monica’s living room.
While all of the pieces featured in the recreations are available to purchase from Ikea, the creative team did have to get a bit crafty in the coloration of some individual walls, side tables, and so on. The ad campaign does not credit each room with the show it is based upon but instead bills it as a “Room For [X]”. The Friends living room has been dubbed the “Room For Mates”, The Simpsons living room is the “Room For Families”, and the Stranger Things living rooms is known as the “Room For Everyone”. While the individual shows may not be mentioned, it is relatively clear what the creative team was going for in their approach. Jayan says, “It was a great collaborative effort that led up to a stunning result.”