Swedish furniture chain IKEA will be opening its first planning studio at Jurong Point on Jan. 13, 2021.

Located just three MRT stations away from the upcoming IKEA outlet at JEM, the planning studio is powered by a Singapore-based interior design and renovation platform, Livspace.

Under this collaboration, IKEA and Livspace have provided consultation to hundreds of homeowners in Singapore since end-2019.

First IKEA planning studio

The planning studio offers customers a shopping experience with end-to-end personalised home interior design, planning and renovation services.

It has also been specially optimised and curated to address the challenges of living in a small space.

This includes solutions like a space-saving kitchen, as well as smart storage solutions and fitted wardrobes.

Measuring at around 100 square metres, the planning studio is modelled after a 3-room HDB flat home of an actual customer, and consists of a living room, dining area, master bedroom, kid's bedroom, bomb shelter, bathroom, kitchen, and service yard.

Here's what it looks like:

Living room

Dining area

Master bedroom

Kid's bedroom

Bathroom

Bomb shelter (storage area)

Kitchen

Service yard

The decor and furnishing of the studio will be refreshed periodically throughout the year.

SmartPhoto function

Apart from being able to physically see how one's future home can look like at the studio, Livspace also provides a SmartPhoto experience in the studio where customers can style a room with IKEA furniture and furnishings to suit their preference and budget.

Here's a look at how the SmartPhoto experience works:

As the products are being updated in the SmartPhoto, the room price will also be updated in real-time.

While you can't physically purchase IKEA products from the planning studio, the store has QR codes on all the display items for customers to make a purchase online.

According to the country head of Livspace Ravindran Shanmugam, the new tool will be integrated into the planning and renovation journey offered to customers, and they will be able to experience it in the coming weeks.

Move-in ready packages from S$9,900

The planning studio will offer move-in ready budget-friendly BTO packages, which includes renovation, construction services and IKEA furniture and furnishings, from S$9,900.

• 2-room package (From S$9,900)
• 3-room package (From S$12,500)
• 4-room package (From S$15,600)
• 5-room package (From S$16,000)

Ravindran added that under normal circumstances, the process will typically take between four and six weeks.

However, given the Covid-19 pandemic, customers can expect the process to go up to between eight and 10 weeks.

How does the collaboration keep costs low?

Speaking to Mothership, spokespersons for IKEA and Livspace said that as the largest players in the industries, it allows for significant economies of scale in supply chain and vendor management.

"We are able to optimise raw materal costs and negotiate better rates for services (e.g. plumbing, tiling) from a large pool of ready contractors that is primarily dedicated to Livspace.

Given our collective scale, we have managed to provide an affordable end-to-end home furnishing solution, while maintaining high quality standards."

IKEA's services business leader Janice Ong also added that the guarantee for IKEA products are varied.

For some living room and bedroom furniture, the guarantee can be up to 10 years and up to 25 years guarantee for kitchens.

The warranty on the renovation cycle, on the other hand, lasts minimally for a year.

5% off total bill for IKEA Family members

As part of their opening special, customers can enjoy the following opening specials from Jan. 13 to 26:

• First 500 walk-in customers will get a complimentary IKEA Jurong Point Planning Studio goodie bag.
• Spin the sure-win spin-the-wheel for prizes, when customers spend above S$10,000 on their renovation with Livspace.

On top of that, IKEA Family members can get five per cent off their total bill when renovating their home with Livspace.

This offer will last till Dec. 31, 2021, and can be redeemed at the outlet by presenting a physical or digital IKEA Family card.

More details can be found here.

Details

Jurong Point 1 Jurong West Central 2, Singapore 648886

Opening hours: 11am to 10pm, daily

Top image by Fasiha Nazren and IKEA Singapore.