It’s been a huge couple of months for Ikea. In April, the Swedish furniture giant launched the newest iteration of its Stockholm collection with an exhibition during Milan Design Week. Then, last week, London’s Oxford Street got an electric blue makeover as the doors to the new store finally opened.

Since Tottenham’s Ikea branch got turned into megaclub Drumsheds in 2023, Londoners have been eagerly anticipating the new central London opening, which has filled the old Topshop flagship space. Known as the London City store, the new opening is spread over three storeys showcasing a range of pop-up displays and meatballs galore. 

Meanwhile, three weeks ago, meatballs were being served for breakfast at Milan Design Week 2025. During a special event hosted to mark the opening of the new exhibition, global press gathered to experience the new Stockholm collection in all its glory. Titled Do Something. Change Everything, the exhibition was proof of how small actions can create meaningful change. 

“We’re here to democratise design,” says Marcus Engman, chief creative officer of Ingka Group. “We do that from different angles and with different people. This is the eighth edition of the Stockholm collection. We’ve very much gone back to the handcrafted ways of manufacturing – the rattan cabinet for instance, the sliding doors have been done in the way they were done one hundred years ago, without plastic. I’m excited that we’re able to do things on a big scale that are built upon knowledge from the past.” 

So what exactly does the exhibition’s title mean to Engman? “It’s an homage to democratic design, which is all about doing things and making it hard for yourself, but knowing that nothing is impossible. That’s the Ikea way of doing things. Don’t just make plans, start doing things instead – that’s the way to make change. Democratic design is about making a change, it’s not about making stuff.” 

The Milan exhibition last month also marked Ikea’s 30th anniversary since first showing as part of design week, celebrating with a bang as the company curated a full week of DJ sessions, live jazz, soul and R&B sets. This year also marks 40 years since the debut of the Stockholm collection, with its shiny new eighth edition in stores globally now.