Story
Children love playing with miniatures — but their play doesn’t always go in directions we adults expected. When creating HUSET dollhouse furniture and figures, we drew inspiration and ideas from children themselves.
When working with products for children, we always start from facts, research and our own interactions with children.
“We began the HUSET project by having play sessions with children aged 4–7,” says Maria Pavlovcin, who’s specialised in our interactions with children.
“It’s always exciting to listen to their thoughts, understand their needs and see their imagination come to life.”
All are welcome in the animal world
Over the years, we’ve learned that children love mini-figures that their play can revolve around.
“We chose to make the HUSET figures into animal characters, as it allows for a freer kind of play – without fixed ideas about who they are and where they come from.”
During the play sessions, Maria and her team got to hear the children telling stories that stood out – full of imagination and quite action-packed.
“That inspired us to come up with the fox character that gazes at you with a half-closed eye and crooked smile, inviting the child’s imagination to decide what happens next in the story.”
Play makes anything possible
Several of the furniture items in HUSET are miniature versions of actual IKEA products. This brings a fun sense of recognition, but play doesn’t have to be quite as realistic as we adults might think.
“One boy thought a paper lamp worked just as well as an apple tree – growing from the FLISAT dollhouse chimney. Anything’s possible when you let imagination in,” Maria concludes.
“What’s nice about meeting the children is that we always get new insights – so that we can create products that are truly relevant to them.”
