“No one buys furniture on an empty stomach»: this was one of the guiding mantras of Ingvar Kamprad, its visionary founder IKEA. Decades later, this intuition is coming into focus once again. From April 21 to 26, 2026, the Swedish brand returns to Milan Design Week with Food for thoughta space where design and food meet in an unexpected and playful way. After four successful years in the Tortona area, IKEA opens a new chapter in Porta Venezia, one of the most creative neighborhoods of Milan. The installation – created at Spazio Maiocchi, Via Achille Maiocchi 7 – unfolds in five immersive environments that explore how evolving food and social rituals shape domestic spaces in different cultures.
At the core of the exhibition are five creative couples – each consisting of a designer and a chef selected from around the world – who joined forces to bring both a room and a menu to life, each inspired by a special moment of everyday domestic life. Among the partners: designer and architect Charlotte Taylor with chef Ben Lippett; interior designer Maye Ruiz with chef Rocio Sanchez; art director Mehek Malhotra with Maurizio Tendella; artist Lydia Chan with chef Alessandra Lauria; and interior designer Oliver Lyttelton with the content creator Tina Choi (Doobydobap).
Mahek Malhotra and Maurizio Tentella x IKEA, Food for Thought at Milan Design Week 2026 © IKEA
Charlotte Taylor and Ben Lippett x IKEA, Food for Thought at Milan Design Week 2026 © IKEA
Oliver Lyttelton and Tina Choi x IKEA, Food for Thought at Milan Design Week 2026 © IKEA
Maye Ruiz and Rosio Sanchez x IKEA, Food for Thought at Milan Design Week 2026 © IKEA
Lydia Chan and Alessandra Lauria x IKEA, Food for Thought at Milan Design Week 2026 © IKEA
Food as a design language
The relationship between IKEA and food is not a recent development, but a strategic choice rooted in the company’s origins. Kamprad understood that offering customers a hot meal would make them happier – and more inclined to buy, a vision he put into practice as early as 1960 with the opening of the first restaurant in Älmhult. What started as a simple gesture of hospitality has since grown into something much bigger: today, IKEA is considered one of the largest restaurant chains in the world, serving more than 700 million customers a year in more than 400 stores worldwide.
Spending an afternoon at IKEA It soon became a shared experience, almost a family ritual: spacious parking lots, affordable restaurants and carefully planned paths turned a simple visit into a moment of leisure. From this vision came the iconic noise – Swedish meatballs that quickly became the brand’s trademark. In 1985, Kamprad invited chef Severin Sjöstedt to develop a recipe that could be replicated worldwide. After ten months of testing, the formula that is still served today was officially born.
Democratic Planning on the table
This very idea of accessibility – bringing quality products, from furniture to food, to affordable prices – is the common thread that runs through IKEA’s history and the idea behind Food for thought. The participatory exhibition, designed by an architect Midori Hasuike and spatial planning studio Emerzon – long-term partners of the brand – connect the principles of Democratic Design with the sensory world of gastronomy. Democratic Design is the framework that guides every IKEA product, based on five pillars: form, function, quality, sustainability and low price. The idea is that all five principles must coexist for a plan to be truly purposeful, but also sustainable, responsible and accessible to all.
Extending this same spirit beyond objects and into experiences, the decision to build Food for thought The designer-chef collaborations are no accident: they reflect a broader commitment to collaborating with outside creative voices, bringing together disciplines that rarely meet to explore what a domestic space can look and feel like when both aesthetics and food are considered together.
See how each of these collaborations has translated this dialogue into a room – and a menu – of its own.
Five rooms, five floors
- Living room. Party at your place – Maye Ruiz and Rocio Sanchez explore the dual nature of the living room: a haven for quiet evenings and a stage for spontaneous gatherings. How can the design meet both needs in the same space?
- Bedroom. Room self-service – Charlotte Taylor and Ben Lippett ask: what if breakfast in bed, lunch between pillows and dinner with a tray in your lap became daily habits? Can design really make this ritual possible?
- Kitchen. Play with your food – Lydia Chan and Alessandra Lauria revise mealtime rules by involving children in cooking. Preparing food together builds skills, strengthens bonds and introduces small everyday revolutions in the kitchen.
- Studio living room. The not-so-lonely dinner – Oliver Lyttelton and Tina Choi turn lonely meals into moments of self-care. Eating alone doesn’t have to be a compromise – it can become an opportunity to reconnect with your senses and create a personal dining experience.
- Refectory. Eat with your mouth open – Mehek Malhotra and Maurizio Tendella explore shared meals as one of the most essential social rituals. Here, the design helps the dinner unfold naturally, lightly and pleasantly, creating the right atmosphere every time.
An experience open to all
Each day, one of the creative couples will host live cooking sessions, turning the kitchen into a stage for stories, traditions and flavors. At night, the space transforms into an aperitivo bar, celebrating one of Milan’s most iconic social rituals. In the courtyard, a Swedish-inspired market sales room – a traditional covered food market – will feature local producers alongside IKEA Food specialities. Inside, BILLY Café will host a curated selection of cookbooks published by Phaedon, in a setting that combines a bookstore atmosphere with live music. The much-loved Hotdog Extravaganza will also return, with new exclusive toppings created by the project’s chefs. Entry is free and open to all.
The latest product launched by IKEA
Food for thought it will also serve as a platform for two major previews. The first is the unveiling of three products from the new IKEA PS collectionnow in its tenth edition. Originally launched in the early 1990s as a way for the brand to reconnect with its roots and affirm an aesthetic of Scandinavian simplicity, IKEA PS debuted at the 1995 Salone del Mobile in Milan with eighteen new designers and a clear manifesto: Democratic Planningthe idea that good design, functionality and affordability can – and should – coexist.
Even the name, conceived as a postscript to the standard series, reflects a distinctly Scandinavian sense of irony. Since then, the collection has returned periodically, each time with new designers and fresh perspectives. The tenth edition marks another chapter in a story spanning more than thirty years.
The second preview features two new lamps from the Milan-based architect and designer Raffaella Mangiarottiresearcher at the Politecnico di Milano, known for an approach based on fundamentals – function, aesthetics and ergonomics – rather than pure decoration. A method deeply influenced by 20th century design pioneers such as Eileen Gray and Charlotte Perriand, resulting here in pieces that combine refined materials and elegant design with accessibility – perfectly aligned with IKEA’s values, as reflected in a Compasso d’Oro nomination.
Discover IKEA Food for Thought at Spazio Maiocchi, Milan, from 21 to 26 April 2026—open Tuesday to Saturday 10:00–21:00 and Sunday 10:00–18:00, with free entry and free IKEA shuttle service connecting key points in the city center.
