Designed to Be Hacked: IKEA’s First “Open Source” Sofa is Coming

IKEA is working on a sofa that’s sure to be a hacker’s dream; DELAKTIG is a customizable platform that will have a variety of third-party add-ons. And according to the Wall Street Journal, it will be available early next year.

DELAKTIG will feature an aluminum frame and slatted base so that it can be fully flat-packed—more like a bed instead of a sofa. Its frame will allow a variety of accessories to be added to the piece to customize it, such as armrests, lighting, a bassinet, or a loft bed.

The line, whose name is Swedish for “being part of something,” is the same top secret project with Tom Dixon that IKEA has been teasing since June 2016. We learned in December that three design schools have been tapped to create some of the “plug ins” for the system; students at London’s Royal College of Art came up with “a clip-on privacy screen, a baby’s crib and a wall of shelves, among other designs” during an IKEA workshop.

While students and third-party companies are creating accessories for the line, IKEA also anticipates that DIYers will come up with their own brilliant customizations. The frame has a series of grooves that fit a standard bolt head, meaning you’re only limited to your imagination.

“One of the inspirations for the project was the hacking community that exists out there and the idea that there might be things that we can’t think of that people might want to add,” Dixon told WSJ.

The line is expected to launch in early 2018 with an optional clip-on lamp, and more accessories rolling out afterwards. IKEA says DELAKTIG will be priced in the middle of their sofa range, which is $399 to $899.