Story
When we developed SLÄKT bed with storage, we had help from the world's leading experts at being children – children themselves. 10 children aged 8 to 14 got to see and test the first bed version. Sitting on the edge of the bed with dangling legs, they thought of very important and crucial points.
Anna Carme works with product development at Children's IKEA and came up with the idea of a bed with storage after having visited many homes of families with children around the world.
"Many families have limited space and the lack of storage creates a lot of frustration. It can also be difficult for children of school age to find their own place where they can have their things close at hand."
Without hard edges and handles
Anna and her team presented a first version of the bed with shelves and drawers – without handles.
"We know that children of this age like to throw themselves onto the bed and can get hurt from protruding handles", Anna explains.
And of course, the children threw themselves onto the bed when the team invited them to a Kid's Lab, a structured method we’ve developed to hear children's opinions and thoughts.
When the children settled in and sat on the bed’s edge, their ideas started to flow.
"A boy pointed out that he could feel the edge of the bed as he sat with his legs dangling", says Anna. “He also wanted to be able to "slide" off the bed easily."
A bed from a child’s perspective
"The other children agreed and of course they were right in wanting a bed to be comfortable to sit on too", says Anna.
The children's opinions led to the edge being lowered.
”It was important for us to develop a bed from a child’s perspective. This is the way we do things at Children´s IKEA. By involving children in our product development, we can learn more about their needs and dreams – and how they get in and out of bed."
