Oh IKEA, that sweet land of Swedish furniture! Half of the joy of meandering through the showroom is reading the product names, first instituted to compensate for the dyslexia of IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad. Can anyone be unhappy whilst attempting to pronounce words with umlats and a’s-with-circles-above-them? To tide you over till your next feast of Lingonberry jam and Swedish meatballs, we have demystified the meanings of ten of the most ridiculous-sounding IKEA product names. Read them aloud if you dare.

Read More »

You’ll buy the affordable, yet oddly-named, furniture. You’ll eat the delicious Swedish meatballs. But would you live in an eco-friendly Ikea house? The owner of the Swedish furniture giant certainly hopes so; that’s why the company is planning to build its first British housing development in an area of east London that’s adjacent to the Olympic Park. The 1,200-home “mini-Venice,” which will be built around a series of canals, will feature “a 130 foot-tall illuminated wooden tower” and act as “the gateway to the Olympic stadium.” Shops, restaurants, a 350-bedrooom hotel, and 480,000 square feet of offices will also be built on the 26-acre site. No word yet on how much the homes will cost, but given the prime location (at least temporarily), we can’t imagine that they’ll be as wallet-friendly as a set of Billy bookshelves. [via London Evening Standard]

Today at Flavorpill, we were surprised — but happy! — to hear that Miss Piggy will be the new face of M.A.C. cosmetics beginning in November. We finally watched a few episodes of Lena Dunham’s wonderful web series, Delusional Downtown Divas. We were particularly fond of this Star Wars alphabet. We thought that this clip of tiny talent Sophia Grace Brownlee meeting her idol Nicki Minaj on Ellen was totally cute in spite of all of the high-pitched screaming. We wanted to take a bite out of this insane Marge Simpson banana. We were amused by Dan Meth’s latest pop-cultural chart which looks at the “gender and age order of sitcom offspring.” We learned some interesting facts about IKEA (for example: one in ten Europeans is conceived in an IKEA bed). We swooned over a few of TV’s greatest marriage proposals. We were thrilled by the news that Downton Abbey will probably run for three seasons. We found this My Little Pony-inspired poodle at the British Dog Creative Stylist of the Year competition absolutely horrifying. And finally, we prayed for a Michael Bolton-style comeback for Kenny Loggins. Seriously –  the Footloose soundtrack was one of our most-played cassette tapes back in the day.

When we read the words “Scandinavian houses,” we picture dreamy interiors that resemble the best parts of an Ikea store. Instead, what we find in Hanna Rosti’s photo series — spotted over on How to Be a Retronaut — are sad, empty homes that look like they’ve been abandoned for decades. Luckily, the Finland-based photographer has an excellent eye for finding the moments of beauty lurking in the desolation. The peeling paint of pale blue door juxtaposes nicely with what looks like an enormous stack of golden hay; muted yellows, oranges, and greens hint at what was once a cozy kitchen; weathered plastic red chairs peek out from a green sea overgrowth. Click through for the slide show.

Read More »

Today at Flavorpill, we examined Aaliyah’s musical legacy 10 years after the singer’s untimely death. We adored After Ellen’s list of lesbian and bisexual TV characters who would be friends in real life. We looked at some rather disturbing naked Lady Gaga bondage polaroids. We loved these motivational posters inspired by The Wire. We found out the reason why hurricanes have names. We thought it was ironic that the dishonor of having the worst opening in the history of cinema went to a film called The Worst Movie Ever (it made $11 in its opening weekend). We wondered if Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad was really involved with the Nazi party in his youth. We got a kick out of this. We were excited to hear that Jon Stewart will host a Q&A with the surviving members of Nirvana in honor of the 20th anniversary of Nevermind. We thought of a few people who could use a lesson in sidewalk etiquette from street artist Jayshells. And finally, we watched the trailer for the upcoming season of The Real World, which will be set in San Diego. Remember the good old days when that was the only reality show on MTV?

Today at Flavorpill, we wished that this arty dad would paint us a Calvin & Hobbes wall mural too. We thought that this library marriage proposal was pretty adorable. We discovered the truth about alligators and marshmallows. We read an interesting spoiler about the upcoming season of The Office. We got a progress report from David Lynch on his forthcoming full-length album. We were introduced to the work of Louis Jordan, the most influential musician that you’ve never heard of. We enjoyed Darryl Campbell’s rather hilarious suggestions on how to write better book reviews. We were impressed by this gigantic soda can portrait of Michael Jackson. We wondered if this fake Ikea store in China lives up to its fake Apple stores. And finally, we found this soup lover’s review of his recent visit to the MoMA inexplicably entertaining.

Come on, you know you’ve thought about building your very own version of Back to the Future‘s Delorean. And now you can — well, no you can’t, but here’s some fodder for daydreaming: an IKEA-style guide to putting together a time-traveling car, complete with the obligatory toilet reference. If you enjoy this one, chances are you’ll like CollegeHumor’s other IKEA guides, for making Dr. Who‘s Tardis, Star Wars‘ lightsabers, and dinosaurs.

Read More »

We know what they say about people who live in glass houses, but do you think that applies to plastic bubbles as well? The Bubble Hut, one of several bubble structures offered by a French company called BubbleTree, is designed to allow you to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors while sitting pretty indoors. We want one. It’s kind of like John Travolta’s sadsack digs in the The Boy in the Plastic Bubble and Wayne Coyne’s infamous space bubble gave birth to a baby biodome filled with white furniture from Ikea. Click through to check out more images, including some interior shots, and let us know in the comments what you think of the concept.

Read More »

Today at Flavorpill, we were thrilled to see that the Sassy Gay Friend meme has hit Tumblr. We learned that sometimes a bomb scare is just a stuffed toy horse. We watched cute little kids reenact the horror that is E!’s Keeping Up With The Kardashians. We met the 7 Don Drapers who came before Don Draper. We enjoyed Roger Ebert’s list of 100 great moments from the movies. We were excited to hear that a print publication is actually launching a book review section instead of shutting one down. We tried to decide which female action hero’s closet we’d most like to raid. We decoded the secret symbolism hidden in these clever logos. We weren’t sure why IKEA would want 100 cats roaming around their store at night. And finally, we watched a baby monkey ride a pig backwards, fall off, and get right back on.

It’s not like IKEA doesn’t give us ample clues as to how strange they are — in the form odd toys (fairy god-frog, anyone?) and lamps that look like eye charts. But who knew they had it in them to mount a full-scale contemporary art installation? Behold the aptly named Surrealistika, which juxtaposes IKEA’s kitchen appliances with a giant birch tree.

Read More »