An immersive exhibition focused on sleep and the influence of design in this area

Quality sleep is a crucial part of everyone’s life, yet despite widespread recognition of its importance, many people find it a real challenge. With this in mind, we took the opportunity to interview Alessandra Genovese, Home Furnishing & Retail Design Manager at IKEA Italia.

According to IKEA’s latest Life at Home Report – the annual study exploring changes in home life – 55% of respondents consider sleep the most important activity for overall well-being at home.

To address this key aspect of daily life, IKEA has focused this year on highlighting six elements that can enhance our everyday routines. They will offer tailored solutions to help individuals create their ideal sleep environment, while also promoting initiatives to raise awareness about the significance of good sleep.

Alessandra Genovese leads the team responsible for designing furniture solutions and communication strategies for key customer touchpoints, including stores and Plan & Order Points. The product displays are thoughtfully curated to offer visitors a distinctive and impactful shopping experience.

How are sleep and design related? In general, which aspects of design influence sleep?

Alessandra Genovese:

“First thing first, the way you design your bedroom can significantly impact the quality of your sleep. According to our IKEA’s annual Life at Home report, 1 out of 2 people stated that they are not satisfied by their rest routine. As IKEA, we aim to improve the quality of sleep for more people with our expertise on life at home. On this purpose, in our researches, we identified six essentials factors that affect our sleep and they are strictly related to how we design our spaces at home: comfort, furniture and organization, light, air quality, sound and temperature.”

What product categories affect sleep, and why are they important?

Alessandra Genovese:

“If we are talking about product categories, we can share a list but there are so many factors that come into action. We often wonder whether a hard or soft mattress, a thin or thick pillow is better, but there is no right answer that fits for all. Even for scientific research, it is complex to evaluate the specific characteristics of different types of products, because the benefits vary depending on the person and the specific situation. The 6 essentials are the foundation, yet each one of them will be declined differently for each person. As instance, if we talk about “organization”, one of IKEA’s workhorses, there is no rule for all, yet each person finds the perfect order for their own style and way of life.

Then, each essential find its concretization in specific products, that help people in sleeping better. Some products come immediately to mind, such as pillows, bed mattresses or even curtains to keep the external light outside our room, other solutions are not so obvious such as air purifiers, sound players and even carpets that can lower noises.”

What foundations does IKEA rely on to create products in this category? What research or partnerships guide their designers’ work?

Alessandra Genovese:

“IKEA has a source, our Life at Home Report, the report that yearly studies the evolution of life at home. This annual report has been instrumental in helping us better understand our customers’ needs and dreams, allowing us to create products and services that enhance the life they spend at home. From our report, we discovered that 55% of people think that sleep is the most important wellbeing activity at home, yet many of them think that a good sleep is a daily challenge, and they struggle to create an ideal sleep environment.

Recognizing that, we have developed our range of complete sleep solutions to better meet the diverse needs, enabling everyone to create their own comfortable and restful sleep environment. We believe that a good night’s sleep is essential for a better everyday life, and it should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their lifestyle or the size of their wallets.”

How are customers assisted in selecting products that cater to their specific needs?

Alessandra Genovese:

“In each IKEA store we created in-store areas to invite visitors to test and try by themselves what product is best fitting their needs, to test the range and find many tips and ideas to be inspired by. We have also trained consultants at the complete disposal of our customers who will be supported through a customized path that considers their preferences in terms of style and needs related to their home life. For instance, during September we launched an initiative involving sleep experts; consumers could meet with dedicated consultants who accompanied them in choosing the ideal furniture to improve the quality of their sova (sleep in Swedish!).”

With the growing integration of analog products (like beds) and technology in Smart Homes, what sleep-related trends do you see emerging in this space?

Alessandra Genovese:

“Certainly, there is more attention to factors that were not considered before because they were difficult to regulate. Thinking about air quality, for example: for those who live in cities, there is a real difficulty, and it can be complicated to sleep in an environment with poor air quality. Thanks to purifiers, we are now able to mitigate this issue, thus bringing relief to those who need it. Sound is also an essential. With curtains and carpets, we can reduce noises and annoyances, and with the addition of a speaker we can make the atmosphere even more pleasant according to everyone’s taste.”