The art of creating more with less

Sometimes the answer to a challenge may be closer than expected. It's just a matter of looking at something from a different angle. This is what happened when we wanted to create a new sustainable kitchen solution. Both the exterior and the core of FRÖJERED drawer fronts are based on materials and designs that are new to kitchens – but well known in other parts of our range.

Sara Åberg works with our kitchen range and is always looking for materials and designs that can contribute to more sustainable kitchens. "IKEA has experienced material experts who made us realise that bamboo could be an environmentally interesting alternative for a drawer front", says Sara. Bamboo is a fast-growing grass. Once harvested, the root system grows new shoots and cultivation requires no irrigation or pesticides.

Natural variations

To create a flat surface with the hard bamboo, slats of the fibre are used which are glued in layers. “Bamboo slats have a natural colour variation and parts that have slight variations in tone are usually discarded. But instead of wanting slats with as similar tones as possible, we mixed them. In this way, we used more of the material and gave FRÖJERED a vibrant look."

Lightweight and stable construction

The front’s core is also new to kitchens. It’s a sandwich construction that we’ve long used for shelves and other products ⎼ and now make in a thinner version. “It ends up being a very lightweight yet stable construction which requires a minimal amount of materials. The core is made of 100% recycled paper and has a honeycomb-like structure. For Sara, FRÖJERED was an ideal collaborative project. "By taking a material and a construction that we’re very familiar with, and combining them into something new, we’ve managed to use the earth's resources a little more wisely."