This kit-of-parts solution draws on the do-it-yourself ethos as well as the modular furniture movement, allowing savvy homeowners to combine off-the-shelf designs with custom connections and modifications. The implications are subtle but powerful: buy only the elements you need that are too hard to personally construct, then use this system of joints, legs and beams to bridge the gaps.

On display at Milan Deign Week, the IKEA HACKA toolbox consists of a key set of metal joints that create connections between modular wooden beams, all using regular dimensions for ease and consistency of construction. Cutting beams down to size, users can effectively create new hybrid furniture or built-ins styled and fit to their own unique spaces, stacking, supporting and hanging things between. Minimalist, modern, funky, the connectors are neutral enough to suit all personalities and approaches, as illustrated in the examples below.

Together, these parts allow for the construction of support systems that turn individual elements into part of a network, allowing personalized touches and enabling space-saving solutions. They can also be re-hacked into new shapes as your needs grow or change.

An effort to bridge the gap between purely hacked-together creations and existing products, IKEA HACKA was developed as a collaboration between IKEA, IDEO and a group of industrial design and technology students. It is intended to be part of a “future kitchen that bridges the gap between the hacking movement and the modular systems of today. Its flexibility helps people to create their own solutions, and makes it easy for them to hack it to suit their unique needs and style.”