Here’s why building something yourself makes it more meaningful, and how we use this principle in our designs.
Have you ever built an IKEA shelf — slightly wonky, maybe one screw left over — and still step back with pride? Suddenly it’s more than furniture. It matters because you made it.
Psychologists call this the IKEA Effect: we value things more when we’ve put effort into making them. The term came from research at Harvard, MIT, and Yale, inspired by IKEA’s flat-pack success. They observed that customers didn’t just buy furniture; they built it, and that made it meaningful.
Effort Creates Value
The human brain interprets effort as meaning. Build a table, fold a paper crane, bake a cake from scratch. You’re not just making an object, you’re imbuing a part of yourself in it.
Naturally, that effort translates into ownership, pride, and emotional investment. Think of the finger paintings on the fridge, the planter from a ceramics class, or the crooked bookshelf in your first apartment. They may not be flawless, but they matter because they carry your hand in their making.
IKEA and Design Democratization
Since 1943, the Swedish company has made design accessible through flat-pack kits: furniture that was affordable, modern, and crucially assembled by the customer.
In the process, IKEA didn’t just sell products. They sold participation. They turned millions of homes into workshops, where everyday people felt like co-designers. This approach continues to make customers care about the piece, keep it longer, and brag about building it themselves.
Why Participation Matters
The IKEA Effect points to something bigger: when we shape our environment, even in small ways, we grow more attached to it.
At Dwelden, we take a similar approach on a smaller scale. We genuinely believe everyone is creative — it’s built into how we move through the world. From solving problems to assembling a bed frame, creativity is how we make things work.
Our objects are an invitation to tap into that instinct and reconnect with the natural world. Hint: you’re part of the design.
