The hardest part isn't fitting furniture. It's choosing.
Choosing furniture involves more than dimensions: cost, assembly, mobility and changing routines all shape what works. This project makes those trade-offs easier to see.
01
Lifestyle fit
Does a layout support how people actually use their space?
02
Future change
What happens if a household's routines or needs evolve?
03
Financial risk
Is the purchase worth the trade-offs within a real budget?
04
Decision confidence
What would make the recommendation understandable enough to trust?
DESIGN FRAMINGConfiguration tells users what fits. Decision support should explain what makes sense—and why.
EXPLORATORY USER RESEARCH · N = 3
Different routines. A shared decision burden.
Three exploratory conversations informed distinct needs around travel, home working and budget-sensitive decisions.
01 / FREQUENT TRAVELER
Less time for complicated ownership.
Delivery and assembly support, portability, ease of disassembly, and quicker decisions were central concerns.
Design implication
Compare handling, installation requirements, and service options—mark unavailable service data clearly.
02 / WORK-FROM-HOME USER
Furniture must work together.
Ergonomics, cable management, and task-specific arrangements mattered more than visual appearance alone.
Design implication
Assess the whole workspace and surface missing ergonomic measurements rather than assume suitability.
03 / BUDGET-CONSTRAINED FREELANCER
Wrong purchases have consequences.
Budget allocation, low tolerance for errors, and the value of complete furniture combinations stood out.
Design implication
Show basket-level costs, trade-offs, and which constraints cannot be met together.
02 / ECOSYSTEM REVIEW
Useful tools. Disconnected decisions.
I reviewed five IKEA planning tools. Each supports a distinct task; the opportunity lies in comparing practical priorities across those tasks.
Planning tool
Primary scope
Strength observed in the review
Decision-support opportunity
PAX Planner
Storage / wardrobe
Cabinet and internal configuration; measurement validation
Relate storage choices to routines and future needs
BESTÅ Planner
Modular storage
Combine wall-mounted and floor-standing components
Rather than replacing specialized planners, the proposed decision-support layer could help users compare plausible scenarios and understand their consequences.
01
Scenario-based planning
Present alternative layouts with visible trade-offs rather than a single recommendation.
02
Cross-category reasoning
Bring storage, furniture, room use, and cost into the same comparison.
03
Lifestyle awareness
Account for travel patterns, handling capacity, moving frequency, and changing household needs.
04
Explainable trade-offs
Explain the practical trade-offs: cost, assembly effort, weight, adaptability, and space.
04 / PERSONALIZED DECISION SCENARIO
The right furniture depends on the life around it.
A frequent-traveler scenario translates research themes into concrete purchasing constraints.
What is the furniture price, and are delivery/assembly costs separate?
Assembly effort
How many people, steps or tools might be required? Verify against the product manual.
Mobility
What are the packaged weight and dimensions? Is disassembly practical?
Long-term flexibility
Can the item adapt to another apartment or changing routines?
05 / HUMAN–AI EXPERIENCE · CONCEPT EXPLORATION
What does decision support actually feel like?
Test the interactive prototype: set constraints, compare products, build a furniture set and inspect conflicts. Optional natural-language interpretation requires a configured service.
INTERACTIVE PROTOTYPE · IKEA US PRODUCT SNAPSHOT
Explore choices with real product evidence.
Adjust budget, maximum package weight, wall-anchoring requirements and priorities. View why products match or are excluded, with official product links and missing data identified.
