Ikea museum set to open in Sweden in 2015

Ikea, the home furnishings store of choice for college dorms and bachelor pads around the world, is creating a new museum that is expected to open in the fall of 2015. The company will turn its first store in Älmhult, Sweden into a museum that will provide visitors with a survey of its history.

The museum, which was first reported by the Agence France-Presse, is expected to include displays about the creation of Ikea by founder Ingvar Kamprad, who opened the company’s first store in 1958. Since then, the Swedish company has become a global brand famous for its affordable, flat-packed furniture that requires home assembly.

Ikea said it hopes the museum will attract 200,000 visitors each year, according to the AFP. The museum is expected to occupy 3,500 square meters (37,674 square feet) of space.

Kamprad, 88, is regarded as one of the richest men in the world, with Forbes estimating his net worth to be $4.2 billion.

A modest exhibition of Ikea’s history, “Ikea Through the Ages,” is already on view at the company’s corporate center in Älmhult, but leaders are hoping the new museum will become an even bigger tourist draw.

In Southern California, Ikea is planning to build an expanded retail store in Burbank, which is scheduled to open in 2016. The new Burbank location will be located a few minutes’ drive from the current store at the Burbank Town Center mall complex.

The new store is expected to be Ikea’s largest in the U.S.