Ikea VR Experience lets you try out that new kitchen before you buy

Ikea has launched a new VR experience for the HTC Vive allowing you to walk around your new kitchen “virtually” before you buy it.

The new app, which is a pilot available until the end of August on Steam, will allow you to step into the company’s extensive catalogue and is reminiscent of the scene in Fight Club.

READ: HTC Vive preview: An experience that’s out of this world

“Virtual reality is developing fast and in five to ten years it will be an integrated part of people’s lives,” says Jesper Brodin, managing director at IKEA of Sweden and Range & Supply Manager at Ikea Group. “We see that virtual reality will play a major role in the future of our customers, for instance it could be used to enable customers to try out a variety of home furnishing solutions before buying them.”

Fight Club

In Fight Club labels and prices are overlaid on the furniture and fittings as Edward Norton’s character walks around his apartment. 

One of the features of Ikea VR Experience is the possibility to change the colour of cabinets and drawers with a click. Another feature is the ability to shrink yourself and move around the kitchen in the size of a 3.3 foot (100 cm) tall child. You can also enlarge yourself and experience it as 6.4 feet (195 cm) tall.

The idea is that you’ll be able to get an idea of what your kitchen will look like before you buy it, as well as, see if from the perspective of others without having to get on your hands and knees in an Ikea warehouse.  

Ikea VR Experience will be continuously updated until August when this particular pilot test ends.

The HTV Vive is the new VR headset from HTC. Going up against the Oculus Rift, the headset differs by allowing you to walk around a designated area in your home. Until now most demos have focused on letting you climb Everest, shooting zombies, or exploring ship wrecks underwater.

The HTC Vive costs £689 in the UK.