Ikea rumour spread like the proverbial Billy bookcases

The design world was a-buzz last week with news that Ikea was selling pre-fab homes in the United States.

The idea didn’t seem totally out of whack — it seems like a perfectly natural progression from kitchens and bookcases to whole homes. They already do it in Europe with their BOKLOK housing, which helped filled the need for affordable housing for mothers in Sweden. Other BOKLOK communities have been part of larger urban renewal projects in partnership with real estate developers.

But, alas, it’s not true. What, in fact, is happening is that a Portland, Ore., company by the name of Ideabox — which specializes in pre-fabricated houses —  launched a new model, called aktiv, which was designed around the Swedish furniture giant’s furniture and storage systems.

The one-bedroom, 745-square-foot home is eco-friendly and the exteriors are built using a combination of fibre-cement siding and corrugated metal. The typical price of aktiv is $86,500 (U.S.) plus shipping. That will hurt.

Ideabox photos.