Ikea unveils new furniture which could spell the end for the dreaded flat-pack

The days of spending, well, days putting together flat-pack furniture from Ikea could be over.

The Swedish retailer has unveiled a new device that it says will let customers snap their furniture together easily ‘like a jigsaw’.

It’s a move that could see Ikea shoppers flock to the company’s stores in the hope of putting an end to their flat-pack nightmares.

Earlier this year, Ikea unveiled its new bicycle, but its latest move could revolutionise the furniture-building experience.

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It has developed a joint, called the wedge dowel, that means traditional nuts and bolts fixings are no longer needed.

Instead, customers can simply snap parts of a product together like they were building a jigsaw, Ikea says.

Small ribbed pegs will come attached to the furniture that can be slotted into pre-drilled holes in connecting panels.

Jesper Brodin, Ikea’s range and supply manager, said: ‘IKEA furniture typically contains quite a lot of fittings.

‘We see some challenges in the time and interest in doing that. So we wondered what would happen if we took them out totally.

‘We are now into the implementation phase of making it possible for you to click your furniture together.’

Ikea tested the wedge dowel five years ago in a range of cupboards, but now plans to roll it out across all its furniture, starting with the wooden Lisabo table, which is now on sale.

Mr Brodin said: ‘I tried it myself and actually put together a table which used to take me 24 minutes to assemble but instead took me three minutes to click together.’