Mac Compatible IKEA Home Planner Launched 
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Mac lovers rejoice! The long awaited Mac compatible IKEA Home Planner has launched in Denmark! Based on 2020 Software, the new planner allows both Macintosh and PC users to design their own kitchens from home, or in the store, save their plans to the IKEA servers or share through email. Customizability has increased tenfold and the options available are incredible.
Thankfully, it’s all in English for those of us who aren’t actually Dutch Danish (edited – thanks jamey015!) Looks to be fairly well documented, though I haven’t been able to download it and try it yet. My laptop is on its last legs, and my new Mac Quad Pro is coming this week – just in time!! w00t! Tons of screenshots and links to resources, articles and interviews with the IKEA Home Planner IT guy after the jump!
Quickstart Video and Guide
You can download the new IKEA Home Planner in Danish here: IKEA Home Planner Download in Danish or in English here: IKEA Home Planner Download in English. I’ve been told that the site and the download may not be available at times as it is still in Beta (i.e. 404 Page not available error) and is sometimes down for upgrading. But if you want a headstart, download it now when available and get going! We’d love to see your pictures, screenshots and planner files as soon as you can upload them!
Check out the Quickstart video and the Guide – this is in English for you to navigate easily.
IKEA Home Planner
According to the (Google translation of the Danish page) IKEA Danish site’s IKEA Home Planner’s page, the IKEA Home Planner is:
Planning tool from IKEA anyone can be his own decorator. You can quickly and easily plan how you will furnish your home and see the final result in 3D. You can choose to print your favorite, with all necessary details. You can also choose to save your drawing to an IKEA server so that you, along with an IKEA employee may review your subscription next time you visit your local IKEA store.
The new IKEA planner offers Setup your Room, Furnish your Room, Decorate your Room and Print your Plan options that are wholly different from previous versions of the IKEA planner software. Read on to learn what’s new!
NEW in this Version
There are hundreds of new functions, options, abilities and applications in this new version of the IKEA kitchen and home planning software. These are just the ones I noted when doing my overview – I haven’t actually been able to run it to see how it really functions – all of the screenshots below are from the IKEA Home Planner Guide, which looks to be highly informative and a great introduction to the new application.
Discuss the new IKEA Home Planner with IKEA Fans in the IKEA Fans Community Forum.
New Print Options
Excellent! Now you can print out elevations, overhead views and frontal views as well as the price and item list inventorying all the items needed to make up your new IKEA kitchen.
Predesigned Room Options
Now you can get a jump start on your planner by using a predesigned room as a start – make adjustments for your actual room size, the location and position of your utilities and then fine tune to your delight. Either fill in the room layout information in the sidebar, or click on a wall to resize it directly. Awesome!
New Start from Scratch Options
Or, start from scratch like always, but now you can do lots more to configure your room to the exact layout of your interior.
Wall and ceiling options: Change the wall height in the 2D view to create sloped ceilings. Add ceiling wedges, bulkheads, ceiling boxes, columns, partition walls and more. Also hide walls to create rooms with less than four walls. Great for greatrooms! Paint the walls, or add moulding, trims, skirting, crown molding, and other decorative finishes to walls. Choose wallpapers, various paint colors – even split walls up and add different finishes to the top or bottom.
Floor options: Add floor obstacles, vents, radiators and columns in addition to the partition walls mentioned above. In Decorate Your Room, customize the floor to help visualize what your kitchen might look like with parquet flooring, hardwood floors, carpet, tile, stone or granite.
Door and Window Options: Now, finally (!) you can resize door openings, create a 3 sided room, change the swing of a door, select from multiple window arrangements, change the size and material of the window and door casings, and even select a window background!
Additional Room Features: Add columns, radiators, air conditioners, vents, fireplaces, stoves and pipes in many configurations. Change the swing of a door, and the position of a door handle, even! You’ll have to add the appropriate utilities and pipes in order to add appliances later on, so spend some time getting the placement of these right. The nice thing is, you’ll have a blueprint for your plumber or electrician when you’re finished with your plan. Use the print option!
Resize Options: Click to change the height of doors, doorway openings, windows, obstacles like bulkheads, ceiling boxes, columns, partition walls and more.
Furnish Your Room
Ok, this is where the real awesomeness begins! Finally – options to change everything from the direction of the door swing on cabinets, to the legs or plinth (toekick) options, the cover panels, the filler pieces, the countertop and the appliances. Even add placeholders for own appliances! Add kitchen tables, chairs, bar tables, stools and benches, entire dining sets, cabinets and sideboards and cafe items.
Filler pieces: Accurately visualize a refrigerator encased in cover panels. Understand the warnings about filler pieces with improved warnings.
Appliances and Hobs: Change the look and feel of cabinets surrounding ‘built-in’ appliances such as ovens and refrigerators (keep in mind that this Dutch version of the IKEA Home Planner has appliances that are not available in North America) by changing the cover panels, legs, handles and cornice options. Add hobs (cooktops and stove tops to us in North America).
Cover Panels: Select cover panels for the right or left side of your cabinets. Planner conveniently reminds you of the additional space taken up by cover panels and the need to plan for that in your overall length of the cabinet run.
Sinks and faucets (taps): In this new IKEA Home Planner, you can only place appliances and fixtures where you’ve previously indicated that the appropriate utilities or pipes exist to support them. Add sinks and faucets in your plan, plus mix and match to see how different taps would look with various sink options. I don’t see an option to add your own sink like you can with appliances, but I might be overlooking it.
Cabinets: Place and move cabinets with ease. Select from the regular lineup of cabinets with additional options for open shelves, microwaves, horizontal cabinets and roll-front cabinets. Make changes to any individual cabinet options such as the handles, the fronts, the cover panels legs, cornice or deco strips.
Worktops: Finally a way to put a countertop where there is no cabinet! Think accesibility for wheelchair users, open spaces for stashing footstools, work stations, breakfast bars, built-in table tops and more. Woo-hoo!
Move multiple items: You could always multi-select items and move them around, though it was always a little sketchy as to what would actually move and where it might go. Move multiple items with precision in this new planner.
Tables, chairs and other dining furniture: Now add your dining furniture to the room. Sideboards, bar tables, dining sets, tables and chairs. Make your room complete! Visualize an eat in kitchen easily by adding these items to your design.
ADD YOUR OWN APPLIANCES! What if you don’t have IKEA appliances? How many of us do, anyway? Now you can set placeholders – resizable placeholders for dishwashers, extractor hoods, microwaves, ranges, refrigerators and even washing machines. This increases the flexibility of the planner to the extreme.
Decorate Your Room
This is an awesome development* for the new IKEA Home Planner. Now you can change the wall color, add wallpaper, decorative trim, moldings, skirting boards, and more to your walls. Add carpet, stone, tile, granite, hardwood or other types of flooring to your design to really get a feel for how it will look.
*Ironically, this is a feature that was in early versions of the IKEA Home Planner, but was removed because people using the computers in-store to design their kitchens spent WAY too much time trying to get the wall color *just* right. Now, do it at home then save it to IKEA’s servers!
Using the New IKEA Home Planner
Understand what the warnings mean, and how to avoid kitchen planning errors by leveraging the knowledge available in the IKEA Home Planner guide. The warnings will actually now make sense, and you can make relevant changes to your plan ahead of time to avoid mistakes and safety hazards in your new IKEA kitchen!
Learn how to save your plans to the IKEA server, then print or share via email. Of course, we share files here on IKEA Fans Kitchen Planning forum all the time. (FREE Kitchen Planning advice!)
Print your plan: This is a really great aspect of the new planner. Once you’ve completed your design, click on File>Print>Print all design views and you’ll get a printout of the front view, the overhead and the frontal elevation (!) as well as the list of items in your order with a total. Almost like having your own architect!
IKEA Home Planner Resources
A few weeks ago, we did an IKEA Home Planner Resource Roundup in which we reviewed all the available resources for the kitchen and home planner software. Don’t miss our IKEA Home Planner forum for peer-to-peer support if you have questions or problems, or need help with troubleshooting the software, new or old. We also have a wide array of articles on using the IKEA planner, understanding the IKEA Kitchen systems and more.
Learn how to save and post plans from the planner to our forums and read up on 9 Ways to Break the Creativity Block
Thanks again goes to Hadirajan, our IKEA insider who slipped us the info on this new planner being available. Don’t miss the interviews we did with Jesper on the planner:
IKEA Home Planner Sneak Peek Exclusive
Tags: 2020, hadirajan, IKEA Home Planner, IKEA Home Planner Software
I am trying to install the planner on my iMac. I’m stuck trying to find the right application to open it with. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
All the requirements I need to have.
Download the plugin.
Restarted Firefox (right version)
Go to kitchenplanner and over and over again it wants to re download the plugin.
How to start this planner program?
After installation of the English version of the IKEA planner everything goes wrong. I try to start, but then the whole program vanishes and the browser shuts down. It always does so. There is no chance to ” work” because of the crash in the beginning of the program.
I am working with Mac workbook, OSX, Version 10.5.8
How can I start with my work. I would like to design and build a kitchen, but I probably must find an other firm??
Sincerely yours. I am looking forward to your comment. Berndt Salkowitsch
Same probleme, not possible to open the plugins.
I can’t get the program to fully function. After many attempts I was finally able to get it to open but it doesn’t fill in the screen right. I get the white & blue sections but the content doesn’t fill in. It stays blank even when I pick predetermined layouts. When I pick the predetermined layouts the details disappear again. VERY FRUSTRATING because I want to redo my kitchen but I can’t use the kitchen planner.
Ho lo stesso problema di Berndt Salkowitsch.
Attendo aiuto
grazie
Edited to Translate: I have the same problem Salkowitsch Berndt.
I await aid
thanks
I have the same problem as Berndt S over here.
When I start the program, it shuts down, again and again…
I have Mac OSX 10.5.8 and Safari 5.0.3, and my computer is updated.
And when I want to report the problem to apple, it says that I cannot report at this time.
It happends again and again. What can be wrong?
I have the norwegian home planner.
Can anyone help?
I kept installing the plugins but I didn’t know what to do after, so I just restarted, my macbook froze, so I forced it to shut down (holding down the power button). Now Ikea Home Planner works perfectly. yay :D
I’ve resarted my Mac and tires reloading the program. Sill not working, the browser shuts down every time.
I have tried, for over an hour, to insert just a simple door as a first step. The program insists on putting the door on “wall A”. I cannot move the door to “wall B”, which is where the door needs to go. If I cannot even control a simple element like door placement, then there is no way I can use this program. I am using a new Mac with the latest version of Firefox.
Is there some way to select and place items? I am using a Mac laptop; is there something I am supposed to be doing that would let me determine the location for appliances? I can find no control over placement of anything in the kitchen planner. All I can do is keep selecting for example a door and let the kitchen planner dump doors next to each other, one after another, until finally one of the doors ends up in the right place. Then I delete all the other doors. But for many items, this frustrating practice doesn’t work. For example, I “placed” a stove (by clicking on the stove icon over and over until one landed in the right place), then tried to place a range hood. The kitchen planner dumps the range hood everywhere–in front of windows, doors–but no above the stove! Is it just me, or does this software simply not work?
ill thought out, badly designed and convoluted .It took me twenty minutes of frustration to realise the ‘Ikea Room Planner’ was actually only a kitchen planner. Hello????
How hard can it be?
just keeps crashing on my mac and on windows. sooo frustrating as need a new kitchen!!!Dont know what to do.
Lou, get the dimensions of your room including the locations of gas, electric and windows/doors and head on in to our Kitchen Planning forums. There are lots of folks there who love to help plan kitchens. :D
Ok, I give up! I can’t even locate this ‘plugin’ they say is required for the Mac. I went ahead and started to use the planner and after about 15 minutes everything went haywire… I give up.
As so many others I have found that my browser (both safari and firefox) crash within seconds of hitting the start button, and I have checked all the specs on my macbook and browsers are up to date.
I saw a facebook page that Ikea set up saying that they are looking into the bug fix and it should be ready in early March. Its April now so I’m guessing its still not fixed.. they could at least say there is a problem on their website. I hope their kitchens are better than their tech support.
Seeing all the troubles–I cannot get mine going either. And I do not see any answers from anyone on this series of comments.
So – I too will go to Lowe’s or someone else.
This is too much a hassle.
My husband and I have designed three kitchens using his PC. This is a very flawed program, even on PC, but it is effective and works, eventually. I would like to ask someone from IKEA to answer the “no-Macs” issue. After hearing the Kitchen Planner would be available for Mac since 2009, what is up? IKEA is missing a very big bet.
Supported MacOS X 10.4 Tiger or higher (Intel only)
Mac Browsers: Firefox 3.5.7+ / Safari 4.0.3+, Chrome, Opera browsers will work as well.
About installing the IKEA Home Planner on Mac:
Download the plugin and follow the instructions (drag the LEGO piece into the folder)
Then exit the browser with short command ⌘Q
restart the browser and enjoy the planner!
New release coming 14 June to support IE9 and FF4.0!
We have a planned IKEA kitchen saved onto an old PC (Windows XP) and got delayed in our building works. Logging on to the IKEA website recently I found our plan had been deleted as we hadn’t accessed it for a while so I uploaded the plan from the old PC using “Save to Ikea”. I then travelled from London to North Yorkshire where the kitchen is to be installed. However, trying to access the plan from there revealed nothing on the IKEA server despite a successful login. I now need the plan in N.Yorkshire but it is only on my wife’s old laptop in London, which I didn’t bring. I tried an IKEA helpline, but first and second time got disconnected, then called the Croydon store who couldn’t help, then got through to the helpline who couldn’t help but told me to ring the kitchen department in the store I had been dealing with who had just told me they couldn’t help, so I was being sent round in circles. Perhaps the staff know…this software is only compatible with very little but aren’t allowed to say it sucks. I’m running MacOS 10.4.11 on a PowerPC mac, but tried accessing Ikea from a friend’s newer PC and a newish Mac laptop and logged in but still no plan showing. The Minimum Requirements on the Ikea website vary according to which web page you read. One says 10.4.11 is fine, another says 10.5 and Intel based macs only is the minimum requirement. I’ve tried using Safari 4.1.3, Firefox 3.6.18 and Opera 10.63 without joy, and even OmniWeb 5.11 (no luck), while Chrome refuses to be downloaded because it somehow knows that my Mac doesn’t have an Intel chip. I don’t intend to buy a new computer to plan an Ikea kitchen. Does anyone know which other company has a decent kitchen planning tool on its website? Having had our ‘dream kitchen’ seemingly consigned to the dustbin of eternity by Ikea themselves I might as well consider the whole market if I have to start from scratch.
Yikes! You might try posting in the Kitchen Planning Forum?
it dose not work I open it up and the whole comes up in Duch help me please
I’m on a Mac/chrome and can get the plug-in to work, but it inserts items wherever it chooses and refuses to let me move them. I’ve spent 2 hours on this and it’s been a complete waste of my time. Ikea, if you want my business, fix your software program. It’s extraordinarily buggy and you are making your future customers angry. You’re normally better than that.
And at least respond to the posts in this forum. That’s lousy customer service. As a long-time Ikea customer I’m very disappointed.
this is weak…can’t use safari or firefox…fix your junk so that you can take my money…until then, i’ll keep my money and you can’t have it…why would you let money walk away – fire the tech guys and hire someone who knows what they’re doing…people have been complaining about this for months…
Not working since upgrading to Lion. I was able to open my saved plan on a windows machine in Chrome but it won’t open on my mac since Lion upgrade. Worked in Snow Leopard before.
What a load of total shite.
What a frustrating afternoon. We’re ready to spend over $5 G next weekend on your products but can’t plan it in advance……pain in the neck….wasted about 4 hours trying 2 macs, downloading browsers …. royal pain….
Whew! Thought it was just me. I’m so disappointed that I can’t master this thing. can’t even get it to download. And I agree with the post above when they say that Ikea at least owes it to customers to respond more often to these posts.
So glad I finally read all these posts!! I have just wasted so many hours trying to get this to work on my macbook air. I am new to macbook so I thought maybe I was doing something wrong but it seems like the tool is not compatible with the Lion. ugh!!!
I am using Mac 10.5.8 and is not working as well, been trying for last 2 hours. giving up. does anybody know any other program to help design kitchen?
I have been struggling with the Mac version and have given up. I went to the store in Leeds today and the man told me its only works on IE on a PC.
Yep – this is awful. You would think IKEA, of all companies, would be MAC friendly. Absolutely SO disappointed. In fact, we’re going a whole other direction. now. Bye, IKEA.
I’ve been dealing with this all morning. BUMMER that it’s not working on my MAC!!!! Oh well…IKEA will lose this kitchen remodel. :( Anyone know a good site for remodels?? Thanks!!
This program does not work.
There is a serious bug in the installation that does not allow the plug in to be installed in Safari. The process completes in Firefox but the program crashes too frequently.
Before you go and waste a bunch of time, know that of December 27, 2011 this program still does not function on a Mac.
I am running Lion on a MacBook Pro that was purchased in August 2011. I have the max video card, display and memory that one could buy at that time.
With that said, if you have access to a PC the program works well. I was able to design it on my PC using IE9 and they are coming to put in the kitchen next week.
It’s very sad that IKEA has decided to neglect such an important group of customers. Not everyone has the patience or resources to switch to a PC to do something like this.
Another alternative is to go to the store. If you go at an off time, the reps will do the design for you. Not optimal, but it gets the job done.