IKEA is launching an app which lets you try furniture in your home before you buy it

IKEA is launching a new app, IKEA Place, which lets you see what one of the Swedish firm’s items would look like in your home before you buy it – be that a large bed or a tiny house plant. Perfect if you don’t have exact measurements or a good visual memory (yep to both).

IKEA Place utilises the swanky new augmented-reality ARKit update in Apple’s iOS 11 software for the humble aim of saving you the massive hassle of buying a new sofa only to lug it all the way home and find it doesn’t fit your living room.

What a brilliant idea.

It’s very simple. All you have to do is download and open the app and then point your phone camera at the area of the house in question – a corner of your living room, for example.

The app will then superimpose an accurately scaled image of the item of IKEA furniture you are interested in onto the phone screen.

Meaning you can browse the IKEA website from the comfort of your own home and then see the pieces you like in situ before you do the pilgrimage to your closest one to buy it.

Go easy on the hot dogs…

IKEA Place will be available as part of the Apple iOS 11 update in October.