Free VR App Lets You Go To IKEA Without Leaving The House

People have a lot of mixed feelings about IKEA. For some, a trip to IKEA is like entering the third or fourth circle of Hell. For others, it's like the real life version of a D&D campaign -- we'll find the level that dragon is on someday...

Either way, sometimes all you really want to do is get a good look at a set of shelves and counter tops without having to make a special trip downtown; dealing with traffic and parking in order to do it. IKEA has apparently figured this out and has come up with a solution... The IKEA VR Experience.

Now, you can take a trip to the labyrinth-like furniture store without even having to leave your bed. (Or well, you can at least play around in one of their kitchen modules.) The app, available on Steam for free, requires users to have a Windows 7 or higher PC and the HTC Vive VR headset with two working handcontrollers in order to use it. It allows users to interact with various parts of an IKEA kitchen as though they were in the store. It also gives them a chance to change the finishes on the cabinets and shelves and look at it from a variety of angles.

Interestingly, this app appears to have a limited shelf life. IKEA says that it is an "experience" that should take about 5 minutes and that they will support it until August 2016. They are looking for feedback on it, so it's possible they're considering making a more complete IKEA store experience -- minus the meatballs -- at a later date.