So it's January again and everybody's writing great posts about new trends (open shelves, fewer upper cabinets, the color orange, horizontal wood grains), and resolutions (already lost 4lbs YAY). Not moi. I'm in the mood for scanning the globe for home/kitchen related tidbits and what locale could be better than my new favorite, PARIS! That famous cheap yet hip ready-to-assemble furniture company, yes, IKEA stays edgy and current by coming up with new innovative marketing schemes. The latest took place in the Paris commuter train station Auber R.E.R. A 581 square foot apartment was erected,and five young stylish occupants were recruited to live in it for 6 days (January 9-14). Oh, and commuters could peak in the windows to witness "hip" living in all its glory!The purpose of the marketing campaign was to demonstrate how IKEA products work for small spaces in real life. Each of the days is documented via video on the IKEA France Facebook page. Here are the highlights:1) Day 2-Take out sushi delivery (FOUL! I wanted them to cook in that kitchen! Okay it sort of looked like they cooked on Day 1.)2) Day 3- Twister (A good game choice for small spaces.)3) Day 3-Some guy really into his pink ukulele (This is actually pretty hip as ukueles are making a big comeback. Click here.)4) Day 1 -Sewing clothes with sewing machine and everything (Really?)5) Day 4, below, features a bang up birthday bash! (This must be the coolest cake ever.) This was creative, attention grabbing marketing, a statement about the relationship between form and function. Did they succeed? Has social media made marketing more important than product?

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