While the words ‘air purifier’ and ‘side table’ don’t exactly mesh naturally, Ikea’s Starkvind table with air purifier is ready to change your mind. Joining Ikea’s growing collection of smart home furniture, the Starkvind table is an excellent alternative for homes with less floor space.
Sure, it’s a pretty whacky combination, but the Ikea Starkvind table presents a unique glimpse into more space-effective furnishings in the smart home of the future.
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I live in a flat in outer London, and while the air pollution isn’t quite as bad as it is in the city center, my air quality monitor generally describes my indoor air quality as moderate. It’s not a huge space, either, so I don't have a lot of room for big bulky gadgets and appliances. So, I asked Ikea to send me the Starkvind table to see if I could improve the air quality of my flat, without sacrificing some much-needed floorspace.
If you want a more in-depth look at how well it performs, check out my full Ikea Starkvind table with air purifier review. For now, here’s a rundown.
Flat pack fun
Of course, it wouldn’t be Ikea furniture if it wasn’t neatly packed down in a box. Inside, you’ll find the power supply, main compartment (which houses the air purifier) and the tabletop. Essentially, the main compartment is just Ikea’s standard Starkvind purifier propped up on legs.
It’s immensely easy to build; simply fit the power supply, slot the legs and tabletop into place and remove the air purifier packaging inside the main console and you’re set. It’s got a couple of neat design features; the power supply cable slots discretely into one of the table’s legs, and the tabletop has grooves underneath to prevent any spills or drips from reaching the purifier.
The Starkvind table is spectacularly easy to use and pretty effective. The main console has a roller dial, which grants control of its six power settings, including an automatic detection mode. You can also press and hold the dial down to activate the lock mode. The weakest setting is whisper-quiet, but when set to the third of its five power modes, an audible, irritating whirr kicks in, which becomes pretty loud as soon as you progress to its most powerful setting. This isn’t too unusual for a purifier, but still sits on the louder end of the spectrum based on my experience.
It’s also pretty good-looking, considering its utilitarian nature. Standing at 55cm tall and with a diameter of 54cm, it’s available in white with oak wood or black with dark stained oak. At a quick glance, it almost just looks like the main compartment could be a drawer, and the tabletop is comfortably large - I use mine to display a lamp, a few objet d’art and a placemat for my hot drinks.
Clearing the air
During my time testing and reviewing the Starkvind, I was pretty impressed by how effective it was. I used my Amazon Air Quality monitor alongside the device to cross-reference its efficiency and was really pleased to see how well it filtered out PM2.5 matter from the air. On its automatic mode, it was very responsive to pollutants, reacting within seconds when I sprayed aerosols and lit a candle nearby.
There are, naturally, some drawbacks. Without Ikea’s Dirigera smart device hub, which is available separately, you do lose out on some of the table’s smarter features, including access to the app with air analysis. In the app, you can also adjust fan speed, set timers, and create scenes with other Ikea smart home products.
The Starkvind table also isn’t a true HEPA filter, and if you want to filter out gaseous pollutants like formaldehyde, you’ll need to purchase a separate filter.
If it’s not for you, don’t fret; it’s such a smart idea that other manufacturers have started catching on; LG debuted its own air purifying table earlier this year at IFA, which takes a slightly more modern design approach and features a HEPA filter.
All that being said, I’m pretty confident that the Starkvind table is one of my personal favorite smart home devices I’ve tried this year, if for no other reason than it ticks so many of my personal criteria as someone living in a fairly small city apartment; it’s compact, relatively affordable, stylish and smart.
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