The task of building IKEA furniture has been challenging newlyweds and college students for years. In 2020, the company started offering a new challenge to customers: building bee habitats.

IKEA’s research and design lab, SPACE10, has partnered with European design studio Bakken & Bæck, and designer Tanita Klein, to release a free design for your very own DIY bee home.

The design is not a hive, but rather a geometric home for single pollinator bees who do not produce honey or wax but offer critical pollination services for all our plants.

We previously talked about how the EU is drafting pesticide restrictions to protect bee populations, but pesticides are not the only threat to these pollinators. Rising temperatures, parasites, predators, and poor nutrition are all contributing to their decline. Building a personal bee habitat in your backyard is a great way to lend a helping hand to these insects responsible for one in three bites of food we take.

The building process is adaptable and fairly simple. You input the desired height, the number of floors, and positioning and the site generates design plans and instructions that you can print out.

If you’re concerned about attracting potential bee stings, worry not! Single bees are non-aggressive and do not sting. The homes do however need to be outside, so city dwellers may be out of luck. If you have space, we encourage you to take on building a bee home as a fun quarantine project to protect these threatened pollinators.