Ready-to-assemble furniture (RTA), also known as knock-down furniture or flat pack furniture, is a form of furniture that is purchased in multiple pieces and requires assembly. This form of furniture generally arrives in a box and contains instructions for the buyer to follow in order to assemble it after purchase.

History

Ready-to-assemble furniture was first invented by Gillis Lundgren, who was a Swedish draughtsman

Draughtsman

A draughtsman or draftsman , is a person skilled in drawing, either:*drawing for artistic purposes, or*technical drawing for practical purposes such as architecture or engineering...

. Lundgren developed the idea when he needed to fit a table into his car. According to reports, Lundgren broke the legs off his table so he could fit it in the car and then reassembled the table at home. He then discussed the idea with his employers at IKEA

IKEA

IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...

. The company later built its entire business around the concept, launching its first piece in 1956.

Ready-to-assemble furniture is popular among consumers that wish to save money on their furniture purchases by assembling the product on their own and no need for delivery cost. In addition to saving the consumer money, flat pack furniture is generally simple to assemble and requires only the use of simple tools.

Merchants benefit from selling ready-to-assemble furniture because furniture that is already assembled tends to be bulky and more expensive to store and to deliver. Since the furniture does not need to be assembled in the factory, ready-to-assemble furniture is also less expensive for the merchant to purchase. Due to these many factors, selling flat pack furniture is a more cost effective method of conducting business.

Ready-to-assemble furniture is typically packaged in a kit form with the pieces packaged in one or multiple boxes. The kit may contain a number of flat parts, fasteners, screws, fixings, and other parts that are needed to assemble the furniture.

A furniture assembly industry has grown from otherwise desirable furniture being sold only in ready-to-assemble form. Consumers engage a service provider to come to their home and assemble the furniture they have purchased.

Uses

Ready-to-assemble furniture can be purchased for a number of purposes:

• Living room furniture
• Office furniture
• Bookcases
• Tables
• Beds
• Lounge-ware
• Outdoor furniture
• Swingsets
• Patio sets
• Kitchen cabinets
• CD/DVD storage racks

Tools

Ready-to-assemble furniture may include basic tools that are necessary for assembly.

Some ready-to-assemble furniture requires the use of additional tools. Some, such as a hex key

Hex key

A hex key, Allen key, or Allen wrench is a tool of hexagonal cross-section used to drive bolts and screws that have a hexagonal socket in the head .- Nomenclature :...

, are included in the packaging; others, such as a screwdriver

Screwdriver

A screwdriver is a tool for driving screws and often rotating other machine elements with the mating drive system. The screwdriver is made up of a head or tip, which engages with a screw, a mechanism to apply torque by rotating the tip, and some way to position and support the screwdriver...

 or hammer

Hammer

A hammer is a tool meant to deliver an impact to an object. The most common uses are for driving nails, fitting parts, forging metal and breaking up objects. Hammers are often designed for a specific purpose, and vary widely in their shape and structure. The usual features are a handle and a head,...

, tend not to be.