Habitare 2026

There is a working movie theatre parked in the middle of an exhibition hall in Helsinki this week — real seats, real popcorn, Finnish short films on a loop — and if you want one image that explains what Habitare is doing in 2026, that is probably it. The Nordics’ largest furniture, design and interior event opened at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre on Wednesday and runs through Sunday, and its theme, Plot Twists, has been taken unusually literally by the people building the stands.

The theme exhibitors actually ran with

Plot Twists asks visitors to lean into the unpredictability of life and time — the idea being that every turn and change of direction can open a new perspective, or an entirely new chapter. That is the sort of line that usually stays on a banner. Not here.

The cinema is a collaboration between Bolon, Cinemafix, Genelec and Kino Konepaja at booth 6s58, combining a theatre, a lounge and a bar in a single stand. Secto Design handed its own brand world over to London architecture and design firm Conran & Partners, whose installation Creators of Light — designed by Amy Blight and her team, built by the artisans at Secto’s Heinola factory — pulls together Finnish birch, craftsmanship and northern light at booth 6f8. Masku has gone the other way entirely with a Sleep Experience Room at 7v128, lit for rest rather than retail, where you can test a bed away from the noise of the hall and get a free 15-minute spinal measurement.

The Amazing Part

The Nordic Quarters Showcase in the Habitare Pro area sits you down in seven Finnish chairs — Made By Choice’s Kolho Chair, Boardwalk’s Block Stool, Artek’s Armchair 41 “Paimio,” Eero Aarnio Originals’ Ball Chair, Geberit/IDO Arabia’s IDO 59, Vaarni’s 001 Dining Chair and Martela’s Kilta Chair — hands you headphones, and plays you the story of the chair you are sitting in. The audio explains why each was designed exactly as it is, which tends to upend whatever you assumed on sight. Very on-theme: the twist only shows up when you look past the surface.

How the floor is organised

Habitare spreads across halls 3, 6 and 7, and the split is worth knowing before you buy a ticket. Halls 6 and 7 are the curated contemporary living and design halls, holding the themed areas, the exhibitions and the Young Designers’ Area. Hall 3 is the small-scale end — Finnish interior products and art, Habitare Handmade with live making demonstrations, Habitare Kids, the Fun Design Market and an Antique & Vintage section that is a genuine collector’s hunting ground. Habitare Pro, the B2B layer, connects design businesses with architects, buyers, developers, specifiers and media, and has added two sub-areas: Pro Makers for project-based interior work, and Pro Mini for small-product and lifestyle brands.

The set pieces this year:

• Theme exhibition by Minestrone Workshop, a nine-designer collective known for experimental, material-driven work and hands-on craft.
• Neighbours, the concept-home block, reimagined by Oulu-based Arkkitehti Takkunen.
• Habitare Build Lab, a 375 m² live showcase designed by Laura Seppänen, laid out room by room around circular and sustainable construction.
• The Block, holding the Habitare Talents and Habitare Protos exhibitions of emerging designers.
• The Habitare Design Competition, run with Aalto University’s School of Arts and Design, which has been surfacing young design and architecture students for years.

FYI

Habitare Materials, the interactive surface-materials library that regulars usually plan a stop around, is taking a break in 2026. Don’t go hunting for it on the map.

The House That Finland Built

The area I would send a first-time visitor to is The House That Finland Built, given over to Finnish furniture manufacturers and, more to the point, to the people who make the things. ikimakee is running an upholstery workshop where you can watch an upholsterer at the bench, and Laitala Furniture Factory is holding woodworking demonstrations throughout the event.

The line-up is a decent cross-section of the domestic industry: ikimakee, founded in Hakaniemi in 2024 by four craftsmen after their previous employer closed; Huonekalutehdas Laitala, third-generation and working in the Jurva woodworking tradition; Tervas, which builds courtyard cottages; Aisbois, making interior products in Lapland out of surplus and rejected mass-timber stock; Lundia; Muoto Collection from Lahti; Muurame; and Rintaluoma, still manufacturing in the village of Äystö where it started. It is put together with Puuteollisuus ry, Ambius, Metsätervas, Finlayson, Ornamo and AistiSiimes.

Fun Fact

Line those companies up by age and the range is startling: Laitala has been going since 1932, Lundia since 1948, Rintaluoma since 1972 — and ikimakee since 2024. Ninety-two years of furniture-making history, standing shoulder to shoulder in the same aisle.

Scale, tickets and the practical stuff

This is a big event by any measure: more than 500 companies and organisations exhibit, and in 2025 the fair drew 43,000 visitors across five days. Wednesday morning, 9am to noon, is reserved for professionals and media before the doors open to everyone, and the late Thursday and Friday hours are the smart window if you want breathing room around the stands.

Two things worth knowing before you go. HIFI2026, the hi-fi and high-quality sound event, runs in the Congress Wing on Saturday and Sunday and is included on the same ticket. And there is construction underway at the Southern Entrance, so the organisers want people arriving with a QR code rather than queuing at the door. Tickets are cheapest online and step up in price the closer you get, with the highest rate at the entrance desk.

There is an AI fair guide this year too, which handles the programme, finds companies on the map and — the part I like — lets you photograph things as you go and assembles them into your own inspiration book. Worth setting up before you arrive. And when five halls wear you down, Suomibaari has Karelian pies, a Framery karaoke booth and a Friday stand-up set, and the Hakola Pause Lounge runs a free daily meditation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the opening hours, and when is the quietest time to go?

Wednesday 9am–6pm, with 9am to noon restricted to professionals and media; Thursday 10am–7pm; Friday 10am–8pm; Saturday 10am–6pm; Sunday 10am–6pm. The late Thursday and Friday hours are the calmest stretch for anyone who wants to look properly rather than shuffle.

Do I need a separate ticket for HIFI2026?

No. HIFI2026 runs Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 6pm, in the Congress Wing of the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre, and your Habitare ticket covers it.

How much does it cost to exhibit at Habitare?

Bare exhibition space starts at €142 per square metre plus VAT for 1–199 m², dropping to €116 at 200–399 m² and €106 above 400 m², on top of a €650 starter package covering an electrical outlet and electricity; visibility and environmental fees are added. Stand structure packages, ready-made stands and design services are priced separately — you can reach the organisers through the email in the overview above.