The kitchen which features on the front page of the new store's latest catalogue has been brought to life among Floriade's flowers as Canberrans eager to furnish their homes count down to the November 16 opening.

White furnishings with clean lines and splashes of wood, stainless steel and green create a modern feel throughout the Scandanavian-inspired kitchen display in the middle of Commonwealth Park.

But Canberra store manager Mark Mitchinson said the METOD range was as much about functionality and sustainability as it was looks, filled with ubiquitous old-school glass storage jars, reusable water bottles, hanging stainless steel herb pots and a mini greenhouse.

"A large part of our focus is to help people live a more sustainable life at home and we all know there's a large amount of food waste," Mr Mitchinson said.

"We're really trying to look at the different ways people can live a more sustainable life, right from our waste sorting solutions to the way they recycle, to the taps we use that have aeration and they always turn on cold before they go to hot.

"We won't bring a product into our range unless it meets very strict sustainability criteria."

The kitchen items will be among 8500 products dotted throughout the 26,000sqm Canberra store.

More than 194,000 product catalogues have been slipped into letterboxes around the capital and beyond ahead of the grand opening.

Mr Mitchinson said he expected thousands of flatpack furniture lovers to stream through the new building on November 16.

"People who have visited an IKEA store before can expect all their favourites...from the amazing food offering to well over 8,500 products," he said.

"People who have never visited an IKEA store before ... they're in for a treat. You'll see people walk through those opening doors...and you'll probably hear the 'wows' as they walk through because it is an experience.

"It is very overwhelming too, when you visit your first IKEA store, because there are so many different products, there are so many different room sets."

Monday was the team's first day in the new store, working hard alongside experienced company workers to unpack 180 containers of furniture with 56 days to ready the store.

"We're full of excitement, we're full of energy," Mr Mitchinson.

"We've got a big 56 days ahead of us. We're going to have to work hard."

The timeless glass storage jars with a rubber, airtight seal are as stylish as they are practical.

"We use these for all our different dried fruit and grains at home," Mr Mitchinson said.

"My favourite outdoor setting is one of the big HOGSTEN chairs," Mr Mitchinson said.

"It's a big, white cane chair - that's my favourite chair to sit in out in the sun. I don't have a lot of time at the moment to sit outside in the sun but when I do that's what I love to do."

Mr Mitchinson's favourite lounge chair is another piece of classic furniture with a modern edge.

"One of my favourite products is the STRANDMON wing chair - it was on the cover of the very first IKEA catalogue," he said.

"We have two of those at home. That's probably my favourite product of all."

"I've got my little two-year-old son at home and we've got this little step stool," Mr Mitchinson said.

"He comes up and well, he's a helper or a hinderance in the kitchen, one of the two. It's an amazing way to allow the little ones in the kitchen."

Mr Mitchinson's said his favourite kitchen utensil might be small but effortlessly peels big potatoes.

"It's very, very small and random but my favourite product is one of the IKEA 365 vegetable peelers because I use it every single day," he said.

"It's the best quality potato peeler I've used.

Mr Mitchinson said the kids' kitchen range, decked out with mini saucepans and sieves, was all about encouraging budding chefs.

"Our little DUTIG kitchen range, it's trying to educate kids on how to cook and be a part of the family home," he said.