Sneak a peek at IKEA’s food-centric 2016 catalog and newly unveiled products

<a href="http://inhabitat.com/index.php?s=ikea">IKEA</a>'s been hard at work in the kitchen cooking up their new food-centric 2016 US catalog, which will be hitting stores this August. This year's theme, “<a href="http://onlinecatalog.ikea-usa.com/us/en/ikea_catalog">The Little Things That Matter</a>”, explores how meals bring families together, and serves up 300+ pages of new products and useful tips to help readers cook, store and even grow food. We stopped by a preview of the catalog on Wednesday in NYC to check out the <a href="http://www.ikea.com/">Swedish furniture giant</a>'s coolest new offerings, and picked out some choice selects for your viewing pleasure. So far, <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/sneak-a-peek-at-ikeas-food-centric-2016-catalog-and-newly-unveiled-products/ikea-2016-catalog-sittning-phone-pocket-placemat/?extend=1">this placemat that forces you to put your phone away during dinner</a> and <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/sneak-a-peek-at-ikeas-food-centric-2016-catalog-and-newly-unveiled-products/ikea-2016-catalog-sinnerlig-ilse-crawford-paper-hammock/?extend=1">this cork table with a hidden paper storage hammock</a> are our favorites. Which are yours?

We even got a brief cooking lesson from Katie Lee, one of the hosts of our favorite Food Network show, <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/the-kitchen.html">The Kitchen</a>. But we were a bit disappointed that IKEA's new <a href="http://inhabitat.com/ikea-announces-plans-to-serve-vegetarian-swedish-meatballs-in-stores/">vegetarian grönsaksbullar meatballs</a> were nowhere to be found! Luckily, they did serve up some of their <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00224849/">gravlax</a>, which, like all of the other seafood served at IKEA, will be Aquaculture Stewardship Council-certified to be farmed under environmentally and socially responsible conditions going forward.

Downstairs, the new SINNERLIG collection, a limited edition collaboration with world-renowned designer <a href="http://www.studioilse.com/">Ilse Crawford</a>, was a standout with its simple, soft and clean <a href="http://inhabitat.com/index.php?s=cork">cork</a> finishes.

The 2016 catalog features products that help you make and store food.

A sweet and inspiring eggshell garden.

Many of the items in the 2016 catalog have multiple uses. The BITTERGURKA container ($9.99) seen above can be used as a hanging planter or as a fruit basket, and makes for an eye-catching focal point when staggered and grouped in a bunch.

A rooftop DIY haven in the shadow of the Empire State Building..

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<a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/index.php?s=brooklyn+grange">Inhabitat's favorite NYC rooftop farmers</a> <a href="http://brooklyngrangefarm.com/">Brooklyn Grange</a> were on the scene teaching us about growing food in urban settings.

Recycled shipping pallet gardens.

HEMSMAK also features a selection of tags and labels so that you can mark the goodies you make with gift messages, as well as paper and cellophane bags for homemade treats like cookies and chocolates.

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And of course, IKEA has plenty of recycling bins to choose from. If you're worried about breaking up the continuity of your base cabinets so that you can fit your recycling center inside, just make use of their special facades that make larger compartments look like they're actually two drawers.

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IKEA's <a href="http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_CA/SEKTION-kitchen/sektion_inspiration.html">SEKTION cabinets</a> have been around for quite a while now, but the VARIERA bamboo inserts that fit into them are new. They've also been updated with internal LED lights that can help you distinguish your whisk from your ladle, even in low light.

The SINNERLIG collection hits stores in October 2015.

"The more virtual our lives become, the more we crave the physical," said Crawford of her thought process for the new line. "We used natural materials as they engage our senses and connect us to ourselves, to our feelings and to our homes."

The new SINNERLIG collection, a limited edition collaboration with world-renowned designer <a href="http://www.studioilse.com/">Ilse Crawford</a>, was a standout with its simple, soft and clean cork finishes.

This $349 dining table hides a secret paper catcher below its surface so that it can do double-duty as a work desk during the day and be cleared off easily when dinner time arrives.

Use these delicate glass bottles with cork stoppers (small: $9.99, large: $11.99) for water, as vases or just as eye candy.

A steaming process was used to give this $59 stool its chocolate color. Or opt for it in a natural finish for the same price.

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Though it's not part of the SINNERLIG line, this SITTNING placemat with phone pocket speaks to Crawford's sentiment about putting aside our digital lives for even just a moment a day during dinner. We're sure you all know someone who could use the hint.

The new catalog is printed on 100-percent FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper, but for a totally paperless experience, check out the digital version of the 2016 IKEA catalog <a href="http://onlinecatalog.ikea-usa.com/us/en/ikea_catalog">here</a>.

HEMSMAK also features a selection of tags and labels so that you can mark the goodies you make with gift messages, as well as paper and cellophane bags for homemade treats like cookies and chocolates.

IKEA turned the rooftop of the event space into a DIYers paradise complete with pickling station, eggshell planters and two shipping pallet gardens.