Fredrika Inger, managing director of Ikea of Sweden, came to New York this week to introduce the latest collection of Stockholm, 96 pieces of Scandinavian design, from statement sofas and handwoven wool rugs to chandeliers, daybeds, candle holders, glass vases, dinnerware and cabinets.
The Stockholm collection, which started in 1985, is issuing its eighth edition at retail today, offering high-quality Scandinavian design at affordable prices. The last time they introduced a new edition of Stockholm was in 2017.
“Stockholm is really about stretching the best of Ikea. We try to challenge the concept that high quality has to come from high price,” said Inger, a 22-year-veteran of Ikea. “This is of course for Ikea a high price, but by comparison, it’s relatively low for the quality and design value,” she said. Most of the items come in flat-pack, and are easy to assemble, she said. The majority of the pieces come from Europe.
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Inger called the current tariff situation “complex.”
“We are a global business and are operating in 63 markets. We have a global context in where we do business. The majority of the business is done in Europe. The U.S. is a very important market for us. Our ambition is to secure functional well-designed products at the lowest possible price. Tariffs can make that ambition more difficult,” Inger said.
Every product in the Stockholm collection has to live up to certain form, function, sustainability and a low price, she said. She said she’s very proud of the craftsmanship, the choice of materials and the design details.
At present, there are 51 Ikea stores in the U.S., and 481 globally. She said previously Ikea used to have all big stores, but it has been opening smaller city center stores and different formats.
Inger is responsible for the global range portfolio, product development and design. Some ranges are global, and some are different. For example, she said sleep preferences differ around the globe. In the U.S., for example, customers like thick, soft beds, and in Asia, they like hard and firm mattresses. In Europe, they like their beds “in between.”
Asked what’s changed in sofa design since the last edition, she said, “Sofas are where relevance plays in. In some regions, we have a lot of sofa beds. People want to have sofas where they can really relax. Even if you live in small space, you want a big sofa,” she said. The designer for the sofas used to do the sofas with a lot of loose cushions and with kids, every evening, he’d have to put it back together again. Now he wanted to design a “super comfy” sofa with no cushions. He said the sofas have washable covers that are family- and dog-friendly.
With a trend toward living in small spaces, Inger obsrved, “Ikea has always had a focus on people who need it most. We’re here for small space living, the need for people living with children and the need to organize. It’s always where you struggle the most in your home,” she said. She said small-space living has always been one of their priorities.
Ikea has been working on products in Hong Kong, where they have extremely small spaces and testing new products. “We’re a little bit failing,” she said. Coming out of the pandemic, she said the space has to be used for many activities. “How do you optimize your cubic meters, maybe not the square meters?” she said.
Discussing the importance of sustainability and circularity to Ikea’s design, she said, “It’s super important. Ikea has a big focus to reducing its carbon footprint by 2030 to 50 percent,” she said. “My responsibility in working with range and product development, if you look at Ikea’s footprint, a lot sits on the materials being used. We have a lot of material innovation,” she said, such as having more recycling content. She said foam has ended up in landfills, but now they have one you can actually recycle and melt it down and make new foam. She said they design everything for circulating, for reuse, repair and resale.
Her team in Sweden has 2,400 people, and then there are small hubs in places such as Shanghai, Warsaw, Bangalore and Ho Chi MInh City. In the U.S., Ikea’s retail operation is based in Philadelphia.
She said the sofa comes in two pieces in a box. She said a couch can be put together quickly.
Asking what trends are shaping her design philosophy, she said, “We study peoples lives at home. What do people dream of, what needs do they have? We go to people’s homes to try and crack everyday problems.” She said they do “timeless designs,” that are not trendy, and will be there to stay and last a long time. “We always try to put a lot of attention to solving real problems and making sure the design is timeless,” she said. Since the pandemic, where people spent so much time at home, customers realized how important home is, and that it should be a space that is safe and functional.
Overall, Ikea’s range includes 10,000 products and 20 percent are new almost every year.
In other offerings, Inger said Ikea has a “fantastic” kitchen system, which is a mix of Scandinavian and “international” style. She said kitchen islands are getting more popular in Europe. She’s seeing more of “living, dining and kitchen all together in one room. In old architecture you’re seeing separate rooms.”
In general, Ikea’s target customer is the person who’s changing their life situation, such as moving in together, getting married and having children. “When things happen in your life, you have needs. When life happens, you need us,” she said.
This latest collection is Stockholm’s largest, offering a diverse range of furniture, textiles, lighting and accessories across the home. Solid wools are paired with tactile surfaces and natural fibers, linen, and leather. There’s also sturdy wood furniture, handwoven wool rugs, mouth-blown glass and handcrafted rattan pieces. The collection also includes two glass chandeliers with a retro feel, accompanied with white gloves to wear during assembly. They are also dishwasher safe.
The inspiration for the collection is deeply rooted in the city of Stockholm, reflecting both the urban and natural landscape surrounding the city. There are rich earth tones that are played against natural woods and textiles reflect scenes and colors from nature.
Two distinctly different sofas were first designed as centerpieces to guide the collection. Designer Ola Wihlborg’s wide modular sofa, offered in four colors including a deep turquoise velvet, was born from his frustration with sofas that constantly need the comfort without needing extra pillows. The result is a generous sofa with modules that can be used on their own as well as connected to create the desired length. The second sofa, designed by Nike Karlsson with a solid pine wood frame and white cushions, serves as an exploration into design without foam. Made from natural materials, the sofa uses woven fabric, natural latex and coconut fiber, creating a sofa with comfort and timeless appeal.
The collection also introduces a sliding-door cabinet featuring a surface woven from rattan fibers, tied, bent and shaped by hand. There are also bookshelves, dining tables and bentwood chairs.
The forest is a central character, including lampshades that are adorned in leaf and mushroom prints and color combinations pulled directly from the Scandinavian seasons. Handwoven by master weavers, the collection includes 100 percent wool rugs bringing nature inside, with woven birch tree patterns, available in shades of green as well as a gray scale, in black and white. Merino wool blankets and pillowcases in multicolored patters add pops of color. The collection features tableware in ceramic and porcelain, including glazed stone plates and bowls, and a series of glasses.
