Design heroes

Ikea's latest PS collection offers interiors enthusiasts a high-octane, cheap-chic thrill, writes ALANNA GALLAGHER

IKEA’S PS COLLECTION is a selection of furniture, accessories and textiles made by new design talent and distributed only every three years. Created to feel a little special and to foster the idea of democratic design, it was first presented at Milan’s Furniture Fair in 1995, and was a turning point for the Swedish giant. With the PS range, Ikea introduced contemporary-design prestige products to a broad new market in the same way that HM has cornered high-fashion collaborations.

Earlier PS designs are collectible and even belong to museums. PS Jonsberg, from the 2005 range, for example – a series of glazed stoneware, earthenware, porcelain and bone china vases by the artist Hella Jongerius – was bought by the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and a folding bookcase by Jan Schedin, from the 1997 PS selection, is in London’s VA museum.

Ikea started life as a mail-order company selling matchboxes and shaving sets to farmers in Sweden’s Småland region, delivering them on the back of milk trucks. Now its blue and yellow branding is recognised around the world.

With 332 stores worldwide and 208 million copies of its catalogue printed annually, it remains a beacon of cheap chic for homeowners.

Several pieces from PS 2012 take inspiration from earlier models. This year’s theme is inspired by the company’s history and mines its 60 years of design. Their creators searched the archive looking for ideas that would resonate with modern consumers.

Johanna Jelinek’s wall-hung light (€50) is one example. An in-house designer for Ikea, Jelinek was inspired by something she discovered in a 1980s catalogue. Hers is a slimmed-down style, using LED technology. It also functions as an overhead reading light. Jelinek’s father also worked at Ikea: Tomas Jelinek, escaped from what was then Czechoslovakia in 1968 and spent the rest of his working life designing for Ikea.

The light comes in red, black and white and uses small light diodes. When not in use, it folds back on itself to sit flush with the wall. But it does leave a white electric cable exposed. It is worth considering hiding the flex behind a thin plaster skim.

Henrik Preutz went back to the 1970s to reimagine this year’s flower-stand side tables (€40-€45). The slim bamboo frame comes with three top options, all in plastic. One has four compressions that can hold plant pots, children’s colouring pencils or even mini-ice buckets for beer. A second is a compressed bowl, ideal for fruit or party snacks. The third option has a flat surface.

Preutz also designed the sleek powder-coated steel pendant lamps (€135), which have diodes built into the shades themselves to better reflect the light. It comes in cyan, primary yellow and black.

There are several other highlights. A playful glass-door cabinet (€430), designed by Lisa Widen and Anna Wallin Irinarchos of WIS Design, is a great repository for books or crockery. It gives the illusion of being made of white photo frames of assorted sizes but is actually one door.

The duo is also responsible for the TV bench (€200) that has its origins in old country kitchen style furniture – the type of presses that had curtain “doors” on a piece of string. The TV bench reworks this heritage to create a feminine curtain-style rounded edge to its glossy lacquered doors. The design also allows the remote control beam to penetrate the painted finish so you can record or play without having to first open the doors. It comes in sunny yellow and white.

Ikea’s sofas have had many dissenters over the years. They invariably look good but have often fallen short on comfort. The new three-seat tubular steel frame sofa by Nike Karlsson (€750) challenges this point of view. Made from mattress pocket springs it feels surprisingly comfortable. The springs are also more recyclable than previously used foam. This colourful piece will feel light and airy in a room. It comes in a blue frame with off-white cushions or a white frame with beige cushions. The cushions have contrasting whip-stitched edges.

A black chair with arm rests (€79) echoes the shape of the classic Windsor chair, rethinking it by adding a back-rest and two arm-rests. It’s an austere piece that you can expect to see celebrated in style bibles. Designed by Ebba Strandmark, it comes in black only.

A second chair in the series echoes the lines of an easy chair, Cikada, from 1959, in the Ikea museum in Älmhult, Ikea’s headquarters in southern Sweden. The reinterpretation by Wiebke Braasch dispenses with upholstery to create a comfortable and stylish chair (€145) that can be used indoors and out. Made of powder-coated steel, it comes in yellow, cyan, green and white.

Inspired by Japanese bento boxes, designers Knut and Marianne Hagberg have created a series of oven/serving dishes (€30 for six) that can be stacked inside each other or placed next to each other at dinner. The transparent dishes are perfect for leftovers. When you’re finished pop on the black silicon rubber lids and put in the fridge. Their vases (€35 for two), candlesticks (€25) and coat rack (€65) are other impulse purchases that we can expect to see a lot of in the coming months.

The PS 2012 collection lands at Ikea, Ballymun, Dublin on May 1st