IKEA’s 96-piece line Stockholm celebrates ‘forever furniture’ with high quality Swedish pine and woodland inspiration

Alhamn Sofa, priced at ₹1,09,890. Available in dark turquoise, dark brown and beige.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

In a country of long, dark winters, ‘mys’ — Swedish for cosiness — has its fans and is another growing global trend after the Danish ‘hygge’. It also resonates with Swedish giant IKEA’s heart-warming furniture that stands for comfort, good design and affordability — in all, a phenomenon in a flatpack. This concept of ‘flat’ works well in a world that’s getting flatter, according to Karin Gustavsson, creative leader of IKEA’s Stockholm collection, which celebrates its 40th anniversary. “We found that families were becoming very similar everywhere,” she says on a media webcast to explain why it works for contemporary lifestyles. Big houses are not affordable, fine dining rooms are outmoded and children do not stay in for dinner, notes Gustavsson, adding, “Someone has alcohol-free drinks, some have soda, some have wine.” Flexibility was key. Her design team of Ola Wihlborg, Nike Karlsson and Paulin Machado worked in close collaboration. Their findings nudged their designs towards an informal dining table, wine glasses of a universal size, plates designed for sharing portions and sectional sofas that could be moved in a small elevator and assembled.

“It’s not easy to design furniture as a flatpack,” says Gustavsson, something IKEA designers have mastered. The entire design process (from conception to production), which normally takes three years, was scrunched in 2.5 for Stockholm. After the initial design phase, testing and meeting guidelines takes a long time. “Everything goes into climate chambers. The third phase is to build stock and ship it globally.”

Urban meets nature

Launched at Milan Design Week on April 7, the new collection features 96 pieces for living and dining and as accessories. The team’s stand-out vision for 2025 was to create solitary pieces that let buyers curate their homes by mixing and matching. The Scandinavian love for a warm woodsy ambience is evident in the prominent use of pinewood and veneer. The designers set out to make statement pieces with a push for renewable and recyclable materials. With the Sundhamn sofa, designers Wihlborg and Karlsson aimed to substitute foam with coir. The result is a sofa with a 25-year guarantee, a combination of cotton weave, natural latex and coconut fibre in a visible frame of high-quality Swedish pine. Sofa covers are washable, as well as replaceable.

“Stockholm is a city built on islands,” says Karlsson, referring to the 14 islands and 50 bridges across the Baltic Sea archipelago that make up the city. Here architecture amidst waterways and forests is a testament to how urban and nature are closely intertwined. “Our collection is also very much about that — a blend.”

Meanwhile, Wihlborg recommends a boat ride through the archipelago. “You will see the water, the woods and the city!” he says. The bridging of Stockholm’s old city and new is a metaphor for how older traditions meet contemporariness in this nature-themed collection: a lamp with tree patterns emblazoned on the shade and a rattan cabinet involving Indonesian weavers. In addition to beiges and browns, bold colours like blue for the sofa have been introduced. A striking blue glass bowl by Machado is a tribute to the mouthblown glass tradition of Sweden.

For the team, sustainability is about quality and long-lasting products. In the Alhamn sofa, their aim was to design it to hold its shape and comfort, even after extended use. “The goal is not to see the fittings,” says Wihlborg about their seamless designs with reduced joinery, clean lines and minimal materials. Concealed fittings inserted at an angle allow for wider shelves without braces, giving a clean sophisticated appearance. A patented wedge dowel lets a chair’s parts click together, without tools or metal fittings.

Complete ‘family’ range

Jasmeet Sood, IKEA India’s Country Home Furnishing & Retail Design Manager, talks about selling solutions, based on insights into real time needs and dreams via IKEA’s yearly survey, “Life at home”. Sood discovered Indians like to furnish homes with a family range, rather than mix and match. Traditionally, IKEA furniture tends to be white, while Indians prefer vibrant colours. Here too, post-pandemic, people are looking for multifunctional furniture — a dining table where we can also socialise, perfect for small spaces.

Sood is convinced that the blue sofa is a winner, and across oceans, the IKEA design team feels the same. Ultimately, it’s the minimalist Nordic aesthetic that’s the most appealing, Scandinavia’s gift to the historic timeline of design, hovering above excessive ornamentation and luxe, like a breath of fresh air. “Stockholm is a complete Scandinavian design statement,” Gustavsson says.

The writer is a brand strategist with a background in design from SAIC and NID.