Design
Let’s Chat: Which IKEA Pieces Will Be Antique Store Finds One Day?
In 2022, an old IKEA armchair sold for just around $19,000 in Stockholm, the highest price ever paid for a piece from the meatball-slanging home store. It wasn’t a fluke, though – Verner Panton’s Vilbert is hunted by collectors. Carl Öjerstam’s rattan chaises have exponentially grown in value. I recently witnessed an adult temper tantrum when an antique mall vendor wouldn’t sell their Guide shelving unit to a collector. All this to say: the market for vintage IKEA pieces has exploded over the past few years. (You can see photos of all the above and more here and here, lest you luck into a small fortune on your next Goodwill run.)
But this is the thing I love most about IKEA: you never know what’s going to end up forgotten and what’s going to end up reducing a grown man to tears in the middle of a Delaware beach vintage store. So today, I wanted to play a game – we’re going to try to guess which IKEA pieces are going to stand the test of time. These are my criteria for longevity, based on the fact that I’ve spent way too much time thinking about this:
- A real designer or a sharp idea: A piece needs an author or a point. It’s either by someone with a name that carries weight with collectors, or it offers something completely unique: a fresh shape, new material, or unique construction method. A nice shelf in a nice finish doesn’t qualify. SORRY, BILLY!
- A tiny production window: It’s limited, seasonal, collaboration-only, or likely to be discontinued. Has it been in the range since 1978? If yes, it’s not going to make a great antique. (Man, I’m really beating up on Billy today.)
- Materiality first: Solid wood, metal, rattan, or a finish that improves with wear give extra points. Particleboard with a print does not, unless the design itself is the draw. THIS ONE IS NEBULOUS, OKAY? But if it won’t survive thirty years of use, it’s not going to be a collector’s item.
- It’s average: It’s priced and displayed like everything else in the store. The market (that’s us, folks), not the maker, are the ones who will determine the piece’s long-term value. That’s kinda empowering, huh?
And now, I’d like to present my bets – the items that I think will be big vintage bestsellers in the future. It’s like Polymarket or Kalshi, but it’s all good fun, and it doesn’t involve me developing a degenerative gambling addiction. Come back in 30 years, and we’ll see how I did, okay?
Varmblixit LED Table/Wall Lamp
Every few years, a new dominant IKEA light emerges. (Like a Supreme from American Horror Story. The season about the witches.) I can almost guarantee that you can picture the greatest hits in your mind’s eye – there was the classic globe table lamp (still the best ambient light you can grab under $30, IMO), and then there was this expandable, exploding, sci-fi-inspired number, and then there was the ubiquitous bamboo pendant, and now…it’s all about the donut lamp, folks. THE KIDS LOVE THIS THING! I can’t blame them, either. It’s a warm, comforting light for uniquely disquieting times.
WHO DESIGNED THIS? I’m gonna give them a kiss on the mouth! There was a big, well-deserved design industry hullabaloo when this modular shelving unit – which can be configured to wrap around corners, sectional sofas, etc. – was released into the world. But my favorite use case so far has been in Tremont Home’s living room, where she used 4 of these budget-friendly shelves to freshen up a sofa configuration that she didn’t totally love. They’re versatile, dynamic, and look far more high-end than their sub-$60 price tag might suggest. (PS. They’re only $45 in-store!)
Sometimes the proportions are just right, you know? (This is one of those times.) I’m endlessly charmed by the multifunctional piece we used in the River House living room – it’s friendly, elevated, and just…pretty. I love the joinery detail where the leg meets the top, and the scale is perfectly balanced. This one is an instant classic in my book.
MOVE OVER, KIVIK. (That’s what my heart screamed the first time I laid eyes on this chunky corduroy cuddle pit. I might have even screamed it with my mouth. Who can remember?) Seriously, though – the Jattebo sofa collection is a little old school, a little new school, and exactly the type of sink-in sofa that yours truly loves for lounging and luxuriating. Jess and Mal went and sat on it, and you can read the review here!
IKEA PS 2026 LED Portable Lamp
I think pieces with this cheery, fresh aesthetic – geometric shapes mixed with punchy, unexpected, color-blocked brights – will always remind me of the 2020s. This portable light, in particular, reminds me of a miniature, budget-friendly version of Ryan Preciado’s floor lamps – modernist, accessible, welcoming, and easy on the eyes. It has so many hallmarks of this decade, too – battery-powered, petite enough to slide into a shelf or into a dark kitchen corner, and dimmable, to boot!
Not going to lie: when the 2020s kicked off, I thought that this was the direction that design was headed in. I thought we were headed for the FUTURE, you guys. But then the pandemic hit, and everyone decided to decorate like a hoarding grandma in a country cottage or like a minimalist residing in a sanatorium, and brands hit the brakes on pretty much everything that wasn’t gingham or beige. NO MORE! We’re due for a Y2K arrival, and this modern inflatable chair puts its past rivals of the 90s to shame. I love the frame. Love the shape. I JUST LOVE IT.
These are brand new, but I’m calling it now: these coffee tables are about to be everywhere. And they deserve to be! A hit of black? Check. The perfect mid-toned brown that’ll work with walnut and white oak? Check. Slightly amorphous, organic shapes? Check. Nesting functionality? Check. THEY DO IT ALL! A tip of my hat to the designer – I’ve never been too impressed by IKEA’s bare-bones coffee table selection, and these are hands down the best offering I’ve seen in the category in years.
Do you think the other utility carts are jealous of this oversized, rounded trolley? The shape is to die for, and the 4-tier system is so functional, especially if you, like me, employ a system of cleaning that you’ve colloquially deemed “the chaos cart.” Here’s how it works: I roll an empty cart through every room in my home, picking up things that don’t belong and putting back the things that do. People say you can do this with a bag or a box or even your hands, but the cart makes things so much easier. (This is a really long way of saying that this is my new chaos cart for my place on the East Coast.)
I spend a lot of time thinking about Ezra Pound, an American poet and critic who mentored a slew of famous writers – Joyce, Eliot, Hemingway, Frost, Cummings, etc. – but who might be best known for his catchphrase of “MAKE IT NEW.” See, Pound was tired of all the fussy Victorian language and was attempting to herald in a modernist literary movement – one that he felt was becoming of a futuristic, dynamic, industrial age. And that’s kind of how I feel about this runner – MAKE IT NEW! I’m happy to see some experiments with shape, color, and pattern. We’re all kind of due for a fresh start, don’t you think?
Did you miss out on the Clare V. x Schoolhouse collaboration? No matter – IKEA is here with a near-perfect dupe of the aforementioned collection’s sculptural, chrome catch-all. The kicker? The IKEA version is slightly bigger and a fraction of the price. (If that didn’t impress you, maybe IKEA’s funny marketing copy will: “The decoration is not only aesthetically beautiful, but it can also be used to store small things since it’s bowl-shaped.” Imagine that!!!!!)
First: I don’t think IKEA gets enough love for its unfinished pine furniture! (I say this as a former owner of this bed and this dresser, as well as the current owner of approximately a million of these cabinets.) It’s one of the few spots where you can find pieces that are easy to customize and refinish to your liking. On that note – how cute would this scalloped stool be in a playroom?! Or a little girl’s room? Or if it was painted to look like a cloud, or a flower, or a germ, or a sheep, or whatever other thing kids are into these days?
Blomprakt Bluetooth Speaker Lamp
I think that in 30 years, kids are going to be nostalgic for these brilliant speaker/lamp combos in the same way that kids today are nostalgic for, like, old camcorders, and the way that I was nostalgic for vinyl records, and the way that my mom was nostalgic for….well, the metaphor kind of falls apart technology-wise, but you get the gist. A great mix of form and function, and the fact that it gives off a Snoopy lamp vibe (minus the $1,800 price tag; plus the addition of a music player) is a big win.
In 2024, I fell down a Welsh blanket rabbit hole. I was OBSESSED with Welsh blankets. I literally refused to shoot my bedroom until I could save enough to buy a Welsh blanket of my own. (That turned out well, huh? Now I’m barely spending any time in my apartment, we never shot my bedroom, and I still haven’t saved enough for a freakin’ blanket!) And while the handwoven wool blankets from across the pond remain out of my reach – for now – I can rest assured knowing that this modern, budget-friendly checked bedspread can scratch the same itch for about 10% of the cost. (And look how cute it is in Em’s room!!!)
IT’S JUST KINDA WEIRD, you know? There’s something about this clock: maybe it’s like a submarine? Maybe it’s like the Pixar lamp? Maybe it looks like a little anthropomorphic eye, coming up to check on you? Maybe it’s like the old pipe screensaver from Windows 95 came to life? Whatever the case – this strange clock just does it for me. It’s unique in the way that all collectible design is, and I think the aluminum body is just going to get better with age.
Before I say anything else, I have a confession to make: I love a screw stool. I love a drafting table. I love anything with visible, functional joinery. There should be more of it! So it’s no surprise that I have been absolutely bowled over by these beautifully proportioned, multifunctional stools – the punch of Yves Klein blue is just the cherry on top. If you’re in need of a tiny nightstand or end table, please consider this one and let me live vicariously through you.
And with that, I have presented you my IKEA draft: these are the IKEA pieces that I think will retain some value and clout in 30 years, when the 2020 stylistic revival rolls around. (Can you imagine what that will look like?!) WHAT DO YOU THINK? What horse would you bet on? And seriously…if anyone has one of those old Carl Öjerstam chaises, I know a gal in the market 😉 xx
Opening Image Credits: Photo by Kaitlin Green | From: River House Living Room Reveal
Most of them are retakes on vintage styles (like the clock or the chair) or copies of some other trendy designs
At this point, I’m not sure that the retailer’s materials have the longevity required to become future antique finds. As you mentioned, there ARE still some pieces made of solid wood and other durable materials, but they’re mostly no longer built to last, never mind the design interest. For instance, the Konstrunda rug doesn’t have many reviews, but already two people have complained about the quality. It’s best to approach Ikea with a dose of healthy skepticism!
yes! this was also in my mind
This was such a fun and informative read. Thanks, Caitlin! Off to try the chaos cart method…