I have a love-hate relationship with Ikea. I like that they prioritise good design. The prices really are fantastic value. And who doesn’t love a meat - or plant - ball? But the corollary of the affordability is that if, say, a chair costs £20 then there’s little economic incentive to resell it, if or when you get bored with it or your circumstances change. It feels like the furniture equivalent of a fast fashion £5 top.

But high cost is not the only way to deliver quality that lasts. Quality can also show up as the kind of good design that people appreciate and choose to hold onto, year in year out. Alongside a sea of anonymous products that could be found in any number of other home stores, Ikea also manages to keep delivering hits: designs that through their simplicity or quirkiness or just a certain something makes us remember them.

A quick google search will reveal that the second-hand market for vintage Ikea is a popular topic in the media. Click-minded journalism tends to focus on the eye-watering prices quoted on 1st Dibs and Pamono for a handful of star items. The go-to product in this kind of coverage is Ikea’s 1993 collaboration with superstar designer Verner Panton: the Vilbert chair.

The Vilbert might have become a cliché, but there are plenty of other items worth searching out in Ikea’s extensive back catalogue which won’t set you back thousands, especially if you hunt around on eBay and Etsy. Here are some of my current favourites.

Lamp B9102

I picked this up a couple of years ago. A £20 special. They’re still relatively cheap, perhaps because they appear to have been neglected from day one: no named designer, not even a product name. As far as I can see, they were only ever referred to by their stock number. Despite its Cinderella status, I love its colourful simplicity and the way it lights up this little corner of my flat. And I’m sure these were inspired by Memphis, another reason to love them. More on Memphis another day.

Kila

I can imagine this might polarise opinion. It looks a bit like a three legged dog. In fact people often list it as “red dog lamp”. But according to this reel, Harry Allen, the lamp’s designer, was a keen rollerskater, and the tripod wheels allow the lamp to pull off the spin Harry was aspiring to perfect on his skates. Either way: cute.

Iviken

I don’t have one of these but I really want one. Possibly from the 90s or early 2000s, these give (me) 70s vibes. Whatever, they’re fun and in the right spot will lose any hint of kitsch, I’m sure. Also, they remind me of a shop I used to walk past everyday in Soho. It sold all sorts of props for commercial shoots and in the window they displayed small piles of “stunt” ice: very realistic looking plastic ice cubes. This looks like a giant version of those stunt cubes.

Frekvens speakers and lights

These form the core of a slightly schizophrenic range under the Frekvens umbrella. I say schizo because alongside the speakers and lights designed by Swedish audio wizards teenage engineering, there are a few other items, all created in house or by other designers: mugs, bar stools, picnic blankets, all manner of party paraphernalia. It sort of makes sense but at the same time it’s just a bit weird.

I was only interested in the TE products. I saw them promoted when they were released in 2020 but they weren’t available online and I didn’t get my shit together to go to my nearest store (also, there was the small detail of a pandemic going on). Then, like all limited editions, they sold out. I snoozed and I losed. No matter, they turn up occasionally on eBay. I grabbed this speaker a while back and it’s been brightening up my kitchen ever since. I love all these products for the geometric lines and colour pops typical of Teenage Engineering. I also love that they form a modular system with various accessories that you can snap on or swap out.

And if that wasn’t cool enough, TE offered (and still offer) files to 3D print even more accessories.

Don’t worry, if you don’t have access to a 3D printer, there are enterprising people on eBay who will print some for you.

Neils Gammelgaard’s greatest hits

Unlike poor orphaned B9102, Ikea often name-checks its products’ designers. One name that keeps showing up on my radar is Neils Gammelgaard. During a thirty year relationship with the brand he designed a number of standout pieces. His Jarpen wire armchair is currently enjoying it’s second reissue, this time under the name of Skalboda. And the Guide shelves he designed in the early 80s are into their third incarnation.

Not currently available instore but worth digging around for are his pieces from the Moments range, particularly the dining table, the coffee table and, best of all, the sofa. Admittedly, the prices for the latter are nudging into the “oh-my-gawd-look-how-expensive-these-old-Ikea-things-are-nowadays” style press articles, but I couldn’t not mention it because, according to Neils’ website, it was the world’s first flat-packed sofa.

How cool is that?

There are other things that get me excited - the Diana safari chair, for example, and the Impala armchair - but this is already far too long.

So what floats your Ikea boat? Drop a comment below with any top tips, I’d love to hear them.

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