Ikea has been in the business for more than 60 years so it is fitting that when 19 Swedish designers were invited to design the new PS (Post Scriptum) 2012 collection, they were all inspired by the brand's long history in furniture design. One case in point is the Mad Men- like TV bench (HK$2,490), which has sculptural wavy doors and a color option of retro yellow or white. One of the designers, Anna Wallin Irinarchos, said: "We were inspired by a makeup table from the 1950's that we found in an old Ikea catalog. We wanted to transmit that feeling from the original furniture into a modern piece."
She and Lisa Widen also designed glass-door cabinets (HK$3,990), which look like a bunch of picture frames. "During the 1980s, this was a popular piece. We wanted to create something similar but with a slimmer and more lightweight look," she said.
When it comes to furniture for the modern home, the buzz word is ecological. Designer Henrik Preutz shows he is in with the trend by giving a green twist to classic Ikea designs.
His PS 2012 side table (HK$299.90), inspired by the flower stands that were popular some years ago, is made of environmentally friendly bamboo. But in true Ikea fashion, it comes in a choice of three table tops - a flat surface, with a big fruit bowl or with four bowls. The four-bowl option allows you to use the table as containers for anything from flowers to snacks and plants.
Having a hard time choosing? Get all three table tops and combine the tab
les to make a sideboard. Another product by Preutz is the pendant lamp (HK$1,190). What looks like an old-fashioned lamp from the outside uses energy-efficient light-emitting diodes instead of the traditional bulbs. LED bulbs use up to 85 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and have a lifetime of up to 20,000 hours.
Designer Anna Efverlund's plates (HK$33.90) are also an exercise in green living. She noticed that some crockery was being rejected because of glazing flaws. So she created decals in the form of graphic dots to cover those marks. The dots are now applied individually to the plates - effectively turning junk into unique works of art.
Website: www.ikea.com
