Have you seen Ilse Crawford’s new SINNERLIG collection for Ikea? I popped over to the Tottenham store last week and boy is the collection a beauty – you’re in for a treat! Comprised of more than 30 pieces for the home, the collection includes tactile cork dining tables and stools, hand-blown glass bottles, woven baskets and stoneware vases.
The pieces, in typical Ilse Crawford fashion, aim to engage with the senses and connect us to our homes. As such, all the objects are designed to have more than one function; the furniture is flexible and can easily swap and change, for example from desk or work bench by day to dining table by night. And they don’t just look good, the collection feels good too. Says Crawford: ‘They are helpful, background pieces, not showstoppers. We worked with cork, ceramic, glass, seagrass and bamboo; tactile materials that appeal to use because they feel as good as they look.’
On a Friday afternoon trip to IKEA, I couldn’t resist this bulbous, dark grey stoneware jug and a dark cork placemat/plant pot stand, which I’ve styled here with some new additions to my plant collection and a glass jug that was from IKEA but not in the collection. I like how the pieces have a warm, grounded and timeless aesthetic, just like her shop interiors, hotel interiors, airport lounges and workplaces. And their focus on materiality belies their affordability (the stoneware jug was just £5.50, can you believe it?!).
I have also, for a while now, since buying Ilse’s book A Frame for Life, keenly identified with her humanistic philosophy. She puts human needs and desires at the heart of her work, which surprisingly not as many designers as you would initially think would do. She creates environments where people can feel comfortable, whether it’s an office with a domestic atmosphere or a hotel lobby that feels like someone’s living room. They have an element of ‘hygge’, the intangible Danish concept, with no equivalent in English, that roughly translates as cosiness or making everyday moments special.
‘I hope we’ve helped IKEA value imperfection and tactility. So many things are rational now yet pleasure is a function too. We have to get used to the idea of things being enjoyable to touch, to realise you can connect through the senses. The core value of my collaboration with IKEA has been to bring the head and heart together through the hand, with touch and natural materials – cork, glass, bamboo, rattan. We wanted to apply these values to everyday things that all of us working on the collection would buy, use and love. You don’t throw away what you love. It’s one way to bring sustainability to design,’ says Ilse Crawford
These new additions are certainly going to make the little ritual of watering the plants that much better. But, I could also use it as a water jug on the table, a vase for flowers, an ornament on the shelves, the list goes on…
Styling and photography cate st hill unless otherwise specified
The SINNERLIG collection is available in stores now!
You can also read my interview for Blueprint magazine with Ilse Crawford here.
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I’ve also just found out that I have been nominated for an Amara Interior Blog Award (yay!), I would be ever so happy if you would take a moment to vote for me, simply click on the icon below. Thankyou, Cate x
