Last week I attended IKEA’s Democratic Design Day 2017, a global event for launching the furniture group’s new products, collaborations and collections, held in the rural Swedish town of Älmhult where the very first IKEA store was built. I’ll share lots of exciting news in a separate post, but first I thought I’d share my favourite of them all – Danish brand HAY‘s much-anticipated YPPERLIG collection.
When two greats of Scandinavian design come together with similar values, it’s bound to produce interesting results. The collaboration between IKEA and husband-and-wife duo Rolf and Mette Hay of HAY really seems like the perfect meeting of minds – both share an ambition to make good design accessible to all and an eye for sophisticated industrial manufacturing.
Comprised of 72 pieces, YPPERLIG is a collection of understated yet contemporary staples that explore the functional and emotional needs of the modern home. From day-beds and sofas, through cushions and candleholders, to shelving and stools, the collection combines technical innovation with simple, pared-back design.
The pieces are predominantly designed for the living room but could seamlessly fit in elsewhere in the home. They’re clean and minimal, while maintaining a beautiful silhouette and form.
‘HAY and IKEA are both driven by production. Yes, we’re designers but we also have a genuine passion for how things are made,’ Rolf says. ‘We learned a lot of things from this collaboration that we can apply to our own company: the simplicity in the IKEA supply chain, and making something that’s complex more simple and therefore better and less expensive.’
‘The idea for the collection was to do design that is totally clever, but understated at the same time. There are a lot of pieces with new constructions, new ways of doing things, but it is design that still blends in,’ says Marcus Engman, head of design at IKEA. ‘We would like people to live with these things for a long time.’
Here are some of my favourites from the collection, but with 72 pieces in the range, I’d be hard pressed to narrow it down further! The grey and green monoblock outdoor chair, day bed and candlestick are firmly on my wish list – I think it’s a great opportunity to nab yourself a must-have piece of HAY design at an affordable, low price. Does anything catch your eye?
YPPERLIG collection will launch in October 2017, the countdown begins! See you in the queue?!
All images courtesy of IKEA
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