I wrote previously about Danish design company Reform (see it here) – they create fronts and countertops that enable you to hack and redesign your IKEA kitchen units with designs from renowned architects and designers. It’s been one of my most popular posts ever, so it obviously resonated with you lot! You might be interested to hear then that Reform has launched a couple of new ranges that can transform the affordable into something that looks truly bespoke.
Showing how the worlds of eating, living and dining are merging into one space, the new designs widen the scope of Reform’s offering to include cabinets and sideboards for living rooms and perhaps even offices. Let’s take a closer look at them…
Chris Liljenberg Halstrøm
Up-and-coming Copenhagen-based designer Chris L. Halstrøm evolved her range around the design of the door handle. For this set of doors, the handle isn’t just an add-on serving purely a function, but an integral part of the design. Inspired by facades and window shutters in classic Japanese architecture, the handle becomes part of a frame layered onto the front.
Says Reform: ‘The goal of the design was to create an expression where one small element is perceived as a piece of furniture itself, yet it is also part of an architectural whole when combined with other pieces. Depending on which way the fronts are mounted, it’s possible to create different looks in the kitchen. And by breaking up the solid front surfaces with strips of ash Chris L. Halstrøm creates a kitchen that is less rigid than many traditional kitchen designs.’
Halstrøm’s design comes in three different models, two with matt-lacquered ash edges and handles and one with darkened ash edges and handles. The cabinet doors are made of MDF with veneered ash on the back and laminate on the front – they attach on to IKEA cupboards just like IKEA doors.
Doors start from €126.
Note
Stockholm-based Note Design Studio‘s sideboard design plays with the contrast between contemporary design and traditional elegance. With it’s smart beveled edge and solid terrazzo frame, it’s a luxurious mix of simple, clean lines and indulgent materials.
‘It’s a sculptural piece through colour, material, silhouette,’ says Note Design Studio. ‘This series by our studio springs from the idea of combining a traditional material with an old style technique – merging terrazzo with woodworking to create a new shape for modern living.’
The sideboard comes in two colours, rust and white, and is available in two sizes with either two or four doors. The fronts are made of MDF layered with veneered ash and open with IKEA’s push system. An example price is £1,840 for a two-door sideboard, including the IKEA METOD cupboard base, which the doors and frame attach on to.
Afteroom
Swedish studio Afteroom, directed by the Taiwanese duo Hung-Ming Chen and Chen-Yen Wei, have created a sideboard that is designed to endure the test of time. Their mission is simple: to create uncomplicated furniture and objects that become more valuable as time goes on.
The undulated doors of Afteroom’s design give a graceful and elegant look to the sideboard. They create a simple silhouette, especially hen paired with slender, powder-coated steel legs.
The sideboards come in two sizes and four different colours – sand, powder, olive and steel blue. The fronts are made of HDF, which is stronger than MDF, while the top plate is 12mm black Corian. Handleless doors and push mechanisms ensure the clean lines are uninterrupted.
An example cost is £1,280 for one 80×80 cabinet with two fronts, with the IKEA METOD cabinet and legs included in that price.
What do you think? Would you hack your IKEA units with these designs?
All images courtesy Reform
