“For us, (IKEA) STOCKHOLM means the best in design at the best prices,” says Sahar Halat, IKEA Calgary spokesperson.  “All 80 products have been created with special attention to comfort, style and resilience to daily activity.”  In June, IKEA Calgary launched the new IKEA STOCKHOLM Collection.

For 60 years, IKEA has provided its customers with well-designed, functional products for low prices. Today, IKEA operates in 44 countries and has 104,000 employees. In 2006 alone, 458 million customers visited IKEA stores worldwide.

Paul Ekelschot heads Interior Design for IKEA Canada and explains the thinking behind the new STOCKHOLM Collection. “Our products have been in children’s rooms, dorm rooms and first houses—we have become an important part of everyday life at home … People who bought their first piece of furniture from us have grown up and developed a personal style all their own,” says Ekelschot.

 “This customer is looking to trade up to unique, signature items that reflect their lifestyle and offer more mature home furnishing solutions all at a great price.”

STOCKHOLM encompasses wares from textiles, vases, bookcases, tables, chairs, sofas and rugs to lamps for the whole home. Fine materials, such as oak, linen, velvet, mohair, mouth-blown glass and high quality leather are used. Special features include pre-fitted, removable, washable slipcovers for sofas and chairs.  Sofas and armchairs are designed extra wide for comfort. Curtains, which are double-layered to block out light, have a fine-threaded cotton lining for a heavy, even hang. Fittings on each piece, such as self-closing hinges on glass cabinet doors, self-closing and invisible expanders on the TV bench and one-touch dimmers on high-tech lamps, were designed with comfort and preservation in mind.

“IKEA believes in selling quality furniture that can cope with everyday life at home, whether you are single, a couple or a family,” says Ekelschot. “Each piece is designed to stand on its own or as a whole collection, and its soft lines and rounded aesthetics offer classic elegance with a warm and welcoming feel.”

STOCKHOLM features three colour expressions: RED for energy and youth; BLACK AND WHITE for a graphic look; and BEIGE AND BROWN, which is flattering in most homes.

BLACK AND WHITE.
Wander the dramatics, black and white, seeking out stark contrasts. Maybe place the black coffee table, in anodized aluminum and tempered glass, on the striped, wool, hard-wearing RAND rug. The armchair, in black easy-care aniline leather and anodized aluminum frame, could be a stylish addition to most rooms. Shed some light in your home with a table lamp or pendant lamp or floor lamp all with white glass shade and nickel-plated steel base.  The tall black cabinet, in foil/melamine foil and solid oak, has two adjustable shelves and doors assembled to open left or right.  

RED.
Roam the Reds and you’ll come across design eye candy galore. The tall, skinny CD/DVD cabinet has eight adjustable shelves and holds 168 CDs or 78 DVDs.  While the wool-linen shag rug resists shedding and pouffe with cotton cover, can give you extra seating. The multi-colour easy chair, with its solid oak underframe, boasts a playful, leafy fabric.

BEIGE AND BROWN.
Browse these hues and you may find your perfect neutral.  Perhaps it’s the beige 3.5-seat sofa with removable dryclean cover, solid oak legs, extra upholstery back cushions and armrests and cushions filled with landfowl feathers or its matching 1.5-seat armchair. If you’re a bibliophile, consider an expandable bookcase in clear lacquered oak veneer/solid oak and its corresponding add-on unit. The system works by removing the side panel, attaching the add-on unit and re-attaching the side panel. For entertaining, the trolley table on castors, with stained and clear lacquered oak veneer/solid oak, can serve as a bar on wheels.  Or for taking it easy at home, the TV bench in oak veneer/solid oak has four space components and self-closing drawers.

A talented team of IKEA designers, including Ehlén Johansson, created the company’s new STOCKHOLM Collection. “The development of IKEA STOCKHOLM has been a very exciting project for us,” says IKEA Canada’s Ekelschot. “It is the first time we have created a Collection without thinking about price … We decided to do a little extra everything and throw ourselves into the world of fine quality.” Sweden’s Johansson designed the trolley table, white glass and nickel-plated lamps and more. “First and foremost, a product has to be functional,” says Johansson, adding “but it also has to appeal to our senses as well.” CL