Teklan and Ikea bring colour, curves and nostalgia to speakers and lamps

For much of the last century, speakers were shaped by engineers rather than designers – built primarily for performance, not presence. Over the past decade, Ikea has quietly worked to shift that perception, from the launch of ‘Eneby’ Bluetooth speaker range in 2018 to its Sonos collaboration, ‘Symfonisk’, the following year (integrating wireless speakers into home furnishings such as lamps and shelves) and then ‘Vappeby’ outdoor lamp-speaker with Spotify Tap in 2022. Its latest collaboration, launching today (25 November 2025), with Swedish designer Tekla Evelina Severin, better known as Teklan, pushes that ambition further, treating sound as something to be seen as well as heard.

Teklan and Ikea combine colour, light and sound

Spanning speakers, lamp-speakers and decorative lighting that flaunt Teklan’s trademark use of bold patterns and colour combinations, the collection explores how sound, light and colour can work together to shape atmosphere in the home.

‘Colour is so much about memories and experience and association and try to bring that comfort into design,’ Teklan explains. ‘I work a lot with this softening, warming kind of atmosphere… bringing this softness and colourful vibe into technology.’

At the centre of the collection is ‘Solskydd’, a family of Bluetooth speakers designed by long-time Ikea collaborator Ola Wihlborg. Available in three sizes and designed to hang, stand or be wall-mounted, the speakers have a distinctly retro-futurist feel, wrapped in Teklan’s bold colourways and graphic surface designs – patterns that draw on architectural references, created to add depth and rhythm to the surface and to shift subtly as you move around the room.

Wihlborg has spent more than 20 years designing for Ikea, but this is his first foray into technology products. ‘I think many speakers are developed based on how to get the best sound possible, and then you wrap a shape around that,’ he says. ‘We started from the other end.’ While Wihlborg focused on form, a dedicated engineering team refined the acoustics. His aim was to introduce softer forms into domestic environments typically dominated by hard edges. ‘Many homes are usually dominated by squares, like bookshelves, windows, and artwork. So, for me, this was a chance to bring in a softer, architectural element to break up those straight lines.’

Alongside the speakers are the ‘Kulglass’ lamp-speakers, combining light and sound in a single sculptural object topped with a swirl-shaped glass shade inspired by soft-serve ice cream. The colour palette, Teklan explains, comes from memories and nostalgia – everything from cherry blossom to ice cream and art deco. One mint-green tone was matched to a childhood recollection. ‘I immediately remembered this mint block soap in my grandparents’ home,’ she says. ‘I actually went there… and tried to match exactly that.’

Also included is Teklan’s spin on Ikea’s classic ‘Fado’ lamp, updated with a pink confetti glass finish. The hand-finished shades are decorated with crushed-glass dots using traditional glassmaking techniques, meaning each piece is slightly different. ‘You dip the glass, and then you roll it in these glass pebbles… and then you blow it and you spin it,’ Teklan explains. ‘None of them are exactly the same.’

The new collection builds on the first Teklan x Ikea collaboration, which launched earlier in 2025 and included two new colourways for the ‘Vappeby’ portable speaker and a series of 14 braided charging cables in 'retro' colours inspired by climbing ropes.

Sara Ottosson, product developer at Ikea of Sweden, says the designer had been ‘on our mind for some time’, having followed her work before approaching her. ‘We were trying to do electronics and make it more like home furnishing. Teklan has that extra everything, making products not only functional, but very emotional.’ As Ottosson puts it, the collection proves that ‘we don’t need to adapt the home to the electronics. We actually make electronics to adapt to the home you want’.

For Teklan, the project carries a personal resonance. ‘If five-year-old little Tekla would have known… Ikea was definitely my first meeting with interior design,’ she says. ‘It’s quite wild, quite surreal.’

The Ikea x Teklan collection launches globally in December 2025, with availability varying by market, ikea.com