Since its founding in the 1940s, Ikea has made it its mission to create accessible furniture and design that reflect the needs of its time. For this reason, vintage Ikea finds are often an exciting window into the history of contemporary interiors and how we lived over the past eight decades. Ikea recently celebrated its 80th anniversary with the Nytillverkad collection, a new line that revisits some of the most beloved pieces from its archives, but vintage Ikea furniture is still going strong with iconic objects by the likes of Verner Panton and Niels Gammelgaard, rare designs that can be found second-hand on platforms such as 1stDibs.
We scoured the web to find some of the most exciting vintage Ikea finds available to buy now, from furniture to lighting, and including rugs and children’s furniture.
Shop our vintage Ikea picks
Tiger rug by Walter Van Beirendonck
Launched in 2016, the ‘Glödande’ collection by Walter Van Beirendonck featured the Belgian fashion designer's signature bold prints across furniture and accessories. The limited-edition rug features his signature superhero ‘Kwade Tijger’ in bold colours.
Sälen Armchair by Knut & Marianne Hagberg
Available in its original packaging and instructions, this 1982 chair by Knut & Marianne Hagberg was never assembled and is an incredibly rare find (having originally been in production for just 2 years). The Sälen chair is made of Scandinavian pinewood with a red lacquered steel seat and back and white pillow.
‘Guide’ shelving system by Niels Gammelgaard
The ‘Guide’ shelving system by Niels Gammelgaard was designed in the 1980s, and features a powder-coated metal frame with four black shelves with profiles in bold colours, making it a classic of industrial design with a twist.
‘Markerad’ daybed by Virgil Abloh
Virgil Abloh's 2019 ‘Markerad’ collection for Ikea featured a limited-edition range of furniture and accessories featuring recurring elements of the designer's work, from fluorescent tags to sentences in quotation marks. A highlight of the collection, this daybed is perhaps the most conservative among the designs, featuring a classic midcentury silhouette with grey textile upholstery and an orange label.
‘Storvik’ lounge chair by Carl Öjerstam
Made of a light bamboo frame and a woven rattan seat, the ‘Storvik’ lounge chair by Carl Öjerstam was awarded the Red Dot Award in 2002. The lounge chair's inviting forms are ideal for both indoor and outdoor, and feature a touch of that whimsical approach that has defined Ikea ever since its beginning.
‘Vilbert’ chairs by Verner Panton
Verner Panton created furniture for Ikea in the 1990s, and the ‘Vilbert’ chairs are among the collaboration's most distinctive designs. The chairs (here available as a set of two) were originally produced by Kellco Switzerland and were distributed by Ikea.
Rug by Louise Treschow
The output of artist Louise Treschow included tapestries and jewellery, and her brief stint at Ikea resulted in linear furniture and this woven-motif rug. A rarity for Ikea at the time, the hand-tufted rug was produced in a limited edition of only 1,000, this being number 100 in the series.
‘Peggy’ highchair by Karin Mobring
This vintage Ikea highchair was designed by Karin Mobring in 1959 and became part of the company's catalogue in 1966. Mobring's work was spotted by Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad at Stockholm Furniture Fair, and she became part of the company's in-house team, creating over 100 designs over four decades.
Peanut wicker bench
This rare wicker bench features a slim frame and a whimsical peanut-shaped seat. Made in the 1980s, the bench combines a refined craft construction with the sense of humour that has always defined the Swedish company's designs
Skye Chaise Lounge by Tord Björklund
One of Ikea's most prolific and iconic creators, Tord Björklund's pieces would be at home in a James Bond-esque interior. Originally produced in the 1980s, the Skye Chaise Lounge is a postmodern design featurng a steel frame and seat with leather upholstery.
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Birkenstock and Tekla offer clogs and pyjamas made to ‘still the mind’Birkenstock 1774 and Danish lifestyle brand Tekla mine a natural affinity with a collection made for ‘contemplation and comfort’
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Gabriel Tan launches Experimental Editions, a design brand embracing the beauty of imperfection
Experimental Editions is a new brand born from Gabriel Tan's Origin Made with the aim of elevating the artisanal process
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Terra Carta Design Lab announces second edition
For the Terra Carta Design Lab’s second edition, students and recent alumni are invited to design high-impact, low-cost solutions to address the climate crisis
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Ikea’s Space10: a decade of ground-breaking design ideas
Ikea’s Space10 has announced it will close on 31 August 2023 after ten years of groundbreaking innovations in food, design and more: see our Space10 top ten
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Ikea leaf table: the story of a flat-pack icon that sparked a design revolution
The Ikea leaf table sparked a flat-pack revolution when it launched in 1956: the design is now reimagined in new, colourful interpretations for the company’s 80th anniversary
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Ikea’s Space10 launches ‘Couch in an Envelope’
‘Couch in an Envelope’ is the latest speculative design project by Ikea research lab Space10, in collaboration with designers Panter&Tourron
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Ikea 80th anniversary collection is a colourful treasure trove of great designs
New pieces revealed for the Nytillverkad collection, celebrating Ikea’s 80th anniversary with forward-facing materials and fresh new colours. Discover the new drop of 1970s and 1980s designs
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‘Homes are a mirror of ourselves’: Annie Leibovitz joins Ikea as inaugural artist in residence and mentor
As part of Ikea’s Artist in Residence Programme, Annie Leibovitz will spend 2023 travelling the globe to capture how people live in their homes, also leading a mentoring programme for five aspiring young photographers
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Ikea and Olafur Eliasson’s Little Sun launch solar-powered lighting collection
Ikea partners with Little Sun, Olafur Eliasson’s social enterprise dedicated to clean energy, to create the two limited-edition solar-powered lamps of the Sammanländ collection
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Ikea and Marimekko collaborate on a wellness-inspired collection
The Bastua collection by Ikea and Marimekko is inspired by Nordic rituals of wellness and self-care, and includes furniture, glassware, and textiles in bold patterns
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Ikea and Sabine Marcelis' luminous new collaboration is now available to buy
Ikea and Sabine Marcelis present the much-anticipated ‘Varmblixt’ collection: now available online, the collection features conceptual lights that ‘bounce off the wall’, as well as home accessories and glassware inspired by Marcelis' recurring donut shape
