IKEA Bring Back Iconic Products From The 50s, 70s & 80s -For a Limited Time Only

IKEA’s latest limited-edition collection embraces some of its most classic products including the LÖVBACKEN side table, which was their very first flat-pack product, way back in the 1950’s.

The collection will have three launch moments - August, October and December - each of which will re-introduce iconic IKEA products in the style and design of certain decades and bring fan-favourites bang up to date.

Other new products this month include the GAGNET armchair – the handmade product which was launched in 1958 when IKEA’s first store opened in Almhult, Sweden.

The famous POÄNG chair and KLIPPAN sofa also get a makeover in August, with new covers and accessories, a ‘hack’ for the classics.

In October, the ‘70s and ‘80s design trends return with the RÅANE armchair, which launched in 1983 and challenged the traditional design of the armchair with its mesh material finish. The KLIPPAN will get new covers in vivacious red, yellow and blue to match the rest of the launch’s style.

The final stage of the “Re-imagined Classics” collection launches in December with the minimalist ‘90s and ‘00s, mixing untreated, blonde Scandinavian woods with graphic patterns.

I have the retro side table myself in my lounge and it’s so stylish, I just love it. It’s a total classic. I’m looking forward to seeing the collection in Ikea Belfast over the coming months and maybe picking up a few of the pieces.

Eyeballs, Flamingoes & Mermaids: Fashion Meets Home at IKEA Belfast Tomorrow.

Last minute shout out about a handy little event running at IKEA Belfast tomorrow, just in case we have another washout of a day.

This Saturday 2nd April, the fashion and interiors industries will convene during an exclusive, one-off event, a live fashion installation with local stylist Sara O'Neill and photographer Khara Pringle. They are celebrating the launch of GILTIG, a new, limited edition collection of homewares designed in collaboration with London menswear designer Katie Eary.

What is truly unique about the installationis that Sara will be using only products from the collection – including tablecloths,coasters, napkins, lampshades and bowls - to create the unique look on model Kirsten, from 10am-12 noon. An IKEA hack you can wear? Sounds cool to me.

Sara O'Neill

Sara is a professional stylist from the North Coast of NI, sort of a Rachel Zoe of the Giant's Causeway. If you haven't heard of her, and her glorious Éadach silk fashion collection, then Sara's Instagram account is a beautiful place to start. Her eye for natural colouring & love for her surroundings is addictive and inspiring. I'm excited to see her collaboration with IKEA, she's definitely the best woman for this job!

GILTIG is the first of three fashion-inspired collections that will be launched by IKEA from April to September that will allow customers to furnish with fashion. It is an eclectic range of soft furnishings and dinnerware with fish, cat and eyeball prints at the forefront of the design aesthetic.

The Limited Edition collections focus on re-invigorating interior design, and push the boundaries of what can be achieved through large-scale production in the home furnishing sphere.

The GILTIG collection is on sale now, with GLӦDANDE following in June and SVÄRTAN in September.

My must-buy

IKEA's #PolitePlacemats : Apple Genuis? Or Are Your Manners Too Far Gone?

This is the IKEA Sittning placemat, and it could be the answer to anti-social dining. 

It's £1.50 and its clever feature is its little phone pouch. I'm as guilty as anyone of Instagramming the heck out of a good 50% of my meals, but this pocket has a place specifically for my anti-social device, to stop me placing it on the table and checking it constantly throughout the meal for those precious 'likes'. 

The thing is, I think it might make me EVEN worse. I usually pop my phone in my pocket and maybe take it out when I've finished eating to check, but if it's sitting inside its little placemat sleeping bag, where I can SEE if it lights up with a notification- surely I'm more likely to use it? 

Anyway, it's a cheap and cheerful IKEA design, and if you don't think the pocket would work well for phones, then it could be a neat way of setting the table with your cutlery tucked in there, or a nice napkin- IKEA napkin designs are always epic. 

What do you think? Give me a tweet #politeplacemats and have your say. I could do with one with a bigger pouch for a certain small someone's Kindle Fire HD! 

T-shirt Fun with Ikea Textile Pens

We bought a white t-shirt each from H&M (£2.99 & £3.99) to try out the Ikea Loppstarr Textile Pens. They can be found in the textile department for £1.75 a pack.

Son asked me what sort of t-shirt he should make. I said, "what would you really love on a t-shirt that you can't buy in the shops?" So, of course, he drew a giant ham & cheese Subway, a stage, and a disco. 

I picked a t-shirt which was more stretchy than his plain, white cotton one, which proved to be a mistake. Plain tees are easy to draw on, but stretch fabric is really tricky. My t-shirt didn't come out too well, I couldn't draw lines just make dots to put together a picture. So my advice is go for very basic cotton tees, or fabric. I gave mine a Ridgway Homemaker plate design.