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Vintage Ikea Furniture Becomes Collector Pieces
Courtesy of IKEA
Decades-old IKEA furniture has become Gen Z’s latest statement piece.
Why It Hits: Gen Z’s preference for secondhand and thrifted clothes is now extending to furniture. It’s a reminder that today’s “basic” items could become tomorrow’s collectibles… so don’t throw anything away.
Between The Shelves: IKEA is already every young person’s go-to furniture brand thanks to its ubiquity and low prices — but it’s the Swedish retailer’s older pieces that are giving off a timeless charm.
IKEA pieces that sold for just a few hundred dollars when they were first released are now fetching thousands — including lounge chairs, lamps, and shelving units.
Collectors are finding them on vintage marketplaces like 1stdibs, Chairish, and LiveAuctioneers, as well as more mainstream platforms like StockX and Facebook Marketplace.
Chairish VP of Brand and Merchandising Noel Fahden told The WSJ that the company “has seen growth for vintage IKEA across virtually every metric over the past five years.”
Last Looks: Items that have caught the attention of young collectors were typically manufactured before IKEA’s US debut in 1985 and are made from sturdy materials like plastic, hardwood, and metal — a stark contrast to IKEA’s current reputation for furniture that falls apart in five to 10 years. They also tend to come from IKEA design legends like Niels Gammelgaard, Nike Karlsson, and Verner Panton, or from its experimental PS collection.
According to The WSJ, young collectors are gravitating toward these pieces because of a “combination of nostalgia, appreciation for good design, and recognition of future value.” Who knew hoarding IKEA furniture would become the new sneaker culture?
The Future: IKEA is already leaning into the vintage trend with the 2023 rollout of Nytillverkad — a collection of reissued designs made with updated materials. Expect fashion brands, tech companies, and other retailers to follow suit to tap into Gen Z’s nostalgia budget.
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Polled and Copy-edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.