Glory Days

Hello my fancy friends and thank you for being here with me today. It’s our 100th episode! The big Roman numeral C, the triple digits, approximately 2,000 minutes of me talking to you. And I wanted to say a huge thank you, because I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for your support. We are celebrating with one of my favorite things to do -looking at trends. This is a really fun run down of retro and unique designs, using the historic library of the Ikea Catalog as a marker of time. We are going through 70 years of trends, so this is a two part episode. We will be looking at 1950’s Ikea through 1989 this week, and 1990 through today, 2022 next week. Before we do that, I wanted to take care of some house keeping. Two weeks from now, will kick off Soft Landing’s Summer Break, so for the remainder of August and the first three weeks of September,  there won’t be new episodes, but this is a great time for you to go back through the show’s 100 episodes and catch up on any you may have missed. We will resume regularly scheduled programming on Wednesday, September 21st. Of course, I will miss you so much, but as you may know, I do teach interior design professionally, and this time prior to the beginning of the school year is much needed for curriculum prep, and I actually have a few design projects I am working on right now for clients, which is super exciting.  I can’t wait to share those with you when they are fully baked. All that to say, I’ll be working on new episodes for the fall over the break and I am so excited for the next phase of the podcast.  So that’s it, after next week’s part 2 of the Ikea time traveling, we will reconvene in a month. 

But first, let’s talk about the Color Of The Week. We’ve been having a little drought here in New York and I know other parts of the world are experiencing the same. The upside of lacking rain, is seemingly endless crystal clear skies, and with the release of Jordan Peele’s alien inspired movie Nope, I’ve been looking at the sky and clouds a lot lately. “Why is the sky blue?” is a classic question and while I don’t have that answer, I can tell you the best color matching code for sky blue is Pantone 14-4318 TCX. One of the interesting things about greens, and especially blues is, it’s theorized that because we see so much of these colors in our natural surroundings, we often see them with a similar level of neutrality to colors like beige or grey, so even though they are pigment rich, they don’t feel shocking the way fuchsia or yellow can. Sky blue is the perfect gateway color if you are typically reserved about using bold tones in your home. This color is calming and light, and pairs nicely with light and dark woods alike. Bringing in other earth tones like terra cotta and olive green can help it feel more dynamic, but this color can also lead a room all on it’s own, with a neutral back-up choir of white, black, and any metal color you like. This flexible shade looks right at home with any style from traditional to bohemian, and everything in between. The sky’s the limit.

If you listened to last week’s color of the week, I mentioned an online archive of Ikea catalogues at Ikeamuseum.com. Once I found this amazing resource of inspiration, I completely feel into an Ikea blackhole for hours, looking at the individual pieces featured over the years, and also the evolution of the company’s style over the last 70 years. Ikea has a very distinct brand identity today - clean, warm, modern, efficient. But these concepts are always changing in the context of culture and society, and going back to Ikea’s beginning, this looked a lot different. 

The first catalogue here is from 1950 and it looks nothing like the Ikea we know today - they’ve got fountain pens for sale, ornate wall clocks, chandeliers with little lamp shades and crystals. It’s all very traditional. But there’s a hint of things to come. We see a wooden folding table and chairs that is pretty simple in it’s design, similar to the set Aldo Jabber designed in the 1960’s. But most everything else is fairly heavy visually, and very Queen Anne. Floral upholsteries, dark wood, and chunky pedestal base coffee tables. There are a few scenes set up - but they appear to be hand drawn in graphite, rather than photographs of staged living room sets. Everything is in black and white.

This is par for the course until the late 50’s, when more modern pieces show up. There are boomerang shaped coffee tables, desks with light-as-air hair pin legs, and delicate, streamlined silhouettes. There are still some more old fashioned pieces -heavy looking sofas with carved wooden arms and floral upholstery, but there are tons of vanities, credenzas, and other storage pieces that embrace the wall-mounted floating look that became so popular and defines the mid-century modern era. We even start to see chandeliers with triangular shaped shades and no dangly ornament to be found.  

The 1960 catalogue is the first full color issue, and any semblance of traditional pieces is neatly hidden in the back. The first three quarters of the book are dedicated to photographs of living room sets on high, sleek legs. The furniture shapes are simplified, and we have entered the world of minimalism. We see the Renett and Sitti chairs, made from rattan and metal, respectively, and both have a more conical or bowl shaped continuous seat and back. This shape mimics Bertoia’s diamond chair, and of course the iconic papasan chair, which had been used in the Philippines and Japan for centuries as a dedicated chair to the patriarch of the home, and was brought back stateside after World War II. Ikea never directly knocked this off, but had their close approximations.

The 1961 catalogue is when we really start to see Ikea’s classic staged room scenes come to life. Living and bedroom sets are animated with radios, glass bottles of soda, teddy bears, sewing machines, record players, and encyclopedia sets. It looks like the only thing missing is you and me, living our best lives.  This is something that Ikea does exceptionally well, unlike any of its competitors, whether it’s in their catalogue or their showrooms. Setting up life-like situations using their furniture makes it easy to envision how pieces go together, what paint colors would look good with each piece, and most importantly, makes us want to buy the whole room.

We start to see bold, primary colors, blues, greens, reds; and plant stands. There is also a full page spread of bar carts, which seemed to be a staple of any 60’s living room. Looking page 176, there are some very modern floor lamps, in fact I think this page would easily pass for a modern day selection. That’s another thing to note, the catalogue is getting longer and longer, at a whopping 219 pages, compared to ten years prior at just 15 pages.

As we roll along the 1960’s, hyper modernism is still intermingled with cozier, homier touches, like shag rugs, ruffles, and tufting. One item that stands out is the Trinidad rocking chair, which is a dead ringer for the Thonet bent wood rocker, with its sweeping round arms and thin, art nouveau supports. 

But Ikea’s clean, practical, efficient living story is really starting to come to life. In 1968’s catalogue, we see the Karusell coffee table - a round, bright red rotating number with supports for books and knick knacks in its core. This piece is supped up the following year to include casters. That is one hyper mobile storage coffee table.

The 1970 issue is when Ikea got into their modular sofa series, letting shoppers mix and match different pieces in a set to create their perfect living room. And so much storage, like full storage walls, there’s a full red wall of open shelving, with a red tv to match. The focus is really narrowing in on efficiency, with sofa beds, convertible flipping lounge chairs, futons, and dinings table than fold down into practically nothing.

I haven’t talked much about their mattresses and headboards yet, but so far Ikea is all about those two twin beds pushed together, and I thought that was just a TV thing, but apparently it was a way of life. Or maybe this is a flexible planning strategy? Someone who was old enough to push two twin beds together in 70’s let me know because I am stumped.

1971 seems to be celebrating the rooster. There are ceramic roosters in the living room sets and even a rug with a rooster on it. This is part of a larger trend towards earthy colors and themes. In 1972, we see the Komplett chair series, one of which, the Jenka Komplett is basically two oversized throw pillows (one for the seat and one for the back) attached to a bright yellow tubular steel frame. It’s very post-modern and geometric and ahead of it’s time. There’s tons of tubular steel exposed frames on the seating in this issue, it is clearly the style of the times. There is also a carbon copy knock off of the Saarinen Tulip table called the Centrum series. We’ll see how many years that stays with us, Ikea has had more than one instance of getting in trouble for taking too literal of an inspiration from other designs.

In 1973, there is the down right avant garde piece the Kolon chair, a purple fully upholstered seat that looks like an extruded semi-colon with channel tufting. This piece feels like something out of Vernor Panton’s library and it really pushes the boundaries of typical home decor.  I’m not sure how comfortable it would be, but it definitely makes a statement and I love that it’s only available in true Barney purple. It’s surrounded by rattan and more traditional wood framed seating, so it really sticks out as being unusual. There is also the Zenit sofa that is shown in denim, on another bright yellow tubular steel frame. Yellow is everywhere in this issue, from coffee tables to bed frames. Tucked away in the middle of the book is the Reflex table, which could easily have been stolen from the pages of Gerrit Rietveld, with its white steel frame, glass top, and red and black floating internal cubes. Basically, a Mondrian painting come to life.

1974 brings Ikea into the kitchen cabinet world, where they display maroon, navy blue, dark green, yellow, and black and white kitchens. This is also the first time I spot the ubiquitous round paper pendant light (originally named the Trio, but now called the Regolit) hanging neatly over a dark green living room set, where two men appear to be discussing art. One of them is smoking a pipe. On the topic of 70’s risqué, there’s actually a nude women later on in this issue, although she’s obscured by a towel, but this seems very off brand for Ikea now, and it is such a reflection of the ethos of the 70’s.  I mean, there’s bead chain curtain in this catalogue! 

The Tunna is a barrel style table and green upholstered stools, and I mean barrel in the literal sense. It looks like a big barrel with four smaller barrels around it.  This is all in a light wood, which we see a lot of in this issue as well. Blond maples and ash are a signature for Ikea. Up until this point, there’s been a lot of dark walnut.

The Minimalism of the 60’s is really falling away by the mid 70’s, with organic patterns and textures taking center stage. Not just roosters, there are large scale floral fabrics, on both upholstered pieces and curtains, loud and large plaid and gingham prints, chunky wood arms and frames similar to the classic futon aesthetic, there’s even a pendant light that’s wrapped in a ruffled plaid fabric shade. It’s all learning towards a “Little House on The Prairie” experience. In 1976, there is the Poem chair, which is an earlier version of what is now sold as the Poang chair - Ikea’s classic, cantilevered, bent wood arm chair and matching ottoman. Which is of course a similar style to Alvar Aalto’s Armchair 406. This item is still available at Ikea today, and for good reason. It’s affordable, comfortable and has a sleek silhouette to it. Win win win.

By 1980, the product selection is looking much more like the Ikea of today. A floral fabric on the Frintvatt 40 sofa debuts, that is so large in scale, the pattern is only repeated five or so times, looking very similar to a Marimekko print. Most of the wood frame and tubular steel has left the building, at least it certainly is not featured as prominently. You’ll see in a minute it does come back, if only for brief few years. The sofas are now fully upholstered, looking soft and even luxurious in some instances. We see the first food advertisement, suggesting shoppers stay for a meal at the Ikea store.  There is a full color page with pictures of steak, desert and coffee, and of course meatballs. The Centrum tulip shaped table is no where to be found, but it had a good nine year run. Whether this was due to copy right issues, I don’t know. It may have simply been the point in the trend cycle when mid century modern became cringey. I know it’s hard to imagine, but I actually think we’re headed there again shortly, so buckle up.  In fact, all of the distinct styles of furniture we’ve named so far are nowhere to be found in 1980. The Trinidad Rocking chair, which was in the catalogue for 20 years, is gone. All the unique, quirky pieces have been replaced with simple, clean shapes. We see the modern iteration of the Lack table - both coffee and side, in many colors - a simple rectangular top with square legs at all four corners. My college apartment in Ohio looked like it was sponsored by Ikea and the Lack table was a major feature. I loved the simplicity of the shape and how glossy and smooth it looked, even after it chipped. For a short time, this piece was available in as a three legged triangle top. But as Frank Lloyd Wright can tell you, triangular furniture rarely stands the test of time, thanks to physics. Meaning, these things fell over with even the gentlest nudge, and I’m sure many glasses of grape juice were spilled.

By 1981 the tubular steel details reappear! In fact, there is now a tubular steel bed frame, the Sangar, with a curvilinear silver bent tube headboard and footboard. It’s actually glorious. There are bold primary red, yellow, and blue moments that feel very Pee Wee’s Playhouse aka Memphis style aka Post Modern furniture. These moments are peppered in between Ikea’s more familiar blond wood staples, but the vibe shift has officially occurred.

In 1983, there are several pages dedicated to the home office; task chairs, dark wood desks, and leather wingbacks are all featured, as well as a line of filing cabinets and a huge conference table. This all feels so distinctly 80’s - everyone is working, office life is being glamorized in movies and on TV, the yuppy movement is in full swing. There are new products for sale like kitchen floor tiles and even a wood hand weaving yarn loom (which only appeared once). 

We definitely start to see a lighter, softer, more pastel color palette in the fabrics and furniture. We see pink for the first time in 1980, in curtains, rugs, and sofas. Calling back the color of the week, there is a sky and clouds sheet set, duvet cover, and curtain set, which is far more bold and organic than any pattern we’ve seen so far. By 1984, what I believe is the first mostly white living room set up appears, with a rounded white sectional sofa, white Lack side tables, stout round table lamps topped with pleated fan shades, all sitting on a pastel blue and pink diamond checker board area rug. Even the artwork is mostly white. There other all-white set ups through out the 80’s, a white baby grant piano makes a cameo, but it’s not for sale. Things even feel a little beachy or coastal, however you’d like to put it. The Vilsta folding chair looks straight up like a beach chair - it has metal frame with a flat piece of canvas stretched across it. The frame, of course, is available in white, yellow, blue, and red. The amount of natural wicker, in both furniture and accessories, heightens the beachyness of it all.

Ikea’s plant stand game has been strong for a while, but there is something about the 80’s collections that make me want to go back in time. There’s the Prakt collection, three heights of a white laminate circular pedestal that create a cascading effect, and a square option as well. Then there is the Bodo series that has a few shapes and sizes of pedestals and a planter, all clad mirror for that perfect 1980’s shopping mall atrium effect. I spent years looking for sturdy, tall plant stands, and they were in the 1985 Ikea catalogue this whole time.

Towards the middle of the 80’s, all of the room scene’s lighting becomes dim, with contrasting daylight shining in like a spot light, casting an amorphous grid from the window pains. Noticeably, all scenes are lacking any people (and their pipe smoking) - which makes the whole book feel likes a detective mini-series. Each room is an undisturbed crime scene. The drama is real. I feel like whispering while flipping through 1985’s catalogue.

In 1986 we finally stop seeing twin beds pushed together and start seeing full, queen, and king sizes in their singular glory.

By the end of the 80’s, jewel tones have made their way into Ikea’s inventory, which is a big change from the stark whites and primary colors from earlier in the decade. We also see the addition of geometric fabrics, which is a first for the catalogue. Visualize Zach Morris’ sweater collection, and you’re there. We even see creams and tans being used where pure white once stood proudly. This is all a transition into the more muted tones of the 90’s and we will pick up there in our next episode. I hope you are having a great day, if you have time, take a look at ikeamuseum.com for visuals. I will also be posting some of my favorites to Instagram, so visit me there, and I’ll talk to you soon.