One Of IKEA’s Greatest Design Fails Is Having A Moment In The Furniture World
lllustration 172649851 © Pablo Scapinachis | Dreamstime.com
Back in the 80s, IKEA’s former global design head Marcus Engman had an “eureka moment.” Floating to the top of his head was the idea to design an inflatable sofa. It had the makings of “the best IKEA idea” yet—it was light, extremely portable, inexpensive, and the blown-up manifestation of IKEA’s flatpack culture.
To assemble the a.i.r. Sofa, as it was called, customers simply needed to inflate it with their hairdryers. But IKEA failed to mention that the cold setting had to be used, and far too many couches melted as a result.
As its name suggested, the filling in the a.i.r. Sofa also caused it to deflate quickly. Plus, being so lightweight, it floated around rooms and squeaked at the slightest pressure.
In the two times IKEA launched the product, it never took off. The a.i.r. Sofa would forever be ridiculed in the Museum of Failure, and Engman even admitted the product to be “one of the biggest mistakes in IKEA’s history.”
2/ Ikea a.i.r. (1980s)
— Trung Phan 🇨🇦 (@TrungTPhan) August 15, 2021
Ikea took "DIY" and "transportable" to new heights with its line of inflatable furniture (a.i.r.).
Valves constantly leaked and needed re-pumping. The line did last almost a decade, though. pic.twitter.com/Yjpsp9z2L6
However, this questionable concept appears to be making a comeback in the exclusive bubble of furniture design, according to a profile by Neelum Khan of Architectural Digest. With “avant-basic” design—where contemporary styles intertwine with those of the kitschy 60s and 70s—dominating living spaces in trending TikTok videos, there’s been a growing fascination for vivid colors, squiggly lines, and simple forms. Inflatables happen to have all of these.
For now, Architectural Digest says home items of this style haven’t burst into the peripherals of mainstream retailers, but some industrial designers are dabbling with a look once synonymous with renowned inflatable designer Quasar Khanh.
But modern designers aren’t repeating the mistakes of the past. Olivier Santini of Mojow Design, for one, is anchoring inflatable barstools to the ground with solid steel or wooden frames. Santini is also replacing the cheap plastics of the 60s with eco-friendly, biodegradable materials.
Industrial designer Egidio Panzera approaches sustainability a different way with a multipurpose, modular divider that also serves as a bed or bench, encouraging more use out of a single piece of furniture.
Does this look float your boat?
[via Architectural Digest, images via various sources]
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