IKEA Pairs With Danish Design Brand HAY
Scandinavian pairs with Scandinavian in this mother of all IKEA collabs. They even redesigned the classic, big IKEA bag!
“Make hay while the sun shines” is an old, overused proverb that urges us to grab an opportunity while conditions are good. Apparently, this is exactly what IKEA did recently with Danish furniture design brand Hay—or is it vice versa?
Furniture giant IKEA, which was founded 74 years ago in Sweden, partnered with the young-ish, 15-year-old Copenhagen furniture brand to create YPPERLIG, a 72-piece collection of functional, but distinctly Scandi-stylish furnishings and décor. The pieces range from sleek but practical sofa beds and pale-wood stools, to pistachio-colored tabletop accessories and sturdy plastic chairs.
If you think that a Scandi brand collaborating with another Scandi brand seems ridiculous, the pairing, when explained by Hay founders Mette and Rolf Hay, makes sense. “Hay and IKEA are of course two different companies, but when we started talking to IKEA, it soon became apparent that we had a lot of common views on design,” says Rolf in this IKEA blog.
One exciting piece in the YPPERLIG collection is Hay’s redesign of the classic Frakta bag—that ubiquitous, huge blue bag used for toting your IKEA purchases (above left). The reworked IKEA bag (above right) now sports on-trend, muted colors such as burgundy, teal, and olive. This is definitely a more affordable alternative to that crazy-expensive designer bag that looks like an IKEA tote.
YPPERLIG’s pieces do bear a resemblance to the clean-lined but hip furniture pieces of Hay (as seen in the photos above and below). Hay’s furnishings, though totally modern in design, have a casual quality to them, and a pleasing but trendy palette of gray, pistachio, and Millennial pink.
The pieces would look perfect in either a minimalist modern home or a lived-in, industrial loft. “Versatility is one of HAY’s strengths. The pieces are suited to most interior design concepts,” says Joseph Tay, the managing director of Casa Bella, which carries the brand.
While we are waiting for IKEA to open on our shores, we can buy Hay locally. You can find Hay products at the Design Story showroom at 3/F Uptown Mall, 38th St., Bonifacio Global City.
