Furniture retail giant IKEA is joining forces with British designer Tom Dixon to launch a new, customizable bed.
Earlier this year, the Swedish ready-to-assemble retailer partnered with designer Tom Dixon to create the Delaktig “hackable” sofa — a piece which allows you to mix-and-match cushions for a customizable seating arrangement. Now, IKEA and Dixon are taking their collaboration a step further with the Delaktig bed, which is said to offer consumers a “tailor-made” sleep experience.
Tailor-made, how? Well, the Delaktig bed features a modular design, which means it’s built from separate components that can be connected (or disconnected) at will. For example, the bed itself comes with interchangeable lamps, side tables, and headboards offered in either wood or rattan styles. This way, sleepers can play around with the Delaktig’s design in order to customize the look of their bedrooms.
To learn more about the Delaktig bed’s unique construction, I reached out to NYC-based interior designer Nicole Agnello. She told me she’s been following Dixon’s work for years, and consumers should be excited about this cross-collaboration within the furniture design industry.
Tom Dixon is quite an innovative designer, so I was happy to hear that he is not only collaborating with IKEA, but that the Delaktig line is going to be a modular line. By designing a customizable bed that will allow you to add, remove or change compatible accessories, sleepers can adapt their beds to their changing lifestyles. What’s also unique is that the Delaktig line will provide Dixon’s designs to consumers at a price point different than his eponymous label, making his designs more accessible to a wide range of consumers.
Agnello went on to tell me that one of the most innovative facets of the Delaktig bed is that, not only is its style customizable, but consumers will be able to continuously modify the functionality of this piece as their needs evolve. Not to mention, if IKEA and Dixon continue to design more accessories to accompany this bed, sleepers will be able to refresh the aesthetic of their bedrooms without having to spend money on a brand new piece of furniture.
The Delaktig bed (which will come in a Queen-size only) is not available for sale yet, but will make its debut online and in IKEA stores starting next month. Prices will vary, starting at $429 for the frame and two side tables, and going up to $549 by adding the headboard to the package.
When Form Follows Function
For those of you who might be unfamiliar with the modernist axiom “form follows function,” it refers to the idea that the beginning point of an architectural design should primarily relate to its purpose. In other words, the design process starts by drafting something with functionality in mind, and then the physical construction adapts to that specific concept. According to Agnello, that’s exactly what happened with the Delaktig bed — and it appeals to a specific type of consumer who wants their space to be a reflection of how they actually use it.
“This bed is for anyone who values functionality above all else,” said Agnello, “because being able to continually adapt this bed to your changing needs means that you want your space to be able to work for you.”
Now that this customizable bed will be available to the millions of IKEA shoppers around the world, it’s worth wondering whether or not more designers will follow Dixon’s lead here. Pieces that can be tweaked according to personal preferences are bound to be popular among consumers, and it’s possible that multi-functional furniture will become the “new thing.”
Featured image courtesy of @ikeasuomi on Instagram