This range of flat-packed furniture by Benjamin Vermeulen does away with little bags of screws, fastenings or Allen keys and simply snaps together with super-strong magnets (+ movie).
His range of MAG (Magnetic Assisted Geometry) furniture is made of sheet steel and solid wood, with magnets in the wooden parts allowing each piece to be assembled in minutes with no tools.
“Shipping furniture unassembled is more economical and more environmentally friendly, but flat-packed furniture is often made from low-grade material and its assembly is far from straightforward,” said Vermeulen.
The furniture can be assembled and disassembled many times over without losing its initial structural integrity, meaning it’s fine to take it apart when moving house, storing it or selling it on.
Replacing parts is also easy since they come off and reattach with the same ease.
The chair has a two-part frame that slots together where the leg braces cross under the seat, before a sheet-steel seat and backrest are clipped into place.
Metal pegs at the corners of the folded steel table top slot into magnetic tubes inside the tops of the table legs.
The cabinet allows the user to select components based on the configuration they require. The basic cabinet is one layer high, but more layers of different heights can be added with or without doors.
News:furniture retail giant Ikea has announced plans to sell flat-packed solar panels.
Ikea‘s thin film cells for residential roofs will cost £5700 for 18 panels and – unlike the self-assembly bookcases and sofas the brand is known for – will include installation. The panels are made in Germany by Chinese producer Hanergy Solar.
The scheme will be rolled out to all UK stores in the next ten months, where customers will be able to see the products and have a consultation.
The products are available in the Southampton store on the south coast from Monday following a trial at Ikea Lakeside, east of London, which the company claims sells roughly one photovoltaic system per day.
Ikea has already installed more than 250,000 solar panels on the roofs of its own buildings worldwide.
News: the three-legged, leaf-shaped side table that sparked a revolution in self-assembly furniture over 60 years ago is returning to Ikea stores next month.
Scandinavian furniture giant Ikea is relaunching the 1956 Lövet table, which they have re-engineered and renamed Lövbacken.
The original design was conceived when Ikea designer Gillis Lundgren was unable to fit the table in his car. By sawing off the legs, Lundgren inadvertently created flat-pack furniture.
Emily Birkin, country sales manager for Ikea UK and Ireland, said that customers are increasingly interested in buying furniture with a story attached to it. “We decided to bring back a popular piece that not only comes steeped in history but combines retro styling with modern convenience,” she said.
“We wanted to pay tribute to the timeless appeal of the original Lövet whilst retaining its simple and practical assembly,” Birkin added.
1956 IKEA catalogue featuring the Lövet table
The brown Lövebacken table features a leaf-shaped tabletop made from poplar veneer and has three detachable beech legs with gold-coloured accents on the feet. It measures 77 centimetres in length, 39 centimetres wide and stands at a height of 51 centimetres.
The table returns to stores in the UK, Netherlands and other select countries from August 2013.
Return of the Table that started the “flatpack revolution”
IKEA brings back the company’s first piece of Flatpack Furniture with launch of LÖVBACKEN side table
Home furnishings company IKEA, is re-launching the original piece of furniture that kick-started the flatpack revolution. The LÖVBACKEN side table, originally sold by IKEA as the LÖVET in 1956, will be making a come-back into stores in August 2013 as the new IKEA catalogue is sent to 13,157,000 households in the UK.
The LÖVBACKEN takes its inspiration from the LÖVET or ‘the leaf’, the company’s first product to be sold in a flat pack rather than fully-assembled. Almost 60 years on, the table has been redeveloped and re-issued by IKEA as the LÖVBACKEN, enabling everyone to own a piece of design history.
Created by the same team responsible for the main IKEA range – which now numbers 9,500 different products – and of which there are 90 occasional (or side tables) tables, LÖVBACKEN is faithful to the original design right down to its measurements. One tweak to the design will see the original use of jacaranda for the first LÖVET table top replaced with a stained poplar veneer on MDF for the LÖVBACKEN.
Whilst photography of the original LÖVET exists, the original designs were thought to be have been missing until IKEA designers rediscovered them in the company’s archives.
According to IKEA folklore the LOVET was being used in an IKEA catalogue photography session but its three-legged, leaf shape proved too cumbersome for designer Gillis Lundgren to fit into the car. To solve this, Lundgren sawed off the legs and, at that moment started a flatpack, self-assembly revolution.
The LÖVBACKEN side table captures the beauty of mid-century modern with its poplar veneer patterned table top and skinny solid beech legs tipped with gold-coloured foil. At 51 cm high, it’s just the right size to pair with an armchair or alongside a sofa.
Emily Birkin, Country Sales Manager, IKEA UK and Ireland said:
“Most people will have a piece of furniture that they’ve either built or put together somewhere in their house. But until now, not many will know the incredible story about how it all began with a simple little table.
“We know from our research that people are becoming more and more interested in buying pieces of furniture that have a story attached to them, so we decided to bring back a popular piece that not only comes steeped in history but combines retro styling with modern convenience.
“We wanted to pay tribute to the timeless appeal of the original LÖVET whilst retaining its simple and practical assembly. By working together with our customers and enabling them to be a part of the production process, we’re able to make good design affordable to everyone. Now everyone can own a design classic.”
The LÖVBACKEN is part of the IKEA 2014 range and is available for just £40 in tinted, clear lacquered poplar veneer. The new range launches in the new IKEA catalogue in August 2013.
Product news: Swedish design duo Mattias Ståhlbom and Gabriella Gustafson of TAF have created a table with an upside-down underframe for Danish producers Hay.
The Upside Down furniture by TAF for Hay exposes the wooden construction details that are usually hidden.
“The inspiration in this case was to show the handicraft that you always see when you look under a piece of furniture in a clear and obvious way,” Mattias Ståhlbom told Dezeen. “This is in order to make the product easier to understand and relate to, and the fact that it turned out to also become a constructional advantage is of course a bonus.”
The pieces are made from natural ash and come flat-packed in a range of three sizes that can be used as tables and stools. The collection is on show as part of the Cabinetmakers Autumn Exhibition at Thorvaldsens Museum in Copenhagen until 2 November.
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