The vintage Ikea pieces that are now worth thousands, as new London mega-store opens - so, do YOU have one in your home?

Daily Mail​

01-05-2025

This week finally sees Ikea's £450million UK flagship store - delayed twice - go from flatpack to fabulous on London 's busiest shopping street.
After a series of setbacks, including a leaky basement, the Swedish homeware goliath's Oxford Street opens on Thursday, inviting customers to browse 6,000 products over three floors that span 5,800 square metres.
Alongside bestsellers such as the £55 Billy bookcase, there's three 'curated shops' created by Londoners. Those 85p hotdogs? Hungry shoppers can find them in a 130-seat Swedish deli, which will serve up Ikea's other signature dishes, including meatballs and Daim cake.
The glamorous superstore is a far cry from the global brand's first venture in the UK - an outpost in Warrington that opened in 1987 and wooed students with its cut-price cookware and featured a Volvo in one of its showrooms, along with the slogan: 'The 70mph kitchen - you can take this kitchen home today!'
While the brand, founded in the Swedish west coast town of Amhult in 1943, remains unapologetically low-cost...the decades have been more than kind to some of the products that have featured in the catalogues over the decades.
Now deemed vintage classics with a cult following amongst interior fans, they can sell for thousands - often up to 50 times their orginal selling price.
Furniture sold between the 1950s and the 1990s are considered the biggest collectors' items - with the bold designs of the 1970s the brand's golden era in the re-sale market.
In 2023, a collection of 122 secondhand products - including mirrors, lights and tableware - made £32,00 at an auction in Stockholm.
The colourful three-floor outlet will sell around 6,000 products - some of which could become future vintage classics. Vintage Ikea products can sell for up to 50 times more than what they sold for - with the 1970s the brand's apparent golden era
A striking red 'Impala' sofa, which would have sold for £107 in the early Seventies made £1,700.
Why was it so lusted after? It was designed by Gillis Lundgren, the man who created some of Ikea's most famous products - including the Billy bookcase.
Designer collaborations have sparked the biggest price rises; this week on retro pre-loved interiors website Vinterior, a Karin Mobring Diana Cognac Sling Lounge Chair is selling in Munich for £3,881.
Form suggests that the items rung through the till at Ikea in Oxford Street this week will see the same price spiral in future decades - so it's worth taking care of what you buy.
Here's some of the brand's most-sought after pieces for current vintage buyers...
THE VILBERT CHAIR
Some of the most sought-after pieces are ones that flopped when they were first released, like the colourful Vilbert chair designed by futuristic Danish designer Verner Panton and released in 1994.
The sharp-angled designs were largely considered a flop in the mid-90s with shoppers put off by the uncomfortable-looking seats.
However, while it failed to garner interest at the time, the Vilbert is now considered to be highly desirable. Why? Because the lack of love for them meant only 3,000 were made - effectively making them a limited edition.
Now they regularly sell on pre-loved and vintage furniture platforms for around 35 times their original value - a set of six sold for £9,000 in 2018.
Not as popular, or as affordable as the humble Billy when it first arrived in 1978, the modular Enetri shelf, featuring real wood and a metal frame, now commands huge returns in the vintage market.
Designed by Niels Gammelgaard, it was a frequent sight in stores in the 1990s and was initially described as a 'Moment' shelf before later becoming the Entreti - and then later still becoming the 'Guide' shelf.
The good news is, shoppers can still get a version of it in store, under the name Byakorre - but it's the vintage versions that are most wanted, with an original costing around £1,100 on pre-loved sites.
THE DUETT LIGHT
A set of three Duett hanging lights would have set you back £18 if you were buying them in an Ikea in the early 1970s.
Constructed of six stacked cones in red, green, blue or monochrome, the quirky Duett pendant lights were created by Bent Gantzel Boysen. Good condition examples now fetch between £400 and £600.
A set of two in orange, yellow and red is currently on sale on Vinterior for £1,361.
Think Ikea's art section is all about generic seascapes and tourist cities? You'd mostly be right - but there's one print that's outshined all others, and is currently selling online for £650
A print named The Girls Go in the Ring, which was made for IKEA in 1972, sold for mere pounds when it first went on sale - but its famous artist, Lars Norrman, has seen it age incredibly well.
THE IMPALA CHAIR
A super cool Seventies design with low-slung seats and a curvy chrome frame, the Impala armchair was the brainchild of Gillis Lundgren in 1972.
The Ikea catalogue that year described the chairs and sofas as 'an amazing piece with its soft, rounded, cosy lines.'
It also highlighted the 'very low' price and the sofa version's ability to transform into a bed.
More than five decades on, the brand might love the design even more. Two years ago, a red 'Impala' sofa, which would have sold for £107 in the early Seventies, made £1,700 at auction in Sweden.
At first glance, this rug looks like it belongs in a playroom - and it sold for under £10 when it was sold less than 10 years ago.
However, Walter Van Beirendonck's design, released in 2016, is currently selling for £1,812 in Strasbourg, France.
Described as 'postmodern', the design was part of a limited series by the Belgian fashion star that also included bed linen.
Amongst the miles of MDF, pricier materials do occasionally make it into IKEA's range.
This dining table crafted from Scandinavian solid pine was made in the brand's homeland and was designed by Swedish designer Erik Wørts. It launched in stores in the 1970s and sells for well over £2,000.
A recent table in good condition was offered for £2,685.83 on 1st Dibs website.
THE MAGNUS ELEBACK LAMP
Proving that the 1970s was the golden era for Ikea is another designer collab. This table lamp by Magnus Eleback appeared in stores during the decade.
Made from black ceramic, with an apple green acrylic original lampshade, it currently has a resale value of around £1,000.
THE CAVELLI ARMCHAIR
The brand described the striking armchair as 'an aristocrat of the 1960s' when it launched
The Cavelli armchair, which was created by Ikea's first-ever in-house designer Bengt Ruda, is another guaranteed big hitter in today's vintage market.
The chair was sold in Ikea stores at a modest price when it made its debut in the 1970s - but the unique design has become highly coveted.
One went under the hammer at a recent auction in Stockholm for £14,000.
When the design launched, the 1959 IKEA catalogue described it as 'a bold construction', saying: 'Cavelli will get noticed in your home – and indeed admired.
'No expense has been spared and no stone left unturned to make Cavelli an aristocrat of the 1960s.'
THE SKOPA CHAIR
Bold and with an extraordinary design, the Skopa lounge chair sold for just £6 when it first launched in the 1970s, after being designed by Danish designers Ole Gjerløv-Knudsen and Torben Lind in 1969.
The 1974 IKEA catalogue describes the plastic its crafted from, writing: 'IKEA began using plastic in earnest several years ago. And today, we're well advanced. Here, plastic is not an expensive innovation. Admire the design and colour, buy and enjoy!'
A single chair with a matching table is currently on sale on Vinterior for £833.