Impala armchair from IKEA: A design classic with collector value

In the mid-1970s, IKEA wasn't what it is today. The furniture giant was just beginning to collaborate with professional designers—including names like Gillis Lundgren, Karin Mobring, and Noboru Nakamura. The Impala armchair was born in this transition: between mass production and genuine design aspirations.

• Its frame: bent steel, partly chrome-plated, partly painted black.
• Its seat: flat, wide, formally reduced – upholstered in imitation leather or coarse fabric.
• His expression: reserved, but independent.

What today seems like a stylistic quote—echoes of Bauhaus, Mid-Century, Scandinavian clarity—was a statement back then: design for everyone, but not just for everyone. IKEA tested how far quality and cost-effectiveness could be combined without sacrificing design substance. The Impala was one of the few answers.

In recent years, the perspective on IKEA has changed. Not just as a furniture brand, but as a cultural phenomenon. Old catalogs are being collected, early series are being swapped, and select pieces are being auctioned off. The Impala exemplifies this reassessment.

It embodies what IKEA once was: an experimental field for modern living. Without prestige, but with a concept. The fact that models now fetch prices on platforms like Bukowskis or Catawiki that are far higher than their original retail price shows that authenticity gains value. Especially when it stays away from superficiality.

Many who encounter the Impala today know it from memory: as part of their first home, as a piece of furniture at a friend's house, as an element of a time when living was not stylized but intuitive. And that's precisely what makes it relevant. The Impala isn't a design quote—it's an original.

He tells of a period in which form and function were rethought. A period in which furniture was meant to structure rather than decorate. A period in which good design had no aura – but a purpose.

An original Impala isn't a retro piece. It's the result of concrete design thinking. It brings visual calm to rooms, offers comfortable seating without bulk, and asserts itself in pared-down settings. Its form isn't pleasing, but precise.

This distinguishes it from retro-style reissues, which often showcase surface detail but lack design depth. Having an Impala in your home doesn't demonstrate taste—it demonstrates a sense of purpose when it comes to interior design.

• For people who don’t define design through branding.
• For collectors who invest in design ideas, not labels.
• For all those who know: originality does not come from novelty, but from relevance.

The IKEA Impala proves that good design doesn't have to be expensive – but it does have to be deliberate. It's a piece of furniture that doesn't aim to impress, but rather to endure. For rooms with their own rhythm. And for people who see more in furniture than function – namely, an idea.