Recently, I visited IKEA to check out some of their new items for 2021 and to buy some items that I needed for the living room and kitchen. IKEA have always been innovative in their design when it comes to usability and at the same time kept their minimalistic lines clean and true to their Scandinavian roots. And I’m happy to see that the items and furniture for 2021 are aligning to their reputation and image that they have developed over the last decades.
In my opinion, IKEA is especially brilliant when it comes to living room spaces. They create furniture that suit a small studio to a large mansion. I love checking out the different showrooms on the top floor of their warehouses. Their showrooms really show the power of a well decorated home and how much impact it can have in any type of home.
I believe that the living room should be one of the rooms you focus on first when you are decorating a home. The kitchen is perhaps the heart of the home, but the living room is an important 1st runner up and a room you have more flexibility and power to create into your own.
If you are interested in making some changes to your living room, check out my current favorites from IKEA for the living room space. Some of them are new items in their 2021 catalog and others has been sold at IKEA for many years.
White Farlov Sofa
The Farlov Sofa is definitely one of my favourite sofas from IKEA. It captures the Scandinavian look with its clean lines and minimalistic look and can work well in any home. The sofa comes as a 2 seater, 3 seater, a corner sofa and a 2 seater sofa-bed. The sofa comes in four different colors, with cotton white and black velour as the main colours. The two additional colours has changed over the years and the current additional colors are grey and olive-green.
I have two 3 seaters in white in my living room and they are so good value for money. But I would perhaps have loved to have them in white velour instead of cotton white. I’m crossing my fingers for that IKEA will figure out that this is a good idea in the future and start producing it. In the mean time could it be an option to check out Bemz for additional options.
Brown Hellested Rug
I really like a rug that gives some natural elements to a room with a different type of texture than other items in the room. The Hellested rug is a great example of this. The rug comes in two different sizes and is made of a mix between jute and sisal. The rug has a thick stitch look with a cotton lining of around the edges. The lining around the edges makes the rug a great piece when you want to frame a smaller area of a room since there is a clear statement of where the rug ends.
The rug has a warm undertone in its texture, therefore will gold, beiges, oranges and other warm color tones work well in styling with this rug.
Light blue Sanela Cushion Cover
The Sanela Cushion covers are velvet cushion covers that are brilliant with mixing with other more expensive cushions. The velvet texture is a great backdrop to more decorative pillows styled in a sofa. New for 2021 is the light blue cover and it’s definitely my favourite of all the colours. It can be mixed with naturals, pinks, greens and yellows easily. It also a colour that works really well for styling your home for summer and spring.
Alseda Stool in Banana Fiber
The Alseda stool is however an item that is not new for 2021, it’s actually an item that I can remember got launched over 20 years ago when I really started getting interested in interiors. The stool is made of banana fiber and can be used to sit on but also as a tray. It can also be stacked It’s a brilliant addition to a living room and for an outdoor home. Since it’s been sold for over 20 years am I sure that the design is qualified to be so classic that is will never go out of style.
Chilifrukt Vase
I really love this Chilifrukt vase from IKEA because of it’s usability. It’s brilliant to style when you just have a few flowers and not an entire bouquet. Other vases tends to just be suitable for large amount of flowers. The vase can also be used as a watering can to water other flowers. TI really like the shape of the vase since it creates a flow and movement which can loosen up a look of a room that is very structured. Definitely a vase to have in your collection.
Berakna Glass Bowl
The Berakna bowl is also a type of vase that I really love. This is a brilliant item for adding some floating flowers. But you can also use it for pastries, candy or candles (floating and not floating). The low shape makes it a great item to have on a coffee table in front of a TV instead of a taller vase that might be blocking the view.
Morgontidlig Dome
Another glass item from IKEA, is the Morgontidlig glass dome. This item can be used to decorate with artificial flowers or to store cheese or chocolate. Another brilliant way to use the dome is to use it in table setting. If your starter is a cold dish, why not “hide” it under the dome from the start before people fine their seats? You can also use it for the first drink or an appetiser. A great little IKEA item that can make your table setting stand out.
Vansklig Candle with Lime, Basil and Mandarin
Another area that IKEA really has improved over the years are their candles. I love burning candles, especially in the autumn and the winter. If you are a candle lover, you probably love expensive candles that smells amazing, but it’s also great to have candles that are not too expensive and that you feel you can burn more often. This candle from IKEA is a brilliant example of a tasteful candle that look high end but is not too expensive. It’s a candle that works well on a casual and cosy day in the living room, in a home office or in a bedroom.
Bjorksta Picture and Frame – Birds by the Beach
Art can sometimes be overwhelming to find and to understand what would work in your home. That’s why many of us ends up with bare walls longer than perhaps we would like. Art can also be expensive and difficult to find. But sometimes I see artwork at IKEA that is not expensive and that really does not look cheap. I really like this “birds by the beach” picture since it create movement but also makes it easy to add to a home since most of the colours in the picture are neutral. This is a perfect piece of art for a beach house or a Scandinavian home.
Snidad Basket
Snidad basket is probably one of the most sold baskets from IKEA over the last years and a basket that many other companies has replicated. It’s an item that works really well in a living room to store blankets and pillows since you can see what’s in it. It’s a cheap and easy piece o add to a living room to increase the level of character to a room.
Handmaid Lokalt Basket
Another great little basket from IKEA is the Lokalt basket. This basket is hand made by Indian women and is a great piece to have fabric napkins or small ornaments in. You can also use it to your remote controls or to paperwork. It’s a great little piece to add to a home to use for little collections and items you may have.
Blue Stockholm 2017 Ottoman
One of my favourite years from IKEA is 2017 and their Stockholm collection. It was a collection with a lot of quality and style and many of the pieces that are not in sale today are selling 2nd hand for higher prices that what they originally where. I had many pieces from the 2017 Stockholm collection when I lived in London, but was not able to get more than one of them home to Norway when we moved.
But some of the items from the 2017 collection are they still selling today, this blue ottoman being one of them. This is a brilliant furniture to use as a small table next to the sofa or as a stool if you have many guests over. The velour fabric sits nicely on the structure of the ottoman. Definitely an item that would work well in a home where you would like a pop of blue.
Stockholm 2017 Table Lamp
The Stockholm Table lamp is also one of the items that is still for sale from the 2017 collection. I love this lamp because of it’s clean and minimalistic look. It could work in almost any scenario and the LED lamp gives off a soft light that are strong enough to read with. The lamp also comes as a floor lamp.
Light grey Omtanksam Throw
Another great quality piece from IKEA is the Omtaksam throw in 100% wool. The throw comes in light grey and yellow with light grey definitely being my favourite. It would work really well on a white or black sofa to soften the look up a bit. Definitely a staple for the living room as autumn is just around the corner.
White Liatorp Console Table
If you are looking for a console table for your living room and your style is french cottage, Scandinavian or minimalistic then the Liatorp console table is a perfect console table to buy. I’ve bought this console table myself and it’s a great piece of furniture to have behind a sofa or under a mirror. The glass table top makes it a brilliant item to showcase some of your favourite books. You can even let the books lay open. A great piece of furniture from IKEA.
White Trulstorp Coffee table
I need to admit that I’m a bit of a multi screener, I tend to be on the computer or the phone at the same time as I’m watching TV. If you are as me, then this coffee table is brilliant. You can lift the table top up to a position where you can have the computer in the perfect height while sitting in a sofa. This makes it also brilliant for people that live in small spaces. It’s furniture like this that makes me fall in love with IKEA over and over again.
These are my favourite items from IKEA in 2021. I would love to know yours.
Interested in learning more about decorating on a budget? Check out my blog post about using neutrals to make a home on a budget look put together.
