It would be strange if story of KLIPPAN sofa didn‘t start at home. It did at IKEA‘s product developer Lars Engman’s home where his six-year-old daughter and her friends managed to ruin few sofas by jumping on them. Then the designer got wondering whether it was possible to make a good, reasonably priced sofa, one that’s child-friendly – which basically means bounce-friendly – without hard edges and ideally with a removable cover.
Lars Engman started from a sofa that IKEA had and made it even better – everything that was unnecessary was removed, giving KLIPPAN its clean and natural look. And in doing this, he also pared down the price. A new piece of eternal classic was born.
Over the years, IKEA has offered hundreds of different removable covers for KLIPPAN, from the discreet to the highly imaginative. The interesting fact today is that in order to make a removable cover, the size of the sofa had to be adapted to the width of fabric reels at the time, which were 150 cm. That way the cover could not only be taken off but would also fit inside a household washing machine. With KLIPPAN, for the first time the sofa cover could be washed or replaced often – consumers no longer needed to worry about cup of coffee spilled on the sofa.
The more different covers came along, the more KLIPPAN popularity rose, meanwhile in Latvia, dark grey color KLIPPAN is most loved one. Since 1980 when created, KLIPPAN evolved into a sofa that suited both homes and public environments mostly because of its functionality – one of IKEA Democratic Design principles.
Lars Engman started from a sofa that IKEA had and made it even better – everything that was unnecessary was removed, giving KLIPPAN its clean and natural look. And in doing this, he also pared down the price. A new piece of eternal classic was born.
Over the years, IKEA has offered hundreds of different removable covers for KLIPPAN, from the discreet to the highly imaginative. The interesting fact today is that in order to make a removable cover, the size of the sofa had to be adapted to the width of fabric reels at the time, which were 150 cm. That way the cover could not only be taken off but would also fit inside a household washing machine. With KLIPPAN, for the first time the sofa cover could be washed or replaced often – consumers no longer needed to worry about cup of coffee spilled on the sofa.
The more different covers came along, the more KLIPPAN popularity rose, meanwhile in Latvia, dark grey color KLIPPAN is most loved one. Since 1980 when created, KLIPPAN evolved into a sofa that suited both homes and public environments mostly because of its functionality – one of IKEA Democratic Design principles.
Goal is to improve daily life
At IKEA, the function is about meeting needs created by the activities of everyday life. A dining chair, for example, solves the need to sit at a dining table. A product has a function firstly noticing how well it works. In the wider context of the home – how well it improves life at home.IKEA designs products so that they would be practical, useful, relevant and easy to maintain. They have to solve the functional needs of different living situations and the needs created when people move from one living situation to another. In other words, functional product is the one that helps to feel good and comfortable at home during life changing.
80 years of IKEA
IKEA, Swedish furniture company is well known around the world for its Scandinavian design and quality. Company works following the vision “To create a better everyday life for the many people” which goes beyond home furnishing. IKEA is proud of our 80 years of innovations, solutions, iconic products, and actions as a company, that each decade shaped the future of living and our commitment to people, responding to the nuanced reality of their needs, habits, and desires.This August IKEA in Latvia celebrates a nice 5th anniversary.