Top 5 Ikea Best Sellers

I have been an avid IKEA fan for years. In fact, when I first moved out of home at 21, into my very own apartment in Waterloo, Sydney, I went across to the IKEA at Moore Park Supa Centa and purchased a desk. It was a pretty exciting moment for a young me at the time – buying my very first ‘out of home’ furniture piece. I’m not sure that desk makes the list of Ikea best sellers, but I was still pretty happy.

Years later, while that IKEA is no longer there and while I have since moved to Melbourne, my infatuation with the flat-pack giant lives on. Actually, when I was hunting for the right area to live in down in Melbourne and realised there was an IKEA in Richmond, I knew that it was the suburb for me (added bonus that Adairs, OZ Design and a host of other retail giants are just moments away).

IKEA is celebrating its 40-year anniversary this year and has released its list of all-time top 5 products. These are the pieces that have been the most popular since they landed in Aus, and I was surprised to see that I actually didn’t own ANY of them (and I feel kinda wrong about that).

Check out the list below and let me know how many of the five you’ve owned (or still do).

The BILLY Bookcase

By far the most recognisable of the bunch and definitely one of Ikea’s best sellers. Everyone knows him. He began as a simple sketch on the back of a napkin in 1979 when IKEA designer, Gillis Lundgren, wanted to create a bookcase that was discreet, attractive and timeless. The BILLY bookcase is now 30% lighter than the original design and is also now made of folding solid wood, so it can be folded down to a size that requires only a third of the previous packaging. BILLY starts at $49.

The LACK Table

This gotta be the second in line for most popular product/IKEA best seller. I didn’t own LACK but I know many people who did. Introduced in the 80s, IKEA had already developed an environmentally friendly and cost-effective way to produce LACK, so it has to this day kept that very same design. It retails from $7.99 too, so it’s as cheap as chips!

The iconic KLIPPAN Sofa

This dates back to the late 1970s, when an IKEA product developer found his expensive sofa broken from his children playing and jumping on it. As a result, he and a colleague decided to design a sofa that was child-friendly, affordable and good-looking. In 1980, the round-cornered KLIPPAN was introduced with a choice of two colourful covers, which could be easily removed and machine-washed. It retails for $249. It has been one of the Ikea best sellers since.

(Psst: In the market for a sofa? Check out our review of the Friheten sofa bed, another Ikea great)

The Foto

Being a renter, I’ve never been able to use a pendant light yet, but the FOTO is a popular part of the IKEA range. This iconic lamp was designed by Nicholas Cortolezzis and it has been shining bright ever since. IKEA focused on improving the packaging of this bad boy, and by 1997 they were able to get six times more on a pallet; reducing carbon emissions during transportation. It costs $29.99

POÄNG

Introduced in 1977 by Japanese designer Noboru Nakamura, POÄNG was originally called the ‘POEM’ chair. Noboru wanted to create a comfortable, durable and attractive chair that could be sold at a low price – an armchair for life. This comfy chair goes for $189.

>>> How many of these Ikea best sellers have you owned? Drop me a comment below and let me know 🙂