The Swedish cut-price home furnishings firm has four of its prize products highlighted by a TikTok user whose interior design tips have gone viral.
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And they include an apparent Ikea replica of a classic English “club chair” said to have “set new standards” when first created in the 1950s.
Renowned US designer, architect and film-maker Charles Eames asked back then, “Why don’t we make an updated version of the old English club chair?”
He spent several years fine-tuning his design, which is now described by Swiss design firm Vitra as “a classic in the history of modern furniture”.
They call it an “amply proportioned chair that combined ultimate comfort with the highest quality materials and craftsmanship”.
The original has been hailed as “not only lighter, more elegant and more modern than the conventionally ponderous club chair – it is also more comfortable”.
And yet Ikea appear to have pulled off a convincing – and far cheaper – alternative version.
That is the claim being made by TikTok user Asma, or @everywherehome, whose video recommending favourite new furnishings has now received almost 11,000 “likes”.
She draws people’s attention to an “armchair and ottoman” being sold by Ikea with the name Havberg.
She tells viewers: “This is a new chair that they got, I think, and I really like it.
“If you can’t get the Eames Chair because it’s outrageously priced for a regular person, this is at, like, $449 and I think it’s a great price because it’s actually very comfortable.”
While Vitra is selling their Eames Chair for £10,910, Ikea’s website is now offering their Havberg take for $599, or £470 – although it does not appear to be available on Ikea’s UK site.
Asma’s 57-second footage is accompanied by the words: “These things are recommended over and over and for good reason.
“As a designer, I love to use the budget wisely.
“If you’ve been following me for a while then you know where I spend the most money: heavy use seating, mattress and linens, and hardware.”
She also suggests buying Ikea bowls costing $1.49 apiece – describing them as “super-useful in the kitchen” and saying she has “about a dozen of these at home to help me with food prep”.
The uploader goes on to declare: “Shelving of any kind at Ikea is going to be amazing.
“It is super-cheap – you can build really build really cool custom built-ins with Ikea projects and the Kallax unit is one of my favourites.
“I’m actually going to be doing a dining nook project with it soon.”
She also highlighted the company’s Billy bookcase as “really great for the money” – while also hailing a Besta product as her “favourite, favourite” unit to hold and showcase a TV set.
She said of the Besta furniture: “I have this in my own home and I often recommend it to many.”
Positive responses from viewers included “I love everything about this video”, “I love this chair”,
Another one wondered, however: “How is your Ikea so empty of people? Mine’s always super busy.”
Ikea, which specialises in ready-to-assemble furniture and home accessories, was founded in Sweden in 1943 and now has 22 stores across Britain after opening its first here in Warrington, Cheshire, in 1987.
The firm has just announced the removal from its UK shelves of sweets and chocolate made by Mondelez, owners of Cadbury’s, in favour of its own-brand products.
Fans of the firm’s products have offered tips online such as turning a bookshelf into a hidden kitchen feature, using a bedframe to declutter a small apartment and overhauling a balcony with cheap buys from Ikea as well as TK Maxx.
Another DIY fanatic told how she transformed an Ikea bookcase into a boujie TV stand.
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