There doesn’t seem to be an agnostic opinion about Ikea — you either love the Swedish chain and its cinnamon rolls and meatballs, furniture names that sound like sneezes, and its labyrinth-like stores, or you still have nightmares about that Allen wrench and one bookshelf you tried to put together in your first apartment, and have held a grudge ever since.
But if you haven’t made the trek to Frisco or Grand Prairie lately, the 2020 Ikea catalog may give you a couple of reasons to plan a trip out there.
First, I’ll tell you that Ikea has made bedrooms its focus for this catalog. But more on that in a minute. The lede I don’t want to bury in this story is that the two coolest products to come from this year’s catalog are a real boon for people who, say, have Sonos speaker system dreams but well, an Ikea budget.
Or, you know, you just hate the way speakers look so speaker-y. I don’t know your life.
Anywho, the thing that may have me saying, “shut up and take my money,” this year is the new line of speakers — a sleek bookshelf style that can sit on a bookshelf, or even can perform the function of a bookshelf that can hold a little more than six pounds; and a motherfluffing lamp that is also a speaker.
I love lamp.
The new Symfonisk line includes the table lamp with wifi speaker and the bookshelf with wifi speaker. But it’s not just that they’re speakers. It’s that they’re made to be compatible with your existing Sonos products, and can be used with the Sonos app.
Ikea partnered with Sonos to create the speakers together, and it’s an excellent addition to Ikea’s past forays into the smart home market, like its wireless charging line that includes stations that can be inserted into bedside tables, and its app-operated light bulbs.
“We knew from the start that we wanted to challenge the traditional high-tech aesthetics. The lamp-speaker partly springs from the idea of the fireplace – one single piece that spreads warm light, as well as sound,” Iina Vuorivirta, one of the designers of the lamp-speaker at Ikea of Sweden, said in a press release. “Our design had to be 100 percent true to the quality Sonos stands for, without any compromises. At the same time, we wanted to create something completely new.”
“This partnership has always been about our two companies’ shared passion, values and knowledge,” agreed Sonos vice president of design Tad Toulis.
And the price? How about $179 for the lamp, and $99 for the bookshelf speaker. And yes, reviews are indicating they’re not as good as the true Sonos speakers (which can run up into the thousands, so duh), but they are a good choice for say, a kids room, or in conjunction with your existing system, or if maybe you’re just not that picky and if you can hear your music you’re happy.
But we really would be remiss if we didn’t mention the new bedroom stuff in the catalog. Whether you’re a side sleeper, stomach sleeper, back sleeper, nonsleeper, constant sleeper, kicked-out-of-your-own-bed-by-a-child sleeper, need a hypo-allergenic pillow, or one that is too heavy to put over your snoring partner’s face when you’re half asleep (I kid, I kid), Ikea has taken a lot of time developing a lot of pillows. There are so many choices.
And it’s not just pillows. It’s blackout blinds (hello, bookmarking), comfortable mattresses, and sound-absorbing decorative panels perfect for people that don’t want to hear their neighbors (or who don’t want their sweet child to hear them open that carefully hoarded bag of chocolate that Mommy needs, because it’s been summer vacation for what seems like 500 months and August 19 is approximately 300 days away).
Or, you know, if you just want to make your bedroom extra quiet so you can sleep. I guess that would be a good reason for a noise-reducing decorative panel, too.
“Having conducted years of extensive research into how people live and sleep, this year’s catalog showcases complete quality bedroom solutions and inspiration that can help everyone sleep better and feel happier at home,” the company said.
“At Ikea, we believe you can’t underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep. We know that everyone needs the physical and mental reset great sleep provides to feel our best and live our lives to the fullest – and that’s something everyone should be able to afford,” said said Antonella Pucarelli, commercial manager at Ikea U.S. “In our 2020 catalog, we’re on a mission to ’save our sleep’ by providing easy, affordable solutions to help sleep-deprived Americans get the fresh start they need.”
