These are the 12 IKEA products that the company’s head of design personally owns

The Svarva lamp can be twisted into different shapes.

Courtesy of Johan Agdemo

PS Svarva floor lamp

“Some of the things I’ve done myself, like this. The Svarva lamp we made with the design group Front for the PS 2009 collection. They were quite newly established and so we designed an armchair and this lamp. The desire was to make a wooden lamp, but you also have to be able to twist it and articulate it.”

“I felt like it would be very difficult to do. I went with a lighting colleague at the time to Hungary to this factory that was producing lamps for us. They were making all metal tubes, so we were a little hesitant as to whether they should be able to solve that problem. But they had made some models based on the designer’s drawings. So we went there to have a look, and he was standing there. It was this floor lamp, and also a table lamp where the wooden beads were going in a circle and then up like a snake.”

“What we didn’t know was that next to the lamp factory there was this factory that was making converted wooden beads, and little individual pieces that we put together. None of us knew that. It was just pure coincidence. So they were converting these wooden beads, and the lamp factory was putting them on metal tubes, just like a pendant. They didn’t have much to do, so they were happy to get the work.”

Sinka’s locker is located at the entrance to Ejdemo.

Courtesy of Johan Agdemo

PS Senka cabinet

“I have another favorite from the PS 2009 collection, and it’s in my hallway. PS Sinka, with the little drawers on the wooden base. Sinka means ‘to dovetail’ in Swedish, so the name explains this construction.”

“But the problem we had with this is that the package was too big. So what we did was each drawer was a little shallower. So four drawers were stacked together. And four more stacked. There’s a little stopper in the back when you push them in, so they stop evenly in the front. There’s also a hidden compartment behind the smaller drawer. Really good drawers for all this stuff that’s lying around and getting in the way. At the top, I have all my keys that I don’t use anymore. You know where they are? “They go.”

PS Jonsberg vases

“I have this vase from the PS collection for holding cables [on my Samsung Serif TV]. It was a set, Günsburg vases by Hella Jungerius. There were four of them in different ceramic techniques. I had all four, but the terracotta broke, which was unfortunate. [It certainly is. These $39 vases now sell secondhand for $1,700 for a full set.]

“It’s inspired by different regions, and different techniques are beautiful. I use big black for toilet paper in one bathroom. This is no disrespect to the design. It’s good design to stand there, make the bathroom pretty, and it can fit the toilet paper. So, why have something like an ugly stick? It’s nice for that.”

PAX safes

“Pax. We have to mention Pax. I have Pax wardrobes in a few rooms, but they’re also a little weird. Like in the kitchen, I sanded and hand-painted these veneer doors, just to make them fit in my house, in my space. I repaint them sometimes.”

Sparka pepper grinders chopped.

Courtesy of Johan Agdemo

Spraca pepper mills

“I have these pepper mills. One for white paper, one for black pepper. That was also in the PS collection. We did it with Markus Arvonen. These pepper mills are beautiful, and they’ve been around for about 20 years too. They’re quite long. A smaller version came later, but I love them.”

“They have their own chips, yes, but that makes them prettier. It’s the era. They’re there and they’re used every day. Everything has a little imperfection. You can spend your whole life worrying about it, but there has to be some imperfection in life. Fix it? Then there’s something else that needs fixing. It’s just moving. Leave it. Be proud.”

Where is the Bailey or Calax library?

“I don’t have Billy at home now. But there was! Calax? I’ve owned several of them. Great cut. Really good for vinyl, because that’s when they come from. I listen to a lot of vinyl.”