10 Vintage IKEA Pieces That Have Become Valuable Cult Favorites

While IKEA might not be top of mind when you’re looking for valuable secondhand furniture at your local thrift store, there is certainly a market for some of the rarer, more design-forward vintage IKEA pieces.

In fact, throughout its 82-year history, IKEA has partnered with designers as notable as Verner Panton and Gillis Lundgren. As a testament to its storied history, IKEA recently re-released a range of pieces from its archives (called Nytillverkad), marking the sixth time the Scandinavian brand has tapped into its own vintage catalogue to inspire a new collection.

Recently speaking with IKEA's creative lead, Karin Gustavsson, she explained to me that the old-meets-new concept is one that always works: "We have pulled inspiration from four decades, reimagining the pieces to feel fresh and new," she says of the reimagined vintage IKEA pieces.

We all love fresh and new, but often it’s the older IKEA pieces that are the most difficult to track down — and by far the priciest. In fact, while generally considered a more affordable option for home furnishings, many vintage IKEA designs are now going for considerable times their original retail price.

So, for the next time you're secondhand shopping or find yourself at an estate sale, these are 10 vintage IKEA pieces that have become cult favorites in the design world, and are more than worth keeping your eye out for.

Impala Sofa and Lounge Chair

The IMPALA sofa was designed by Swedish interior designer Gillis Lundgren (the brains behind the still-in-production, and utterly viral, IKEA BILLY bookcase) back in 1972.

The name of the sofa is certainly unique for IKEA, a brand now known for naming pieces after Swedish towns and villages (which just so happen to be particularly hard to pronounce). According to IKEA, it’s not entirely clear why Lundgren called his sofa the IMPALA. Some suggest the car aficionado was paying homage to the eponymous Chevy design, while others think it’s a reference to the African antelope which has — like the sofa — a sleek, elongated shape.

Paul Anderson, the home furnishing and retail design leader at IKEA US, says much of the sofa's cult-favorite status is thanks to its "mid-century appeal in its casual shape, with chrome and tufting that are classically modern and never go out of style."

This vintage IKEA piece — which came as both a sofa and lounge chair (shown above) — originally sold in store for around $130 back in 1972, but a red-colored Impala design sold for just over USD$2,000 (roughly £1,600) at a Stockholm auction in December 2023. A yellow version is currently listed on 1stDibs for just over £8,000. (And you'll have to hurry — it's currently sitting in two people's carts.)

Vilbert Chair

Renowned designer Verner Panton’s Vilbert Chair is one of the more recent IKEA classics on this list. Introduced in 1993, Paul acknowledges that the colorful chair makes a statement. “It’s a great chair for those looking for something as a stand-out moment in their home — it’s a sculptural piece with a unique design,” he adds.

That's if you can get your hands on it, though. Verner Panton has long been considered one of Denmark's most influential 20th-century furniture designers. He's best-known for his almost futuristic designs (have you seen the "ADHD Sofa"?) that were more often than not produced with relatively humble materials, like plastics, and almost always in vibrant colors.

It comes as no surprise then, that his Vilbert chair for IKEA was fairly simple in design — it comprised of just four pieces of brightly-colored melamine-coated engineered wood held together by screws.

Available in two different colorways, the chair was originally sold for just $74. These days, this vintage IKEA classic can be found on online secondhand marketplaces like Chairish and 1stDibs for around USD$1,200 (roughly £1,000) each.

CAVELLI Chair

“CAVELLI is one of the rare IKEA products that was not mass-produced,” Paul shared, adding that, “Since it’s limited-edition and has a distinct 1960s style design, it’s one of the most coveted pieces of Swedish furniture.”

Designed by Bengt Ruda, this vintage IKEA chair made headlines back in 2022 when it went under the hammer at a Stockholm auction, selling for more than $16,000 (roughly £12,600). That's a considerable mark-up on the $34 it cost to buy back in 1959, when it was first released.

At the time, IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad wrote that the design offered “bold construction,” adding, “CAVELLI will get noticed in your home — and indeed admired. No expense has been spared and no stone left unturned to make CAVELLI an aristocrat of the 1960s.” And right he was.

That this iconic chair is both curvy and oozes a retro aesthetic certainly adds to its appeal, but it's its rarity that really sets is apart — and makes it so hard to come by. In fact, only five of the chairs were ever produced.

ÅKE (or Muslingestol) Chair

The vintage IKEA Åke chair, produced from 1952 to 1956, was originally sold for just $12. Today, the clam-shaped chairs (sometimes referred to as 'Muslingestol') go for considerably more — according to prestigious auction house Barnebys, some have even sold at international fairs for as much as $65,000 USD (roughly £51,500).

Its story is somewhat hard to trace. Believed to have been originally designed by renowned Danish architect Philip Arctander in 1944, it was later adapted by retailers including IKEA, and now firmly holds a place as one of best IKEA classics.

Designers still appreciate the curved lines and slightly reclined back of this stylish accent chair, as well as the mix of shearling upholstery and wood (both the arms and all four legs are made of wood) that it came in.

“This chair has a captivating, unique, and organic shape that gives it personality," adds Paul. "ÅKE was designed with soft curves and a reclined seat to make it comfortable.” And it just so happened to make it beautiful, too.

KLIPPAN Sofa

If the KLIPPAN loveseat sofa looks familiar, that's because it has been part of IKEA's offering for more than 40 years (and remains today). The sofa was first introduced in 1980 and quickly rose to iconic status after appearing on the cover of the brand's catalogue — in three brightly-hued, puffy iterations — in 1984.

“KLIPPAN is a classic, multi-functional IKEA sofa that can be used anywhere in the home,” Paul recommends. “It offers a wide arm and back that’s designed for sitting on."

While the iconic sofa has been a bestseller for decades, it's something of a quick-change artist due to removeable (and washable) seat covers, that have been available in a wide range of designs over the years.

According to IKEA, it was brand product developer Lars Engman who had the idea for the now-iconic IKEA classic, when his then six-year-old daughter and her friends ruined an expensive Italian sofa in his own home, after playing on it. Using another IKEA sofa design by Japanese designer Noboru Nakamura, Lars worked to create a more durable — but still stylish — sofa with covers that could be removed, washed, and replaced almost instantly.

Originally sold for around $92, these days, a KLIPPAN sofa from IKEA will set you back around $300 USD (£280) depending on your upholstery choice, though some of the rare, vintage IKEA models can cost several hundred more on the secondhand market.

GUIDE Shelves

In 1985, IKEA's classic GUIDE shelves, a modern-style bookcase made up of ladder-like wire and laminate boards with colorful edges, where introduced to the market. The original design was, for many years, sold out and only available to those who knew how to find good secondhand furniture online, or seriously lucked out at a thrift store. Secondhand, they typically cost upwards of USD$1,200 (£950) — a considerable jump from the original $72 price tag.

Now known as BYAKORRE, the shelves we re-released in 2025 as part of IKEA's latest Nytillverkad collection (though they aren't yet available in the UK). The new iteration will set shoppers back $149.99 USD, which honestly isn't that bad for a vintage IKEA classic.

“GUIDE can best be described as a simplistic modern interpretation of storage furniture that has a truly honest and simple construction,” Paul says of the iconic piece. “Designed with appealing mixed materials, its metal wire sides create the impression that the shelves are floating.”

AMIRAL Chair

The vintage IKEA AMIRAL armchair is something a bit different for the brand best known for its build-you-own designs. First launched back in 1970, and designed by Karin Mobring (IKEA's first female designer), the stylish chair is framed in welded, chrome-plated steel tubing with the seat, back, and armrests all made from high-end leather sourced from a Swedish saddle-maker.

The various parts and pieces required to construct this chair couldn't be made quickly enough to keep up with its demand, so it was reinterpreted and relaunched in the 1973 IKEA catalogue as a more affordable and flat-pack/self-assembly-friendly design.

Secondhand shoppers looking to find the original vintage IKEA design can expect to pay a pretty penny — a set of four is currently available on Chairish for $6,504 (roughly £5,100).

NATURA Chair

Another vintage IKEA chair that has reached iconic status (and was also designed by Karin Mobring) is the NATURA armchair. Released in 1977, it shares similar qualities to the AMIRAL, however it feels a lot more substantial and has a slightly more rustic aesthetic, thanks to the pine and leather construction.

IKEA's NATURA chairs are highly popular on the secondhand market, often fetching anywhere upwards of $2,500 (£2,000) each. There are currently a number of vintage IKEA NATURA armchairs available on 1stDibs, with one set going for around USD$7,500 (£6,000).

BERGLAGEN Table

IKEA's Paul Anderson explained to me that, in the 1990s, IKEA collaborated with the National Antiquities Office and art historian Lars Sjöberg, and the partnership resulted in a popular collection of 18th-century inspired furniture and home accessories, including the now-iconic BERGSLAGEN sideboard.

With two foldable leaves allowing for easy storage, the clever extendable table was sold by reputable auction house Barnebys back in 2017 for $3,000 USD (£2,400). But today, they're even more rare, so would likely go for more than that.

“BERGSLAGEN is a Swedish traditional piece that shows our innovative and functional design history,” Paul notes of the vintage IKEA design.

LÓVET Table

“LÓVET was one of the first flat-packed furniture items from IKEA that was packed in wood, wool, and cardboard, and tied with a string,” Paul tells me. “It has a classic mid-century design and was made with vintage materials like jacaranda and brass-covered feet.”

When it was first introduced in 1956, it retailed for around $5. It remained in IKEA's catalogue until 1962, but was relaunched in 2013 using more sustainable materials. Today, this IKEA classic goes by the name LÖVBACKEN, and while it looks almost identical to the vintage IKEA design, new colors were released as part of the latest Nytillverkad collection — a bright blue, green, and orange.

Retailing at IKEA for $89.99-$99.99, Barnabys co-founder Pontus Silfverstolpe has predicted that an original design could be worth as much as USD$6,300 by 2040.