Break From Convention

When British designer Tom Dixon approached Ikea for a collaboration, he wanted to make a coffin, although the Swedish furniture giant thought better of it. The compromise resulted in Delaktig, a customisable bed-sofa-armchair that Dixon dubs ‘a platform for living’. Home & Decor finds out more about the dynamic design from the man himself.

- Tom Dixon

From coffin to customisable bed – take us through the product’s conceptual evolution.

The initial approach was rejected, so we started to look at Ikea’s research into the way people live and how it is evolving. Given that I’ve got my own company, I wanted to work on a typology that I wasn’t able to do myself and that was the bed, whereas for Ikea, it wanted a sofa. So we came up with a hybrid, and what we’re sitting on is the result of that discussion.

Ikea will be selling the main product, but your own brand will be selling luxury ‘pimp your bed’ add-ons, like an electric blue 100% wool throw – how do you think people will receive them?