31 years after its debut at Milan Design Week, IKEA PS returns with its tenth edition. The first three pieces herald a collection that focuses on playful functionality: an inflatable armchair, a rocking bench and a floor lamp that can illuminate a space in three moods.
If IKEA ever had an experimental catwalk, it's the IKEA PS collection. Not the kind of catwalk where models walk with dramatic gazes into the distance, but one where Scandinavian design asks itself: What if good design were accessible to everyone? And what if it was also a little mischievous?
Now IKEA PS is back. Ahead of its full global launch, which will May 13th at Democratic Design Days in Älmhult, Sweden, IKEA reveals the first three pieces from the upcoming tenth edition: inflatable armchair, rocking chair and floor lamp with three light directions. The common denominator? Functionality that can wink.
IKEA PS: a collection where price is not a barrier, but a statement
IKEA PS first appeared in 1995 in Milan, along with the concept democratic designThe idea was almost rebellious: modern Scandinavian design shouldn't be reserved only for apartments with fjord views and a bank account with your own personal trainer.
Over the past nine editions, IKEA PS has become a place where IKEA tries out bolder, more progressive and experimental ideas. It creates pieces that are not only useful, but also meaningful. The kind that you don't just buy, but somehow engage with.
"PS is about embracing simplicity and finding excitement in it – about objects with a clear function that are elevated by expressive details, a little playful, the kind that invite you to touch, discover and play," he says. Maria O'Brian, creative director at IKEA of Sweden.
Inflatable armchair: air that acts like furniture
It will almost certainly attract the most attention inflatable armchair IKEA PS 2026. Not just because it's inflatable, but because IKEA has been trying to tame the idea since the 1990s. And as we know: inflatable furniture has a long history of looking futuristic in photos but slowly losing air in the middle of the living room.
This time it was supposed to be different.
Designer Mikael Axelsson tackled the question of whether air as a material could offer comfort comparable to foam. The team was apparently not exactly enthusiastic – most just shook their heads at the idea and left him to the challenge. But Axelsson persisted. He hand-welded 20 prototypes and tested every possible solution, including a tractor tire. Because apparently, a bit of farm mechanics sometimes helps with good design.
The final solution? Two separate adjustable air chambers, clamped in tubular chrome frame, which provides the armchair with stability and a compact silhouette. The piece comes in dark emerald green fabric, flat-packed, complete with foot pedal. IKEA adds that the armchair has passed all of their durability tests for armchairs.
The result is a piece that seeks to prove that air is not just for breathing, but apparently also for sitting on with a certain amount of style.
Lexa Potta lamp: one form, three atmospheres
The second piece revealed comes from the Dutch designer's studio Lexa Potts, who wondered what would happen if you cut a steel cylinder at a 45-degree angle and started rotating its parts. The answer is a floor lamp that is not just a lamp, but a small scenographer of the homely mood.
The lamp works in three directions. You turn it once and it becomes directional light, the second time reading lamp, and thirdly, it creates ambient light upThe function is hidden in the geometry, which is very Scandinavian: no shouting, just a smart form that reveals itself when you start using it.
"When you turn the lamp, not only does the light change, but also the atmosphere of the room. We have reduced the design to the purest possible form, and the function is not revealed at first glance - that is where the joy and playfulness live," he says. Lex Pott.
The patented lamp has trumpet-shaped shade, a thin metal pole and a wide conical base. It will be available in three distinct colors: chartreuse yellow, dark burgundy and cobalt blueSo in shades that don't beg for attention, but simply take it.
Rocking chair: we are adults, but apparently not completely
The third piece is rocking chair, the work of a designer Marta KrupinskaIt's an object that explains its function at first glance: you can sit still, or you can gently rock from side to side. Sure, you can try to remain a serious adult, but the curved sled under the bench has other plans.
The bench is made of solid pine, with the natural character of the wood preserved, which places it in the classic tradition of Scandinavian design. But its real charm is that it encourages spontaneous behavior. The kind that we adults often elegantly suppress until a piece of furniture catches us off guard.
"I noticed with the first prototype that people couldn't help themselves," she says. Marta Krupinska"They sat down, started rocking, and then called someone else to try. Furniture shouldn't be taken too seriously."
And indeed: at a time when water glasses still have a minimalist biography, it's nice to see a piece of furniture that dares to be simple, useful, and a little childish.
Why is the return of IKEA PS important?
Because IKEA PS is not just another collection in an endless stream of new products. It is a reminder that mass design can still be risky. That accessibility doesn't mean boredom. And that functionality doesn't have to be a cold, rational discipline, but can also be an invitation to play.
The tenth edition of IKEA PS focuses on playful functionality: objects that do their job, but don't forget that the home is not a showroom. The home is a place where you sit, read, swing, turn the lights, fluff up the chairs, and occasionally make a design decision that makes guests ask: "Wait, what is this?"
The entire collection will be revealed May 13 in Älmhult, Sweden, where all the pieces were also designed and developed. By then, the first three products already show a clear direction: IKEA PS 2026 wants to be smart, useful, accessible and just unusual enough to be remembered.
