Get The Look: Flat Packed Vintage Furniture

When you say the words “flat packed” you don’t tend to associate it with vintage or retro. In fact I once wrote an article for Vintage Life magazine called The Flat Pack Backlash, but little did I really know that flat pack has been around for over 60 years.

So who knew that IKEA, that we love and sometimes love to hate introduced the flat packed concept back in 1956. Love them or loathe them, they have a Scandinavian design talent to create clever styles to fit any space. Founded in 1943, they introduced furniture in 1948 which was locally made.

“The decision for IKEA to design its own furniture stems, ironically from competitors pressure for suppliers to boycott IKEA. Exploration of flat packaging begins when one of the first IKEA co-workers removes the legs of the LÖVET table so that it will fit into a car and avoid damage during transit. After this discovery flat packs and self assembly become part of the concept.”

-IKEA website

I once saw an advert of theirs showing that they designed the screw on leg coffee table which we often sell now and I was surprised to discover that they infact did – something I thought was ridiculous when I saw it. Here is the original in the IKEA museum (yes they have a museum!)