Studioilse and Ikea make for a natural pairing

London-based designer Ilse Crawford, founder of Studioilse, makes furniture and environments that are stylishly low key: breezy, minimalist, prioritizing functionality over spectacle. Perhaps due in part to family roots in Denmark, Crawford developed a modern, "human-centered" design sensibility more typical of Scandinavia than Great Britain. Suffice it to say, her forthcoming collaboration with Swedish furniture behemoth Ikea makes a lot of sense.

Announced at Stockholm Design Week recently, the Sinnerlig collection - due out this summer - consists of about 30 products highlighting natural materials and neutral colors, adding a much-needed dose of earthiness and warmth to Ikea's offerings.


Expect bamboo-lattice pendant lights, baskets woven from dried sea grass, cotton-blend pillows and hand-blown glass bottles. The chief material? Cork - popping up everywhere from cork-covered tables and stools to cork-topped jars.

The new range features 30-pieces made from sustainable and organic materials like cork, sea grass, hand blown glass & ceramics.

The overall feel is organic, far from massed produced, though Ikea has assured the industry that it is a long-life range and will be available for at least a year and will be launched in August.

These aren't loud, look-at-me designs, which is precisely what makes the collection so versatile. "It (should) work in a bathroom in Mumbai, as well as a kitchen in Neasden (a neighborhood in northwest London)," Crawford told Dezeen magazine.

It's enough to make us long for summer: Sinnerlig hits stores and online in August.