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Let's look back at

1996

Welcome to 1996. Flip phones are a craze and a new programming language called JavaScript will revolutionise web design. We’re hooked on the TV series Friends, while on the big screen, extraterrestrials are trying to take over the world in Independence Day.

At IKEA, we say a big hej to shoppers in Finland and Malaysia with the opening of our first stores, while in Sweden we’re not only making furniture flatpack, but homes to boot, with the launch of BoKlok – flatpack houses and apartments that offer affordable housing for families. What was happening in stores and on the pages of the 1996 IKEA Catalogue? Let’s find out!

The facade of a yellow, wood BoKlok apartment building, with bushes and trees in the foreground on a sunny day.

Artsy effects

These craft-inspired roomsets feature popular decorative effects from the ‘90s. Rag rolling, stained wood and even prints that looked hand painted gave interiors an artsy, DIY feel. Looks like they missed a few spots on that blue window frame, and check out that stencilling on the wall!

  • A green wood stained kitchen from the 1996 IKEA Catalogue, with hanging rails filled with cooking utensils.
  • A pair of brightly coloured striped curtains next to a round table and a floral upholstered chair from the 1996 IKEA Catalogue.
  • A child sits in a chair in a children's room in the 1996 IKEA Catalogue.
  • A page from the 1996 IKEA Catalogue showing a bed with a patterned duvet cover and dark blue bedlinen.
  • A bedroom with stencilled decoration on the wall. The door is open, revealing a person in another room in the background.

Home furnishings with all the frills

Shabby chic was a popular trend for lovers of romantic, rustic-inspired interiors on a budget. Removable covers are an easy, low-cost way to give furniture a refresh, and covers with fancy skirts, bows and ties were sported by the best dressed chairs, sofas and pillowcases. What's not to love about those kick pleats on the corners?

  • A page from the 1996 IKEA Catalogue featuring a cream sofa with a removable cover with a pleated skirt, in a light wood panelled living room.
  • A checked green sofa with bows on the arms, in a bright, traditional style living roomset in the 1996 IKEA Catalogue.
  • A page from the 1996 IKEA Catalogue featuring a light wood bed with pale coloured bedlinen that feature tie closures.

Pining for wood

Lacquered pine proudly sporting knots added a rustic feel to cabinets, storage units, floors and beds – loved by humans and cats alike! With monthly payment plans, for less than 50 euros a month, a dream kitchen like the solid pine, antique-inspired REJÄL was both stylish and affordable.

Although a real favourite, pine wasn't the only popular wood in the 1996 IKEA Catalogue, with light beech and birch wood offering a more minimal, modern alternative.

  • A page from the 1996 IKEA catalogue showing three separate wood storage units against a light wall background.
  • A catalogue image from 1996 showing a kitchen with pine cupboards below the black countertop. The sun shines through the windows.
  • A bedroom roomset from 1996 showing a cat laying on a wooden bed. The bed has gauze-like curtains draped above.
  • Wood bathroom cupboards and cabinets from the 1996 IKEA Catalogue.
  • A kitchen from the 1996 catalogue featuring wood REJÄL cupboard units above and below the crowded countertop.
  • An open wooden wardrobe reveals neatly folded clothes on tidy shelves. In the foreground is a wooden bed.
  • Light wood birch kitchen units above and below the countertop in a 1996 kitchen roomset.

Look at those windows!

Fancy finials, valences and swags – a window stylist's dream! Curtains hung from loops on poles, and ruched net curtains added a romantic, feminine touch while allowing for some practical privacy.

In addition to ready-made curtains, fabric-by-the-metre offered an even bigger choice – plus the possibility to make covers or cushions to match.

  • A living room from the 1996 catalogue, with a striped sofa and yellow swag net curtains at the windows.
  • A page from the 1996 IKEA catalogue with four images of curtain poles with different hooks, rings and finials.
  • A pair of yellow curtains with white loops, hanging from a curtain pole.
  • A catalogue image from 1996 showing a blue corner unit sofa with yellow curtains with swags at the top.
  • A page from the 1996 IKEA Catalogue, showing a variety of curtain finials.

Small screen stars

Before we wrote emails on smartphones and watched TV on our tablets we had, well, different small screens. A mini TV in the bedroom allowed you to escape to watch your favourite show, or snuggle up in bed to watch a late-night movie. Meanwhile, in the home office the only thing smaller than these monitors were their memory.

  • A wooden desk, chair and storage in a home office in the 1996 catalogue. On the desk is a small laptop computer.
  • A blue bedroom from the 1996 catalogue, with a small portable TV on the dressing table.
  • A home office, with a small desktop computer, from the 1996 IKEA Catalogue.

Entertainment central

Units stacked with CDs, vinyl and VHS cassettes featuring films and recordings of our favourite programmes were where the family (and dust) gathered. The low, light wood KUBIST TV bench complemented a minimal industrial look, while in the home where TV and tunes reigned supreme, who could resist the monolithic SUFFLÖR storage unit?

The towering TORNUM in wood and glass measured over one metre tall. With space for up to 68 CDs, this space-saving music library was surely a hit with music lovers, giving them the space to show off their collections.

  • A loft style living room with an armchair, footstool and light wood, low media units on castors from the 1996 catalogue.
  • A page from the 1996 IKEA Catalogue featuring a tall black media unit filled with books, videos and a TV.
  • Tall towering CD racks in a rough industrial style setting from the 1996 IKEA Catalogue.
  • A page from the 1996 catalogue, featuring four different types of media units in black, filled with CDs and videos.
  • A lacquered metal and wood media unit, with cupboards at the side, open shelves and a TV in the centre.
  • A light living room setting with a blue chair and a tall grey and wood wall unit with a TV, magazines and books.

Urban cool

Open-plan, urban, loft-style spaces were much desired in the mid to late '90s. High ceilings, large windows – and plenty of them – along with zoned areas rather than walls, evoked a buzzing, metropolitan feel.

To complement the industrial feel of loft style living, furniture and accessories in opaque glass and lacquered steel added an element of cool. And not to be forgotten; moveable units on castors that simply rolled out the way, creating even more space!

  • A loft style, open-plan living room area with two lounger chairs and large windows from the 1996 IKEA Catalogue.
  • A home office area with metal shelving, a glass and metal desk and black and metal office chair from the 1996 catalogue.
  • A lacquered metal lamp with a white frosted glass frame on a perforated metal table, featured in the 1996 IKEA Catalogue.
  • A collection of wood and metal drawer units in an industrial setting from the 1996 catalogue.
  • A metropolitan style living room setting from 1996, showing a green sofa and bamboo blinds at the large windows.

Ahead of the curve

Fun forms were popular, from cheeky coat racks and wavy mirrors to shapely legs and even squiggly cutlery. Who's that in the mirror, wearing a red hat, we wonder?

  • A selection of cutlery, some with curved handles from 1996.
  • A page from the 1996 IKEA Catalogue, featuring a variety of mirrors in different shapes, colours and sizes, on a wall.
  • A yellow hallway with a chequered floor. On the wall is a mirror with a reflection of a body shaped coat rack.
  • A light blue kitchen unit with orange in the centre in a roomset. In the foreground, a table with chairs with curved legs.

Cosy checks and snuggly quilts

Who didn't love a check or plaid print sofa in the 1990s? The 1996 IKEA Catalogue had plenty, from TULKA and TRANÅS in two-tone checks to the plaid-like STOCKHOLM sofa.

In the bedroom, checks in '90s grunge style adorned bedlinen for a cosy, flannel look. They also found a partner in country patchwork patterned prints.

  • A green check sofa in a traditional style living room, with pink flowers in a vase, from 1996.
  • A colourful check STOCKHOLM sofa next to a green velvet armchair in the 1996 IKEA Catalogue.
  • A page from the 1996 IKEA Catalogue featuring bedlinen in different patterns, including checks and quilt designs, from 1996.
  • A light wood bed and bedside table from the 1996 catalogue. The bedlinen has a blue quilt design.
  • A page of the 1996 IKEA Catalogue, featuring blue bedlinen in checks and patchwork.

Looking for something a bit more modern?

For plenty of home furnishing ideas and inspiration from this century, head over to your local IKEA store, or click below to shop our wide range of new, affordable products for the home.