Tom Dixon’s Delaktig Collection is Inspired by Ikea Hacking

In 2006, blogger Jules Yap founded IkeaHackers. Since then, a community has formed around the site’s DIY mods, which feature everything from cat comfort stations to roll-top backpacks made from Ikea’s iconic blue bags. But despite the site’s enduring popularity, Ikea hasn’t embraced its creations – the brand served up IkeaHackers with a cease-and-desist in 2014. But with its Delaktig Collection, the Swedish retail giant is changing its tune in a high-profile collaboration with Tom Dixon.

Previewed last year in Milan, and hitting the market February 1st, Delaktig is what Dixon is calling an “updatable, transformative platform for living.” At the core of the collection is a durable aluminum-frame single bed, which, depending on which accessories users add, can be transformed into a chaise or three-seater couch. From there, Dixon dreamed that he could turn the frame into something bigger – something that could serve as a place for work, relaxation, entertainment or sleep.

So, just like Ikea hackers, he began thinking about how accessories – lamps, tables, clamp-on shelves – could transform the bed‘s function.

Dixon envisioned the bed as an “ecosystem” that can be grown or shrunk. Attachable, scalloped side and back panels can be used either as a headboard or to support armrests. An attachable side table, made from raw aluminum that’s been polished and anodized, can serve as a bedside table, cocktail tray or simple shelf.

An industrial-influenced boom light, made from cylinders and tubes anchored by a heavy aluminum base, is part floor lamp, part drafting light.

For users who choose to employ Delaktig as a couch, Dixon developed three slip covers with Bemz – a company that specializes in custom covers for Ikea sofas – that alter its form and function. The Stripe Cover (above) is water resistant, transforming the couch into a piece of outdoor furniture. The royal blue Boucle Cover turns the seat into a solid mass. And the £10,000 Furry Cover, made from Icelandic sheepskin, converts Delaktig into a shaggy volume.

Unlike traditional Ikea furniture, the company is encouraging users to develop hacks for the Delaktig, which is available now, in Europe and the U.K., through Tom Dixon’s website.