IKEA launches inflatable chair "trapped within a metal frame"

Swedish furniture brand IKEA has returned to the 1990s by launching an inflatable chair at this year's Milan design week.

Developed by IKEA designer Mikael Axelsson, the PS 2026 Easy Chair forms part of the latest PS collection, which includes a transforming lamp by Dutch designer Lex Pott.

It marks IKEA's first major move back into inflatable furniture since it abandoned the ill-fated a.i.r range in the late 1990s.

"I always wanted to do something with air, with inflatable, because I think this is such a nice concept, and I think it's kind of poetic to use what is available and free for everyone," Axelsson told Dezeen.

"This is such a good concept, so you can't just let go of it and never try it again."

Axelsson originally came up with the idea for the chair over a decade ago, but at the time, there was no appetite at IKEA to revisit the idea of air-filled furniture.

"I had an idea back in 2014, and I did a little scale model, but when I showed everyone, they didn't want to do it, so I had it on my shelf ever since," he explained.

"People were so scared, the first time I presented it – I think that's why it didn't happen," he continued.

"Because everyone that was involved back then, they didn't want to touch it, so when I presented the concept, everyone just disappeared and I was on my own."

The high-profile failures of IKEA's previous venture into inflatables were well documented. Along with the pricing and issues with the hair-dryer inflation, the chairs tended to slide and bounce around.

According to Axelsson, investigating these previous designs drove the design of his current chair and its steel frame.

"The main problem that I wanted to address was that they were too light and bounced around the room," he explained.

"So that's when I came up with the idea to have a metal structure, and that's the core concept. Then we blew up a balloon and trapped it within that structure."

The chair consists of two inflatable cushions – a rectangular step and a tubular backrest – enclosed within a carbon steel frame.  Both cushions, which are inflated with a foot pump, are covered in green fabric.

According to Axelsson, along with the frame, another key reason to return to inflatables was that IKEA has solved the comfort issues.

The main seat cushion contains two separate air balloons – an outer and inner ring, with built-in reinforcement to ensure air remains in place. This also means that the central area can be deflated and made softer, depending on the user's preferences.

"Also, we did it now because now we've actually solved it," he said. "The goal was to make it as comfortable as a foam chair, or even more comfortable, but it was much more tricky than we thought."

"Foam is kind of static – I know the measurements, the seat angles and the depth and the height that I need for it to be comfortable. But with air, it's so tricky, because if you sit like in the front, the air moves back, and then it's all changed."

Axelsson said that inflatable furniture aligns with many of IKEA's core aims as it uses less material than traditional seating, can be easily packaged and could be an affordable alternative.

"It reduces the amount of material, which goes hand-in-hand with Scandinavian design – try to reduce things to the core, the essence," he explained. "That goes back to our history, when we had scarcity in Scandinavia."

"Also, you can flat pack it, the package is super small, you can take it under your arm and walk home – so that is, of course, a huge benefit," he continued.

"Also, this way we can make it more affordable, and more people can afford it, and it's more democratic."

Axelsson was keen to ensure that the chair did not appear gimmicky and would be seen as a piece of "proper furniture".

"A lot of inflatable furniture, even on the market today, can feel a bit gimmicky," said Axelsson.

"So it was important to do something that feels like proper furniture – many people that test it, they don't even realise that it's air until they lift it up and see how light it is."

Although the chair was designed to be a serious piece of furniture, as part of the PS Collection, it was also important that it was playful.

"The whole brief was playful functionality, so of course, I needed to keep the playfulness," he said.

"I think a lot of the playfulness is that it is air, but also the expression with the balloon, being trapped within this metal frame and punching out of it."

Elsewhere at Milan design week, IKEA is exhibiting a series of food-focused domestic spaces created in collaboration with designers and chefs.

The photography is courtesy of IKEA.

Milan design week takes place from 20 to 26 April 2026. See our Milan design week 2026 guide on Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks that took place throughout the week.

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