Ikea 2016: Sunny with a chance of meatballs

Posted August 02, 2015 6:00 am

By Jura Koncius The Washington Post

The new Ikea catalog focuses on peoples' lives around the kitchen; here, the Mockelby table, which seats eight. Courtesy of Ikea

The 2016 Ikea catalog has gone live online, but many customers still wait eagerly for their print copy. These are being mailed out starting July 25 and should arrive just in time for many to tuck into their beach bags as they head out on end-of-summer vacations.

One of those is Ikea spokeswoman Marty Marston, who takes a stack of new catalogs each August when she travels to New Jersey's Long Beach Island. "Everyone always asks me for a copy," Marston says.

This year's catalog, with the theme "The Little Things That Matter," focuses on the kitchen and how food brings the family together.

"We focused on people's lives in and around the kitchen to help improve them in small ways," Marston says. New products include a rustic yet chic oak farmhouse table, Mockelby, that seats eight, and additions to the 365+ series of glassware, carafes and dishes, including simple short glasses that remind Marston of the way vin ordinaire is served in European cafes.

Continuing last year's successful launch of special collections, there will be 21 of these product launches this coming year. (They call them the Vitality collections, and you might see them for a few weeks or for a year, some are limited edition.) One of these is Sinnerlig, a design collaboration between Ikea and London-based designer Ilse Crawford that produced a sophisticated group of 30 items with simple forms and natural materials, launching in October. Standouts are the cork furniture, bamboo lighting and color-glazed stoneware.

Speaking of kitchens and food, there is also some news in the Ikea meatball department. Now the wildly popular Kottbullar (traditional Swedish meatballs of beef and pork) have been joined by two other related items: Kycklingkottbullar (dairy and gluten-free chicken meatballs) and Gronsaksbullar (vegetable balls). Scandinavians usually prefer their meatballs with lingonberry jam.

Here are my six favorite new kitchen and dining products from the 2016 catalog.

1. Mockelby table: The graceful oak table seats eight comfortably ($699).

2. 365+ carafe: The heat-resistant glass carafe ($4.99) has a cork top.

3. Sinnerlig pitcher: The earthy color-glazed stoneware pitcher is coming in October ($11.99).

4. Sinnerlig stool: The versatile and stylish stool has a cork top and powder-coated steel legs and will be available in October ($59).

5. Sittning serving bowls: These sturdy feldspar porcelain bowls (set of two $19.99) will be available in September.

6. Red Vittsjo shelving unit: The popular piece gets a bright new color. It's made of powder-coated steel and tempered glass and is a great place for extra kitchen storage ($49).

Industrial designers' vision of the future of the kitchen has darkened. IKEA's Concept Kitchen 2025, which went on display earlier this year in Milan, incorporates a 40 percent increase in the cost of food, along with constraints on energy, water and living space. Courtesy of Ikea

Left, the popular Vittsjo shelving unit piece gets a bright new color, red; right, the Sinnerlig stool. The versatile and stylish stool has a cork top and powder-coated steel legs and will be available in October. Courtesy of Ikea

Left to right: The heat-resistant 365+ carafe; Sittning serving bowls; and the Sinnerlig pitcher, coming in October. Courtesy of Ikea

IKEA's digitized "Table for Living" uses a camera to identify ingredients placed on it and suggests recipes. Looking up a recipe online might be easier. Courtesy of Ikea

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