Meet the chasing (flat) pack

Now, we’re not knocking IKEA. Let’s face it, there’s good reason the brand is such a phenomenal success – it’s extremely difficult to compete with the Swedish giant.

But it’s not the only flat-pack retailer in life’s megastore. These brands all have something notable to offer in the flat-pack stakes, most of it delivered direct to your door.

1. Hem (hem.com)

Stockholm-based Hem perfectly straddles the divide between IKEA’s giant assembly line and high-end high street. Its range is not as large as IKEA’s and it’s a bit costlier (full-size dining tables start at about £980), but the quality and styling is top-notch.

Look out for their range of mix ‘n’ match sofa units – the Palo and Kumo series (starting at around £1,070) boast modular seating units which can be attached and reattached at will to fit whatever space or style is desired. A four-man sofa can turn into a one-man lounge chair at the swish of a detachable strut. Hem list their prices in Euros, but ship from inventories across Europe and the US.

2. String (string.se)

Even among Swedish flat-pack furniture companies, String stands out. Its products have been legally classified as ‘applied art’. None of them come with particularly prescriptive instruction manuals, and its flagship item is 70 years old this year. Also, String only stocks shelves.

String shelves are sold in modular units, attached to the wall by simple, screw-in brackets, which can be assembled in any pattern, depth or colour to suit buyers’ space, need or taste. String shelving is also stocked by a number of different brands in stores across the UK. Prices vary but the standard String unit tends to start at around £42.

3. Normann Copenhagen (normanncopenhagen.com/en)

Yep, we are still in Scandinavia (last one, we promise), but this little Danish gem ships all round the world and lists products on its website in pounds sterling. Check out the Ace Collection of chairs, stools and sofas, sensuously curved pieces contoured with high-comfort foam that looks anything but self-assembled. It’s aimed at the luxury market, but fine design and gorgeous upholstery means a piece can easily be a longterm investment.

4. Habitat (habitat.co.uk)

Known as “knock-down” furniture, Habitat were flogging self-assembly, read-the-manual products back in the mid-1960s, and kick-started the flatpack revolution that dominated the industry in the early-1970s.

They’re still at it today, with a range of flat-packed items that stretches across their extensive catalogue. At £150, the very reasonably priced Cato desk is easy to assemble and wrought in a familiar minimalist style.

5. Ilke Homes (ilkehomes.co.uk)

Ok – so it’s not furniture, but Ilke Homes deserves a place on our list. Perhaps the final stage of the flat-pack evolution, this Yorkshire-based maker of ‘modular’ homes is about as off the wall as can be. Instead of offering websites and warehouses for easyassembly storage and seating, the company digitally designs entire homes room by room – including walls, floors and windows – before surgically constructing them on a factory floor. The rooms are then packed flat and driven to their allotted location by a fleet of lorries, and constructed on site in as little as a day.