You may well think that high-end designers charged with furnishing super-luxe homes spend their days curating priceless pieces for their prestige clients. Yet one favourite (albeit unlikely) place for top drawer stylists is within reach of all for us. Namely Ikea, home of the easy-on-the-eye functional flat pack and which has become the upmarket design world's not so guilty secret.
'Clients respond in a bemused but enthusiastic way when I suggest sourcing a few things from Ikea,' says garden and interior designer Harriet Worsley (worsleydesigns.co.uk). Garden and interior designer Harriet Worsley. 'I think they enjoy the bargain, and find it funny that pieces from Ikea can sit well beside furniture from very high-end brands. I really do think that to give an interior space life it needs to be mixed: high and low, old and new.'.
Whether it's furniture which maximises available space or simply the broad range of styles that can slot into every aesthetic, it`s easy to see why it has such broad appeal. 'The reason these Ikea pieces work so well in high-end homes is that they are incredibly versatile and can be elevated with the right styling,' says Martha Lorains of Select Interiors Cheshire. 'One of the great things about Ikea is that it is very trend-led.'.
So given Ikea is good enough for even the fanciest homes, what key pieces do designers recommend sourcing from the Swedish homeware giant? Here's our guide... Ikea carcasses are a favourite of designers who add bespoke doors to create a luxurious appearance. These are then fitted to the cabinets.
