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Ekornes is a European furniture manufacturer located in Norway. What’s interesting about Ekornes is that it is based in a country with just over four and half million people roughly the same population as the state of Colorado. However, their accomplishments in high-end furniture have become realized across the world. In this article we’re going to take a look at the Norwegian man who founded Ekornes and examine the rich history of a company that started from humble beginnings, endured hardships through world war two and embraced modern technology to create furniture unlike any other.

Jens Ekornes started his business in 1934. He started out in a small building located in Sunnmøre, Norway with three employees and some German made machinery. His business was that of building steel springs for the booming mattress and furniture industry. Business was doing quite well for Jens and he became interested in branching out from building furniture components to actually building the mattresses themselves. Not satisfied with many of the current mattress building techniques, he attended a furniture show where he discovers a British sofa mattress that consists of linked steel springs with coils on each side. He is impressed by this design and believes this same technique can be applied to conventional mattresses. With the aid of his shop foreman he sets out to design and construct a new mattress which would become known by its brand name Svane®.

Between the years of 1935 to 1939 Jens Ekornes made the rounds in showcasing his new design through different furniture shows as well as retailers and steadily his orders and workforce increase for the new Svane® line of mattresses. He soon begins opening new factories to help take on the added business from the new mattress lines and things seem to be going pretty well for Jens Ekornes… until war erupts in Europe. In April of 1940 Norway is invaded by larger and superior German forces. Norway resists but is soon overcome and surrenders several months later. Jens Ekornes and his family live through the occupation. Years of hardships pass for many Europeans including the Ekornes family until finally allied forces arrive and successfully liberate Europe. In 1945 Germany unconditionally surrenders and the war in the European theater ends. In 1946 Jens Ekornes travels to the United States. His brothers watch over the business while Jens is away. He begins work in a mattress factory in the USA to become more skilled in his trade. Impressed by the industrialization and how it will help to reduce the manufacturing costs of his mattresses, he purchases equipment and hires an American expert to travel back with him to Norway to train his workers on how to use the new machinery.

From 1947 to 1959 Jens Ekornes again starts building furniture components for other manufacturers. He opens a new factory to handle wood parts and another for the purpose of creating foamed plastics. In keeping with how he got into mattresses, Jens Ekornes begins designing and building furniture and in 1966 introduces a line of club furniture that would simply become called Ekornes®. This leather furniture was met with much success which may have also been attributed to a national mailer sent to every Norwegian home and soon Ekornes® became a household name in Norway.

1971 marked an important year for Ekornes® as it introduced the leather Stressless® recliner. The success generated by Stressless chairs recliner would lead to an important expansion for Ekornes® in it’s steel and automation departments which would allow it to keep up with growing demand internationally. In 1980 Ekornes® goes global and begins to export the Stressless® line of recliners and furniture throughout the world. With several patented features which include a lower lumbar support, glide system and head feature which moves forward with the individual, Stressless® recliners established themselves with features unavailable on any other recliner in the world. By 1983, 500,000 Stressless® recliners had been sold worldwide. A remarkable and impressive feat considering the competition of high end furniture found throughout the world.

Stressless® and Ekornes® products are currently sold in over 30 countries across five continents. Stressless recliners have been joined by matching sofas, loveseats, chairs and ottomans as well as matching coffee tables and end tables. Ekornes continues to move forward with advancements in industrial technology and creating new features in every pieces of Ekornes furniture. With a rich history dating back to 1934, the legacy of Jens Ekornes lives on today in every Ekornes® Stressless® product.

There will not be a household which does not have at least a piece of furniture. Furniture can be anything ranging from a simple stool to elaborate modern bedroom furniture sets. There are different materials used for making furniture. According to the materials used we have wooden furniture, steel furniture, molded furniture etc. Here an attempt is made to spell out different types of furniture depending on the material used for manufacturing along with its cost, durability and suitability to various purposes.

Wood is the most important material and is traditionally used for making furniture. Even today most of the furniture we come across is made of wood. Wood is a soft material and so can be easily worked with. The finish obtained is very good and polishing it once in two to three years can keep it like new at all times. It can be carved easily and beautiful objects can be created. Carved living room furniture can give a royal look to your living room. Cost of wooden furniture depends on the type of wood used and the decorative work involved. Furniture made of certain type of wood like oak, teak and rosewood are very durable and so, are costly. Wooden furniture is best suited to homes as these provide elegance and durability.

Metal is another important material used for making furniture. Painted or electroplated iron furniture was only made in earlier times. This used to get rusted and so started the use of aluminum and stainless steel. We will be tempted to believe that these are highly durable, but practically are not so. These are generally not suited to make bedroom furniture but are commonly used for making chairs. Attractive furniture made of stainless steel is specially suited for offices and lobbies.

Plastic is extensively used for making furniture and these are known as molded furniture. Even though plastic can be molded to any shape, its use, as far as making of furniture is concerned, is mostly limited to making chairs and light tables. Such furniture is best suited for small time restaurants and auditoriums because of its low cost of setting up and ease of storage. Durability of molded furniture is comparatively low.

Cane and reed are also used for making furniture. They do not possess great strength and so should be used carefully. Durability is also low. These are suitable only to homes. These materials are available only in certain pockets of the country. A word of caution here, cane and reed furniture works best in high humidity areas, and may crack in excessively dry ones.

All types of furniture will be available in one of your nearest furniture stores. One can also get to know about modern trends in furniture at a furniture exhibition.

Make an informed choice once you step into the furniture gallery. Pick the right material as per your interest, and you will never regret it!

Today, the IKEA group stands as a highly renowned name in the furniture industry. There has been involved 60 years of hard word and determination of the founder, owners and co-workers in shaping the company what it is today. The following history of IKEA furniture of more than 6 decades reflects how the founder started with just a small venture and gradually the company opened its retail stores in more than 40 countries.

The history of IKEA furniture goes back to 1926; the birth of the founder of the company. Ingvar Kamprad was born in Smaland and from his childhood he knew he wanted to be a businessman. At the age of 5, this young boy started selling matches at low prices but in a profitable manner. Gradually, he moved on to flower seeds, Christmas tree decorations, greeting cards, and pens and pencils. This was the scenario in the 1920s.

In the coming 2 decades, in 1940s-1950s, Ingvar Kamprad turned into an entrepreneur and developed IKEA into a proper furniture retail store. These two decades were used to explore various furniture designs and self assembly. The founder tried to learn the art of advertising and using a catalog and showroom to reach more people and potential customers. The IKEA concept started to take its destined shape in 1960s – 1970s. A few new stores were opened during this era and new hero products are launched, like BILLY and POANG bookcases. This was the time when Kamprad’s concepts were taking shape.

The IKEA furniture stores saw a dramatic expansion of their stores into different countries including UK, France, Italy and even USA. A number of new classic products were added to the already long list of furnishing products such as MOMENT, LACK, and KLIPPAN. This was the time when IKEA started taking its present day’s shape. In the 1990s, the store grew even more. The number of products increased along with the number of stores all over the globe. But this decade is very special for the group because Children’s IKEA was introduced at this time-period only. The focus shifted to catering families with children. The IKEA group was created during this time and the responsibility towards customers and environment became a priority to make good business.

In the 2000s, the IKEA expands further, reaching the new markets of Russia and Japan. This is the time when the gropup associated itself with many environmental and social projects. Now, it has every possible furniture item for bathroom to bedroom, and living room to kitchen. The present day’s co-ordinated solutions were achieved recently only. And today it has become one of the best furniture retail stores for everybody.

As they say, ‘Rome was not built on one day’, similar is the case with IKEA furniture. It has been a step-by-step success.

Summary: The history of the IKEA furniture began in early 1900s and since Ingvar Kamprad decided to be a businessman, there has been no looking back. The founder started with selling matches, going on a bicycle to buy the matches and in few decades he opened a chain of furniture retail stores. The focus of has always been on the customer and their needs.