RAKKE AND Visthus by IKEA

In 1998, together with Thomas Winkel, I built a wardrobe for myself. I lived in a small space, and the wardrobe stood in my combined bedroom and living room. The inspiration, then as now, was the Japanese expression. Traditional Japanese architecture with sliding walls and doors, translucency and the influx of light. Translated into a combined dresser and wardrobe with a staggered configuration of panels and doors that created a three-dimensional effect of shadows and shapes when the light fell on it. 

A journalist happened to hear about the project, and the home design magazine Bo Bedre came and took photos for the magazine cover. One day IKEA contacted us. With a few adjustments the wardrobe was put into production under the name RAKKE, and for several years it was one of IKEA’s best-selling cabinets worldwide. Today, 20 years later, it remains in production, now with minor updates under the name VISTHUS. The wardrobe was never intended to go beyond my own home, and maybe that is the key to durable design. It was not designed to be expressive or draw attention to itself. Just to create calm and order.