They just kept getting the engineering wrong.
In the quiet rhythm of seasonal renewal, Irish homes are being reimagined not through excess but through intention — a Swedish chair that finally holds its shape, a Victorian jug unchanged for a century and a half, a table that drinks in sunlight to give light back in darkness. These objects, ranging from the playfully practical to the quietly beautiful, speak to a growing desire among Irish consumers to surround themselves with things that earn their place in a room.
- Ikea's inflatable furniture has a troubled past — chairs that deflate and disappoint — but the new PS 2026 Easy Chair arrives at Milan Design Week with a built-in foot pump and a promise that this time, it will actually hold air.
- A Victorian-era guggle jug shaped like a koi carp has survived 150 years without alteration, now landing on Irish shelves at TKMaxx for €29.99 — proof that some designs simply get it right the first time.
- Outdoor living is quietly going solar, with a circular coffee table from Meadows & Byrne that stores sunlight and glows through glass after dark, while Weber's two-burner gas BBQ signals that serious outdoor cooking is firmly in season.
- Irish designer Nicola Weldon brings botanical linen cushions to a pop-up event in Dún Laoghaire, part of a broader consumer shift away from cheap filler goods toward pieces with craft, character, and staying power.
Ikea's relationship with inflatable furniture has rarely ended well — the chairs deflate, the owners end up on the floor, and confidence in the concept quietly collapses. Yet the Swedish giant is trying again. The PS 2026 Easy Chair, unveiled at Milan Design Week this spring, comes with a foot pump built into its base so users can tune the firmness themselves. Ikea insists it will hold air. At €150 through ikea.com/ie, it's an invitation to trust the category one more time.
Beyond the headline piece, the season's home offerings reward a slower kind of attention. The guggle jug — a koi carp whose open mouth becomes a spout and whose tail curves into a handle — has been pouring drinks since the Victorian era, first cast by Dartmouth Pottery in England. That the design has remained essentially unchanged for 150 years is its own quiet argument for its rightness. A yellow ceramic version is available at TKMaxx for €29.99.
Outdoors, a circular solar coffee table from meadowsandbyrne.com (€299) stores daylight in its glass mid-section and releases it as a soft glow after dark — with a manual charge option for overcast Irish days. Those cooking outside can turn to the Weber Spirit E-210 Gas BBQ, with twin stainless steel burners and Snap-Jet ignition, priced at €349 from woodies.ie.
Indoors, designer Nicola Weldon's Wild Meadow linen cushion — printed with botanical illustrations and priced at €80 — will appear at the Irish Popup Collective's May 17 event at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dún Laoghaire. Taken together, these pieces reflect something shifting in how Irish consumers approach their homes: less accumulation, more consideration — choosing objects that work, endure, and genuinely belong.
Ikea has a history with inflatable furniture that doesn't inspire confidence. The pieces tend to deflate, literally and figuratively, leaving owners sitting on the floor wondering what went wrong. But the Swedish retailer is making another attempt at the category with the PS 2026 Easy Chair, unveiled this spring at Milan Design Week. The new design comes with a foot pump built into the base, allowing you to adjust the firmness of the cushions yourself—and, Ikea insists, it will actually hold air. The chair retails for €150 through ikea.com/ie.
If you're furnishing a home right now, there's more worth considering beyond the usual suspects. Guggle jugs have been pouring drinks since the Victorian era, when the Dartmouth Pottery in England first cast them in the shape of fish. The design is oddly specific: a koi carp's open mouth becomes the spout, while its tail curves around to serve as the handle. They've remained largely unchanged for 150 years, which says something about the rightness of the form. A yellow ceramic version is available for €29.99 at TKMaxx.
Outdoor living is getting smarter. The Solar outdoor coffee table is a modest piece—a circular top with a glass mid-section—but it contains an integrated solar light that glows through the glass when darkness falls. On overcast days, you can charge it manually. It costs €299 from meadowsandbyrne.com. For those who want to cook outside, the Weber Spirit E-210 Gas BBQ offers two stainless steel burners with Snap-Jet ignition and enough grill space to handle a dozen burgers at once. It's priced at €349 from woodies.ie.
For the interior, there's the Wild Meadow linen cushion, printed with botanical illustrations by designer Nicola Weldon. The piece carries a price tag of €80 and will be available at the Irish Popup Collective's event on May 17 at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire, as well as through nicolaweldon.ie. The collection reflects a broader shift in how people are thinking about home—less about filling space with cheap goods, more about choosing pieces that work, last, and actually bring something to a room.
Notable Quotes
Unlike its predecessors, it won't let you down— Ikea, on the PS 2026 Easy Chair
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Ikea keep trying with inflatable furniture when it has such a poor track record?
Because the category itself makes sense—lightweight, affordable, space-saving. They just kept getting the engineering wrong. This time they've added a foot pump so you control the inflation. It's a small fix, but it matters.
The guggle jug seems like an oddly specific thing to feature in 2026.
It does, but that's partly the point. These jugs have been made the same way since the 1870s because the design works. There's something reassuring about that kind of continuity, especially when everything else is changing.
What's the connection between these products? They seem random.
They're not random—they're all functional objects that also have some character. The solar table, the BBQ, the cushion with hand-printed flowers. They're saying: buy things that do something and that you actually want to look at.
Is this just a shopping list, or is there a story here?
It's both. On the surface, it's a curated selection of home goods. But underneath, it's reflecting how people are shopping differently now—less impulse buying, more intentionality. Quality over quantity.