This Cool Swedish Brand Is 100% Based on Ikea Hacks

Updated on 7/24/2017 at 1:10 PM

Superfront/ Martin Ceder

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Shopping at Ikea comes with its pros and cons. Pros: it's affordable and has a modern Scandinavian aesthetic that works in most spaces. Cons: since it's so popular, filling your home with Ikea can make it hard to expresses your individual style, and sometimes the pieces don't age well. Another Swedish brand, called Superfront and started in 2013, wants to bring you the pros of Ikea without the cons. It will help you modify your Ikea purchases past the point of recognition.

I visited the Superfront showroom in Stockholm, which had examples of customized kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities on display. In Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and UK, Superfront will sells new fronts, tops, and sides to upgrade your Ikea kitchens, bathrooms, and other pieces of furniture. The offerings to the US market are fewer but almost as impactful, since even switching the legs on an Ikea sofa can make a huge difference. Currently, American customers can purchase legs, knobs, and pulls to ship to the US. Superfront founder and designer Monica Born says she hopes to offer more in the states soon: "We've noticed a very strong interest for our products in the US, especially on the coasts."

Tove Greitz, who works in the Stockholm showroom, told me that the company uses high-quality leather and metals for their knobs. That means they will age well and with character, something not typically said about Ikea furniture. Legs, which can go on Ikea beds and Besta furniture, typically cost $20 to $30, while knobs cost around $10 to $30 each. Tove told me that the Superfront customers she encounters want to "buy design, but for a good price," and because of Superfront, they're more open to shopping at Ikea.

Born, who collaborates with her husband, Mick Born, on the designs, describes the Superfront style as "modern timeless." She says: "We use materials, patterns, colors, and clean shapes that have an eternal vibe. We love simplicity." Explore the gallery for more insight from Born and photos of the gorgeous Superfront creations.

Born says she created Superfront to offer people timeless design at reasonable prices. "Since Ikea's cabinet foundations, like the Besta sideboard for example, have great quality these days, we thought it was an excellent idea to build our design around them," she explains.

Pictured: Pluto handles ($22)

Pluto handles

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JOTUN | Photographer Siren Lauvdal Styling Kråkvik & D’Orazio

According to Born, the most popular modifications involve sideboards, kitchens, and wardrobes. "Most pictures out there on Instagram and blogs are of sideboards, as our customers are creative people who love to make still life on their sideboards. They'll display a scented candle, a finding from the market, their magazines, art," Born says. "It's amazing to see our design being pictured so beautifully."

Pictured: Illusion fronts (not available in US) and Trestle legs ($22)

Trestle legs

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When asked what guides her design, Born says: "It’s the ingenious features that separate great from not-so-great in design."

Pictured: Wire handles ($22)

Wire handles

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Born hopes costumers notice the subtle details of Superfront products: "That certain flatness of a rivet, the specific color that just feels exciting, measurements between elements on a leg that make the whole design feel harmonic, or the fact that you leave the brass untreated like we’ve done on our wash basins to make it age and get a beautiful patina."

Pictured: Parallels front (not available in US), Holy Wafer handles ($17), Supersink 37 ($577), and Tapwell Evo ($520).

Born and her husband also bring in designers when it feels right: "Our Angles legs, for example, are designed by the excellent Christan Halleröd, who is a Swedish interior architect making interiors for Swedish brands like Acne and Byredo, among others."

Pictured: Angles high legs ($78) and Loop leather handles ($17)

Born believes her customers look for value over high-end brands. "Our customers are very self-confident and very design aware, so they buy what they like if the quality is good. They are not impressed just because of a nasty price tag."

Pictured: Illusion fronts (not available in US) and Trestle legs ($22)

Trestle legs

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$22

American customers can order legs, knobs, and pulls from Superfront. The company hopes to offer more to the US market soon.

Pictured: Trestle for bed legs ($23)

Trestle for bed legs

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$23

Pictured: Angles low copper leg designed by Christian Halleröd ($73)

Pictured: Reflection handle in copper ($22)

Pictured: Holy Wafer handle in brass ($17)