Category: Design and Interiors

Midcentury design isn't the first thing you might associate with Ikea, but if you dig deep enough, you can find the odd gem lurking on the shelves, like the newly-introduced Vate table lamp range.

It's Ikea's take on the classic 1950s Akari table lamps by Isamu Noguchi, reissues of which sell for just under £160. The Ikea lights (which are in no way attributed directly with Noguchi) are much cheaper, offering up two designs (another pictured over the page), a handmade rice paper shade on a steel frame and of course, some ambient light for your table.

Prices start at £7.99.

Find out more at the Ikea website

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Finn Stone seems to have a distinctly retro twist to his work – you might recall the Finn Stone Ball table and chair from a while back. And now there's the O2 Chair.

Very much in the 70s space age era for inspiration, the O2 is available in a variety of colour combinations, but all made of recycled ABS with a 'high quality' paint finish that's good for both indoor and outdoor use.

Around 46cm in height, you can pick one up for £139.

Find out more at the Made in Design website

Look familiar? It just might because the Roger Lascelles Electrique wall clock has more than a passing resemblance to a design classic, but comes in at a fraction of the price.

That classic is the Mondaine wall clock, which has also been produced as a watch range and both travel and bedside clocks. It was first designed back in the 1940s by then-employee Hans Hilfiker, designed to be easily readable from a distance. The design is still in use today.

But this isn't that, but it is incredibly similar, with the same type of markings and the same red and black colour scheme. No mention of Mondaine though, instead the branding is 'Electrique', with the whole thing coming in with a 30cm diameter. You'll be looking at around £200 for a Mondaine, but the Roger Lascelles is available from John Lewis for £39.

Find out more at the John Lewis website