Description

PRICE CUT- now only $172.50 each! (TOTAL QUALITY- 36 year-old OUTDOOR chairs that are immaculate after being used for over 3 DECADES- incredible! And highly collectable too- watch these increase in value as you get to use and love having them!

LOCATION-  Wonga Park, MELBOURNE but can be transported Australia-wide for a small fee. I’d say we’d be able to get these up to Sydney for about $200 for all 4. Price is for all 4 chairs ie. about $285 each.

These are a practical investment you can USE and love- they’ll increase in value in the future while you get to use them! A no-brainer investment.

***IKEA Dr NO chairs (also available through iNVISeDGE- please enquire for a full listing)

(There is also a DR YES chair by IKEA. We have the DR NO chairs, dated, July 2002 (approx 24 years old).

Use Google Images to see images of what we have – GREAT vintage condition for the ones we have)

(***Measurements. IKEA Dr No chairs. Total Ht- 80cm.  Armrest Height- 66cm.  Total Depth (back to front)- 53cm.  Seat Width- 44cm.)

Background Info and Provenance

(Written in 2025 so values will be time-sensitive- accurate and will change over time.)

I don’t normally work with consignment pieces of this value but I couldn’t resist these. I love them! They’re obviously based on a famous Thonet design but the designer, Erik Wörtz, has greatly elevated the design. There’s no point re-working a famous design unless you improve it and Erik Wörtz has. It’s little surprise that IKEA picked up this design. The flat pieces in the back greatly IMPROVE THE COMFORT of similar Thonet chairs PLUS they’re made of heavy-duty plastic. The plastic construction just works! They’ve used glossy plastic which exaggerates all these curves- really adding to the designer vibe these have. These chairs just gleam! The originals in timber just don’t do this. The plastic doesn’t mark, scuff or get scratched like the timber Thonet counterparts. PLUS, because they’re heavy-duty plastic, they can be used outside too!

Look- it seems like such as easy thing to think of but no-one else ever considered these designs in plastic- it’s a stroke of genius in my eyes. Plus, these chairs were made in January, 1990 (as shown in the base marking). These have now been used for 35 years- just look at them! No guessing the quality of the plastic- the proof is reflected in the condition of these chairs after all these years. Such a clever idea. The other thing going for them … these were also made in SWEDEN. In 1990, most Ikea items were still made in Sweden. This gives this set  real historical appeal … on top of the practicality and stunning looks.

IKEA items are nearly always great pieces of design- the quality faltered in the early noughties and 2010’s. IKEA is starting to recover from this and have learnt that their vintage offerings are starting to elevate their brand. From the 1950’s – 1990’s IKEA items were top quality- cheap- but also top quality. This was before China too over and started cutting corners in any way they could. As a result, vintage IKEA has become highly collectable. Everyone seems to bag IKEA- in the past I even did. Not anymore! Vintage IKEA items are having HUGE success all around the world these days (and for good reason). Proof in the quality of vintage IKEA is reflected in the condition of most of their items from about 4 decades back. I recently saw a pair of IKEA armchairs from the 1960’s selling for over AU$10,000 the pair. I bet they were priced at something like $40 back in the 60’s too!

These retro IKEA plastic Lena chairs were designed in 1968. It might be possible that IKEA only picked up Erik Wörtz’s design in the 1990’s- the only IKEA ones I’ve seen around were made in the 1990’s. And proof in their value is reflected in the Screenshot shown in this listing. AU$757 for a PAIR in Europe- a matching set of 4 is worth more per chair than just 2. The KARTELL armchairs photographed with these really compliment this set too. If you’d like to add in those, we’ll do a special deal for you.

As already touched on, the comfort of this design is also exceptional. This tops off a genius piece of vintage design. The backs are very high for dining chairs and they hit you in the back exactly where you want it. Your back melds into these perfectly- much better than most Thonet designs.

These IKEA Lena chairs by Erik Wörtz have not only avoided landfill, but when inflation has been taken into consideration, they’ve kept there value and rightly so. They’re well-made, practical, exceptional in quality, plus they’re stunning- even better looking than the Thonet chairs they’re based on- this means the investment appeal on offer here is a no-brainer. These SWEDISH MADE 35 year old chairs can’t lose any value in the future. After modern “designer” chairs have broken and ended up as landfill, this set of vintage ORIGINALS from IKEA will be passed onto a new generation telling more stories as they go. Investing in quality vintage design (and new items built to last) is our only way out of this mess. There’s NO better way to invest in your home … financially, environmentally and from a social perspective. By supporting iNVISeDGE you’re also giving meaningful employment to local people. It’s a win – win – win!

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