Ikea has a new collection for pets called Utsådd, so named after the mythical catdog hybrid that accompanied Thor in its battles against the frost giants of Niflheim (in truth, it means “sown” in Swedish, but who is taking the company’s nomenclature seriously anymore. Not me, that’s who). Point is that, in a world full of poorly designed pet crap or expensive stuff that only posh pussies and pooches can afford, it’s important to have pretty stuff at good price points.
According to Ikea, the 29-product collection has been “developed with input from veterinarians, pet product experts, and an exigent panel of cats and dogs, to ensure the relevance of each product” over a two-year design and development process. The company says that the collection covers the four basic aspects of pet life: eat, sleep, play, and hide. It also promises that they are all “easy to clean, resistant to everyday use and seamlessly blend into any home.”
In a press release, Julia Rosenberg, product design developer at Ikea of Sweden AB—says that they believe that pets are family and their “goal was to develop a collection of products that our cats and dogs love and that their human parents can feel good about and truly enjoy having as part of their home.”
Now, I have no reason to doubt my second favorite Swedish brand after Kalles Kaviar. The dog beds look comfy and fantastic, so do the blankets and the textile bones that are built around rubber cores (for some reason, my dog loves to chew on our duvets and bed sheets, so he will love these). The simple bowls look pretty solid—quite elegant even—even though they are made of ceramic.
These two material choices are welcome, and certainly more aesthetically pleasing, than metal bowls and rubber kongs. But it’s almost guaranteed that the fabric toys will not be as durable as Ikea promises in its press release (in my experience, pets will destroy anything unless it’s made of unobtainium). There are also nice bed baskets and an updated version of Lurvig, the cubic fabric den for cats and small dogs that fits perfectly in Ikea’s Kallax shelves.
All of this is great! But I really did have to laugh at their rattan cat scratching surface that fits straight to the side of any sofa thanks to a large flat base. Do you know any cats that would rather scratch a rattan patch than your plush, corduroy couch? Come on, Ikea. Don’t even.
On the other hand, extra gooooodboy points for the cute cat/small dog tent which will fit perfectly into any Wes Anderson film set or trust fund hipster Brooklyn home.
You will be able to buy the Utsådd collection next month.
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