| IKEA product names fall into a few main groups. Beyond these groups, there is a curious taxonomy of product names. ● Bathroom items: Names of Swedish lakes and bodies of water ● Linens: Flowers and plants ● Bedroom and Living Room Furniture: Norwegian places ● Bookcases: Professions and Scandinavian boy’s names ● Bowls and Vases: Swedish place names, adjectives, spices, herbs, fruits, and berries ● Boxes, Pictures, and Wall Decorations: Swedish slang expressions and Swedish place names ● Children’s Products: Mammals, birds, adjectives ● Desks and Chairs: Scandinavian boy’s names ● Fabrics and Curtains: Scandinavian girl’s names ● Outdoor Furniture: Scandinavian islands ● Kitchen Accessories: Fish, mushrooms and adjectives ● Lighting: Units of measurement, seasons, months, days, shipping and nautical terms, Swedish place names ● Rugs: Danish place names ● Sofas, Chairs and Dining Sets: Swedish place names There was also some brouhaha a while ago, about product names for floor coverings, like doormats used as placeholders for an 'in-joke'. >Academics in Denmark have accused Ikea of “Swedish imperialism” because it names cheaper products such as doormats after Danish places. They claim that more expensive items such as chairs and beds are named after Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian towns, while cheaper items such as draught excluders have been given Danish town names. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/mar/08/danish... |