A casual encounter two years ago in Milan between Ikea product design developer Philip Dilé and Xbox devices design head Carl Ledbetter laid the foundation for a gaming furniture lineup. Building upon the aesthetic principles established by Ikea's 2024 Brännboll range, which shifted away from sharp edges, neon RGB lighting, and dark color schemes, the newly unveiled Yxstaby collection bridges the gap between home decor and video game hardware.
Rethinking Gaming Furniture for Modern Living Spaces
The primary goal of the Yxstaby lineup is to integrate gaming gear seamlessly into living rooms while allowing users to store everything out of sight once a gaming session ends. A central piece of the range is a mobile side table fitted with wheels and sliding doors. Inside, players can dock and charge their controllers simultaneously. The collection also includes a hardware toolbox designed to conceal cables and accessories under a lid that flips over to serve as a sturdy laptop desk.
For seating, the collection offers a gaming lounge chair equipped with a discreet webbed pouch located beneath the seat, engineered to store gamepads out of view. Complementing the set is a rollable TV stand capable of supporting screens up to 55 inches, built with split-level shelving to keep consoles and media players neatly organized.
Translating Xbox Controller Icons into Living Room Pieces
Explicit Xbox design cues are woven throughout the Yxstaby lineup. The collection introduces a green D-pad cushion and a D-pad controller tray. Interestingly, the tray originated as a stool concept before Johan Ejdemo, Ikea's head of design, removed the base and adapted the seat into a flat serving platter and catch-all tray.
The standout centerpiece of the Yxstaby collection is undoubtedly the thumbstick stool. Created by Ikea designer David Wahl, who famously queued overnight 25 years ago to buy the original Xbox console, the piece came to life after Wahl convinced the Xbox team to share their original 3D CAD design files for the controller stick.
The Birth of the Thumbstick Stool
David Wahl originally explored specialized chairs for keyboard players before pivoting toward essential input devices. Realizing that the moving control stick naturally mirrors the silhouette of a stool, he envisioned scaling up the physical object to human proportions.
To realize the concept, Wahl drew inspiration from Nilserik, a long standing Ikea office stool featuring a rounded, dynamic base. Once the Xbox design team saw the early prototype, they immediately agreed to incorporate it into the lineup. Carl Ledbetter confirmed that the enthusiasm was instant, shifting the focus entirely toward perfecting its proportions, swivel motion, and balance.
Engineering Comfort from an Aggressive Ergonomic Shape
Converting a thumbstick designed for fingertip control into ergonomic seating required extensive refinement. Because standard controller thumbsticks feature sharp textures intended for maximum thumb grip, the team had to soften the contours without losing the iconic visual identity. Ikea produced numerous 3D printed iterations and tested materials like cork and natural wood while adjusting the base radius to prevent instability.
To enhance the tactile experience, Wahl added rubber grip rings around the base that mimic the top rings found on Xbox Elite controller thumbsticks. As an added detail for customers, the team hid a secret message inside the stool assembly mechanism. Mirroring the hidden text found inside Xbox hardware, the stool features the words Hej from Älmhult, referencing the Swedish town where Ikea was founded.
Looking Ahead and Personal Connections
The Yxstaby collection is scheduled to launch in physical stores and online platforms this fall. Both teams have hinted at the possibility of future collaborations, noting that several strong product concepts remain under consideration for potential future development.
Carl Ledbetter expressed a longstanding personal connection to the Swedish furniture brand. Long before collaborating with Ikea professionally, Ledbetter and his wife were the very first customers in line when Ikea opened its first location in Renton, Washington, during the late 1990s.
