IKEA Returns to Inflatable Furniture as Materials Science Finally Catches Up

IKEA launches the PS 2026 Easy Chair this May—its first inflatable in over a decade—with dual-chamber design and chrome frame addressing valve failures that killed its 2000s a.i.r line. Designer Mikael Axelsson spent ten years hand-welding prototypes. Modern thermoplastic welding and polymer compounds now enable durability unavailable in the 1990s. The $200 price reflects engineering complexity. Success could validate inflatable furniture as a permanent category; other manufacturers will watch closely.