Buying Guide · March 2026 · 5 min read
10 Pieces Under €100 That Look Like They Cost Ten Times More
Good design doesn't have to be expensive. Scandinavian design philosophy has always insisted on it. Here are ten pieces under €100 that prove the point — each one capable of elevating a room well beyond its price tag.
The democratic design principle
The best argument for Scandinavian design is not that it produces expensive masterpieces — though it does — but that it produces affordable ones. The IKEA Poäng chair, the HAY About A Chair's accessible smaller siblings, the Normann Copenhagen bowl you find at the back of a sale — all of these represent the Nordic belief that well-designed objects should be within reach of anyone who wants them.
The trick to finding them is knowing what to look for. At €100 and below, the best design tends to be simple objects doing one thing very well: a ceramic that catches light correctly, a lamp that gives the right warmth, a basket with an honest weave. Complexity is expensive. Simplicity, done right, isn't.
The 10 pieces
1. IKEA FRÖSET Chair (€45): A bentwood chair in solid birch, designed by Ebba Strandmark. Stacks, reads as considered, and looks like it costs €300.
2. HAY PC Portable Mini (€69): The smallest version of Pierre Charpin's rechargeable lamp. Warm light, 12-hour battery, moves from room to room. One of HAY's great value-design moments.
3. Ferm Living Boucle Cushion (€69): Boucle fabric at a price that makes it accessible as an impulse addition. Off-white. Goes with everything.
4. H&M Home Linen Blend Cushion Cover (€25): The linen-cotton weave reads more expensive than the price suggests. Buy four.
5. IKEA GLADOM Tray Table (€20): Lacquered steel tray on steel legs. Use it as a side table, a coffee serving tray, or a planter display. The dark green is the colour to get.
6. Ferm Living Ceramic Hook Set – 3 pieces (€35): Simple ribbed ceramic hooks that look architectural when mounted in a row on a bare wall.
7. H&M Home Woven Storage Basket (€30): A seagrass basket with a clean silhouette. Use for throws, magazines, or plant display. One of the most versatile €30 you can spend.
8. IKEA TILLREDA Induction Hob (skip — wrong category). Let's go with: IKEA PÄRLBAND Vase Set (€8): Two matte glass bud vases. Simple, quiet, correct.
9. HAY Sobremesa Mug (€18): A small ceramic mug with a generous handle and a colour-dipped finish. Available in twelve colourways. Becomes part of the room it sits in.
10. Normann Copenhagen Bit Stool — often on sale below €100: A stacking stool in lacquered beech. Works as a side table, extra seating, or plant stand. The version in Dusty Rose is particularly good.
How to style them together
The pieces above work best when treated as a collection, not individual purchases. A strategy:
Start with the basket (H&M Home, €30) — it grounds a corner of the room and signals intentionality. Add the cushion covers (H&M Home, €25 × 4 = €100) to the sofa. Place the ceramic hooks in the hallway. Put the HAY Portable on a side table next to the bed.
The key is repetition of material logic. If you're going matte ceramic in the hooks, echo it with matte ceramic in a vase. If you're going woven in the basket, echo it in the rug. The €100 pieces start to look expensive when they're part of a coherent scheme rather than isolated acquisitions.
