Gamescom usually sells the next console, the next season pass, the next reason to stay up too late. This year IKEA arrived with a nine-piece line called YXSTABY, built with Xbox designers piece by piece, and the pitch is quieter than the hall around it. Play now happens on sofas, at kitchen tables, between homework and dinner. These objects are meant to roll in for that hour and roll back out without turning the room into a cave.
Most chairs sold as gaming seats start with a racing-shell shape that looks fast and then quietly limits how you sit. The GTPLAYER Big and Tall model, priced at $169.98 (was $250), in Earth-Black takes the opposite route. It opens the seat, raises the back, and adds real mechanical support so the same chair works for someone who needs the extra room and for someone who simply wants to sit without fighting the furniture.
Swedish furniture maker IKEA and Microsoft’s Xbox division posted a short Instagram video this week that shows pieces shaped like the buttons and sticks on an Xbox controller. Designers from both companies worked together on the line. A full look at the collection is expected during Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, on August 26.
Sitting for hours demands more than a basic seat. GTPLAYER’s gaming chair, priced at $85.22 (was $140), delivers real support and smart design on a budget that leaves room for better monitors or another controller. Built around a pocket spring cushion and linked armrests, it works equally well for marathon matches and full workdays.
Shoppers scanning options for a new chair often pause on the Respawn 110 Ergonomic Gaming Chair, priced at $81 (was $168). It carries a sharp racing profile without demanding a premium outlay. The current gray fabric edition keeps the look understated yet purposeful, with minimal stitching and an integrated headrest that avoids the cluttered appearance of older designs loaded with separate pillows.
Shoppers looking for a budget desk chair tend to gravitate toward the GTPLAYER gaming chair, which is currently available for around $89.99 (was $140), but what truly sets apart is that its base and legs are made of sturdy metal, as opposed to most chairs at this price point, which are made of flimsy plastics.
Photo credit: WSJ
Few pieces of furniture have earned a place in both design history and everyday luxury quite like the Eames Lounge Chair. The Wall Street Journal recently got a rare look inside the MillerKnoll factory in Zeeland, Michigan, where every authentic example is still assembled by hand, walking the production floor from raw wood all the way through to finished chair and making it very clear why each one carries a price tag somewhere between five and ten thousand dollars.
The Claiks Adjustable-Height Electric Standing Desk is becoming increasingly popular in home offices, and for good reason. At the moment, you can get one for just $89.99 (was $119.99), whereas most other brands would cost at least double, if not more. That’s exactly what these people rebuilding their home offices in 2026 want: a no-frills solution that gets the job done every day.
Star-themed coffee tables have long been a staple of design catalogs. But just a few of them have attempted to fit a whole planetary arrangement within, replete with a sun that simply erupts into view on demand. This one goes all out, transforming an ordinary piece of furniture into a small cosmic drama with stellar implosions and endless orbits.
A new kind of shopping experience is coming to 10 Best Buy stores this fall. IKEA, famous for its massive warehouses filled with affordable, stylish home furnishings, is teaming up with Best Buy to bring mini IKEA stores to Florida and Texas. This is the first time IKEA’s products and services will be available through another US retailer, so you can plan and buy everything you need for your kitchen and laundry room in one stop.