The BEKVÄM step stool was designed by Nike Karlsson at IKEA. He was tasked with making a stepladder for small kitchens. The stepladder also worked perfectly as an extra chair for children, who could sit on the top step and rest their feet on the bottom one.
When Nike Karlsson started at the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm, he was already a qualified joiner. During his first years at IKEA his focus was on kitchens, such as the FÖRHÖJA cutlery tray. The BEKVÄM step stool was a product that let children join in with the grown-ups in the kitchen, but also in other rooms.
BEKVÄM was made of solid wood that could be sanded and treated as required. It went just as well in the kitchen as in other parts of the home. It first appeared in the 2001 IKEA catalogue. It has since been in the catalogue 16 times in all, and in 2021 it is still sold at IKEA in three different variations.
