70 YEARS OF CREATING SPACE

The need for efficient storage is timeless.

That is why the basic idea is the same today as it was when Elfa was founded in 1948. To support people´s everyday life and make the best use of any given space. We even talk about “creating space”. We do so by innovating clever and long-lasting storage with simple and functional design. And the flexibility of Elfa makes sure you can adapt the storage to your shifting need, throughout life.

From a simple dish rack to a complete success

What started with the invention of a coated wire is a now classic, the dish rack has evolved into countless clever storage solutions for all parts of you home. See our journey here:

A timeless classic

As a symbol of our long history, we decided to put one of our classic wire products, the Shoe rack, back into production. The Elfa Shoe rack, originating in the 60’s, has been brought back to life in a white edition.

In tribute to the coated wire

The classic Shoe rack looks equally good in homes today as it did when it was first launched. That’s what simple, functional design is all about – timelessness.

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Defining moments

40´s “If you do the dishes – Elfa will dry them!”

The founder of Elfa, engineer Arne Lydmar, was presented with the idea and design of a wire dish rack, not only saving space by the kitchen sink but also saving time drying the dishes by hand. The man with the original idea was his wife’s cousin, Nils Strinning (a world famous Swedish designer) who’s ambition was to find a way to make daily routines in the kitchen easier.

And so the journey for inventing a suitable coating that should stand the test of time began. A technique to attach it to the wire also needed to be developed. After looking all over the world for an efficient solution, the coating was finally solved and a ground-breaking technique was born!

During the years that followed, the dish rack was accompanied by numerous wire products such as shoe racks, bathroom baskets, changing tables and wire drawers for closets to mention just a few.

80’s The Swedish government relied on Elfa

In 1983 Elfa merged with rack and bracket giant “Sparring”, another Swedish storage innovator. The two companies brought two “storage worlds” together – the wire products with the wall band and bracket system. Together they received a request from the Swedish government to create efficient, durable but flexible storage for all the rooms of the parliament building in Stockholm.

As the walls in the rooms were made of several different materials, the challenge was to come up with a flexible solution for mounting. What they came up with is nothing less than storage ingenuity – the Wall hang system. A top track is mounted on the wall with a few screws and all the rest of the products are hung from it. This made sure the products could be safely mounted in all rooms and rearranged when needed.

90’s A complete success!

Clothing storage became a growing part of the Elfa assortment in the 60’s and 70’s. Having years of experience with the inside of the closet, the idea of offering “the whole package” of storing came about. Sliding doors were added to the product range and Elfa became the first swedish company to offer made-to-measure closets, including sliding doors, in large scale production.

Elfa´s interior and sliding doors concept eventually became market-leading in the Nordics. At last you could find all the storage you needed in one place.

Today Elfa manufactures about 120 000 made-to-measure sliding doors per year.

Today

Creating space for the future
Society evolves and we keep on solving storage challenges people meet everyday. And as we know that storage needs change overtime, we take extra pride in offering products that are flexible, timeless and built to last.