Ikea’s doughnut lamp gets rave review

A lamp shaped like a glazed ring pastry just got a 9 out of 10 from CNET, which said Ikea’s new smart VARMBLIXT is one of the best smart lamps it has tested. The review was published in April 2026, three years after the original donut-shaped lamp became one of Ikea’s most recognizable lighting designs. (cnet.com, ikea.com) The new version keeps the circular 12-inch shape, but Ikea swapped the old orange glass body for white glass-color material and added smart controls. Ikea’s United States store lists it at $99.99 and says it can sit on a table or mount on a wall. (ikea.com) That is a big change from the first VARMBLIXT lamp, which Ikea still sells for $99.99 as a non-smart model in orange glass. The original product page says the orange glass creates the warm donut glow that made the lamp spread across design accounts and shopping roundups. (ikea.com) VARMBLIXT started as a 20-piece collaboration with Rotterdam designer Sabine Marcelis, and Ikea launched the collection in the United States in February 2023. Ikea said at the time that the project was meant to push lighting beyond pure function and treat it more like sculpture for the home. (ikea.com, ikea.com) Marcelis built the line around what Ikea called the “infinite doughnut” motif, which is why the lamp looks more like a design object than a gadget. Ikea kept four lighting pieces from that collection in its long-term range, which turned a limited-design collaboration into a permanent product family. (ikea.com) The smart version arrives as Ikea is folding more of its lighting into Matter, the cross-brand smart-home standard that lets one device work with several control systems. Ikea’s product page labels the lamp “Matter compatible,” and the Canadian listing says users can connect it through the DIRIGERA hub and Ikea Home smart app for scheduling and grouped control. (ikea.com, ikea.com) CNET’s reviewer said the smart upgrade fixes the one thing the original lamp could not do: act like part of a broader smart-home setup instead of just glowing beautifully in one corner. The review says the lamp now works with app and assistant controls while keeping the same playful shape that made people want it in the first place. (cnet.com) The result is unusual for Ikea: a product that still sells on looks first, but now competes on smart-home features at the same $100 price as the older non-smart version. On Ikea’s search page this week, the smart donut lamp appears beside the original bestseller, which shows the company is now selling two versions of the same cult design to two different kinds of buyer. (ikea.com, ikea.com, ikea.com)