If, like many families living in this region, you bought your first sofa from IKEA, then the chances are that it is looking a little worse for wear now – especially if you have young children or own a cat or dog.
Local mom, Sooah Barbieri, did just that and was wondering recently what to do with her old armchairs, which were now looking very stained after several years abuse by her children! When she went to IKEA to buy replacement covers, she was told that her range had been discontinued and they no longer made covers for them.
She was on the verge of throwing them out, when a friend suggested she take a look at the website of Swedish company, Bemz (www.bemz.com). Bemz sells sofa covers that have been designed to fit all of the most popular models of IKEA sofas and chairs, even the discontinued ones. Selling to over 35 countries worldwide, their covers are custom made and are provided in over 160 designs and colors in natural textiles, including those from well known designers such as Designers Guild and Marimekko. Their covers are completely machine washable and are extremely simple to put on and take off.
Sooah first ordered swatch samples, which are free when you register on the site. This took about a week and when she placed an order for her covers, she was told they would take about 6 weeks to arrive, but in fact she received them within 4 weeks, via TNT. Impressively, there were no additional surprises like extra customs duties or taxes on delivery.
According to Sooah, the workmanship on the new covers is excellent and the price (including shipping) compares very favorably to the price she paid for the original ones. She concludes, “This was definitely an inexpensive way to give my poor, milk-stained armchairs a second life!”
So if you want to give your sofa a new lease of life, take a look at www.bemz.com!
Article update 10 November 2010: Sooah received a customs and duties bill from the carrier shortly after she received her order. So be warned, it's not all good news!
