It's a cover-up

Thank you for the mention

Bemz has been getting quite a bit of coverage out there in cyberspace and we are loving it! So please let me take a mo' to pass on our gratitude.

Obviously with the recent launch of the gorgeous Designers Guild fabrics at Bemz, the news has been picked up by a few on the PR Wire such as World Book and News, Textile Industry Today, India Times, World News, Fibre2Fashion, Dallas Business Journals and CNBC but even some fellow bloggers who are as excited as us about this latest addition to our designer collection as we are, have managed to give us some much appreciated air-time. Thanks go to Apothecary Fox and Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles!

Thank you Style Sleuth for being as keen about our new Loose Fit - Country style as we are, and to Homemakers for appreciating the environmentally friendly aspect of choosing a Bemz slipcover over tossing old furniture on the tip.

Bemz also got a lovely mention in the OC Register, West London Mum who all appreciated the idea of being able to personalize your Ikea furniture with anything from solid white to designer delight. 

Many thanks to each and every one of you for the shout out!

Top tips: tricks for maxing space in your home

If you're anything like me, clutter makes you crazy. I like it when everything has a place - the nice things can be seen and the not-so-nice can be tucked away. Here are some space expanding solutions I came across in the July issue of Livingetc which I thought we would all benefit from: 

Build up into a high ceiling - you can even go so far as adding a mezzanine level, height permitting.

Leave no nook unexploited: Use redundant space, such as under stairs or odd corners. They can be converted into coveted storage or even turned into a work space.

Off-center pendants and stand along lamps: Pool light to provide greater depth whereas a central pendant may make the ceiling feel lower.

Add a sleek room divider: a double sided bookcase allows light to flow while still making two distinct spaces.

Follow the shape of your room: a full height gallery can be a great use of space if you have the ceiling height to accommodate it.

Get rid of redundant clutter: this may require a bit of ruthlessness! Keep only what you need or love.

Large scale mirrors: these can dramatically increase the feeling of space and light in a room. Use them in alcoves, as kitchen splashbacks or as wardrobe doors.

Use glazing to blur boundaries: seamlessly integrating the outdoors with the living space connect two spaces and give the feeling of greater room.

Photo c/o Bemz

Install a pull down bed/daybed: this is the perfect solution in a small space or a dual function room. A less expensive alternative is the daybed.

Hide away your TV: a clutter-free solution.

Use glass: it allows light to flow through which not only allows the light to flow through but also makes room look bigger and the view is not obstructed.

Account for every nook and cranny: make use of all redundant spaces from under eaves to under stairs, from odd corners to harder to reach areas.

Tailor-make your storage space: build right up to the ceiling in a kitchen so less frequently used items can be stored up high.

Put large artwork in small spaces: it makes the space feel bigger.

Now if only they could tell me how to squeeze more hours into the day...

Credit and photos: Livingetc

Some Urban Tapestry for Ekeskog

Heidi of Finland uploaded a picture of her Ekeskog armchair with its new Bemz cover onto our Facebook page.

Heidi chose a new slipcover in Urban Tapestry - Olive Green, a beautiful shot of color in her rustic chic, charming simple life styled home. It was a fabulous choice Heidi - well done! And thank you so much for sharing your very beautiful home with us.

If you are proud of your Bemz cover, share it with us! Send it along to me at blog [at] bemz [dot] com or upload it directly to our Facebook page.

Bemz introductory offer: Inspiration book by Tricia Guild

Photo: Karlanda sofa in Sagrada Lime

To celebrate this exciting new designer collaboration, we will be giving every person who places an order for a slipcover from our new Bemz Designers Guild collection a gift. If you place your order between June 22 and 30, 2010, you will receive Tricia Guild's book entitled Inspiration, where Tricia herself has "tried to collect some of my enduring passions: the images and impressions that inspire me, design fragments that I come across by accident and help kick start a creative process...".

Time to get shopping!

Wrap your sofa in luxury with fabrics from Designers Guild

Photo: Nikkala sofa in Sagrada Aqua and Stockholm chair in Castellar Indigo

You can now reinvent your Ikea furniture with the help of fabrics from the world famous Designers Guild!

Photo left: Karlstad armchair in Barcelona Crocus; right: Henriksdal chairs in Sagrada Blossom

Bemz is thrilled to announce today’s launch of three breathtaking patterns from Designers Guild: the Barcelona, Sagrada and Castellar, which will be available in seven different colorways. These fabrics are from Designers Guild's latest "Barcelona" collection, which draws inspiration from a modern Spain, and is in keeping with the design house's classic bold, contemporary designs, retro styled and brightly colored patterns.

Photo: Nikkala sofa in Barcelona Cobalt and Stockholm chair in Sand Beige Belgian linen

New to the Bemz Designer Collection are these fabrics from the Designers Guild Barcelona collection:

Barcelona - stunning, stylized graphic leaves and berries in an all-over design providing a structured yet organic appearance. Available at Bemz in Crocus, Cobalt and Ecru.

Sagrada - an all-over stylized floral geometric pattern reminiscent of stained glass windows. Available at Bemz in Lime, Blossom and Aqua.

Castellar - a lively, vibrant graphic design incorporating patchwork motifs and taking cues from many other Barcelona prints. Bemz will initially launch Castellar in Indigo.

Photo left: Stockholm chairs in Soft White Belgian linen and Castellar Indigo with cushions in Sagrada Aqua and Barcelona Cobalt; right: Karlanda sofa in Barcelona Ecru

As is the case with all textiles in the Bemz collection, these new Designers Guild fabrics are machine washable, and made from 100% cotton.

Photo: Karlanda sofa in Mocha Belgian linen with cushions in Sagrada Blossom and Sagrada Lime, and Karlstad armchair in Barcelona Crocus

Established in 1970 by Tricia Guild of Britain, Designers Guild is one of the most renowned and innovative design companies in the world. In addition to upholstery fabrics, Designers Guild is also very famous for its exclusive and distinctive wallpaper collection.

Inspiration Store gets a facelift

The Bemz Inspiration Store was recently given another facelift. Just like you, we like to switch things around with the seasons and quite frankly on a whim. With in-store designers to hand and slipcovers galore we are really able to transform the place. Here are some photos, some of which are from our recent press event, which I hope will inspire:

New Loose Fit - Country style in full force.

Everyone listens as guest speaker Helena Mellström from Svenska Moderådet gives her inspiration talk about how we are choosing to go back to basics.

The cutting table transformed into a veritable smorgasbord (which, directly translated from Swedish, means sandwich table!).

The usual set-up at tea-time in the office... ;)

If you like what you see, then stop in whenever you are in the neighborhood. The Bemz Inspiration Store is located on Odengatan 22.

A little note to say thanks

Thanks to domestic indecision and to Cote de Texas for praising our slipcovers. Let's not forget Carte Blanche and Decoration blog for picking up on our new Loose Fit - Country style slipcovers. Our gratitude also goes to We heart it for the love they sent our way and Boston.com who were most keen on turning their everyday Ikea into designer with our Marimekko covers. We appreciate your feedback and your mentions. A great big thank you to you all!

Cotton onto what's behind Bemz pricing

I used to wonder why cheese was so much more expensive than milk and figured the dairy companies must simply have some pretty fat margins. Then one day I got a job as a Senior Brand Manager at a dairy company in charge of - you guessed it! Cheese. That's when I found out that the only thing fat about cheese manufacturing was the cheese itself. Just the fact that many cheeses need to age for up to two years in a controlled refrigerated environment hikes the cost way up.

This got me to thinking that maybe you too wonder what's behind our prices. Bemz pricing is not at all whimsical. It's based on some very logical factors that directly impact manufacturing costs. I thought why not share a little from behind-the-scenes and share these factors with you and hopefully enlighten you to the reasoning behind our prices:

What affects the cost of a slipcover?

The amount of fabric needed: Some slipcovers, like the Klippan, have only one straight-forward cover whereas others, like the Tomelilla has a cover for the body of the sofa as well as many individual cushions to be covered. The more cushions, the more detail, the more fabric. The more fabric, the greater the basic cost.

The type of fabric: We try to offer our customers a wide range of fabrics from which to choose to suit a variety of tastes and budgets. 100% cotton fabrics cost less to manufacture than linen / cotton blended fabrics and they in turn cost less than 100% linen textiles. Also, solid printed fabrics require less work to manufacture than patterned ones and this too is reflected in the price of the product.

Craftsmanship: They say the devil's in the detail and although craftsmanship goes into every one of our products, some slipcover designs have more details than others. For example, our new Loose Fit - Country style slipcovers are not only made from our very exclusive Rosendal fabrics which are 100% Belgian linen but they are also pre-washed to give them their beautiful vintage look; they are treated to prevent shrinkage; the fabric is cut by hand; the pleats are sewn by hand; and, we’ve added other design details like armrest covers and bows rather than zips to ensure we properly emulate that rustic chic look our customers were after. These details are obviously more labor intensive but the look is also bang-on.

Behind-the-scenes: Perhaps even less obvious are the details that go into being able to actually manufacture a slipcover, details like hand pattern matching and textile identification (it's a lot harder than you think to find exclusive, top quality fabrics that are also machine washable!) as well as fabric development and design.

One-by-one production: One of the most important factors that impacts the Bemz manufacturing process is that each and every Bemz slipcover sold is sewn to order to custom-fit the sofa or chair for which it is intended. By only making the slipcovers you order we are able to offer over 130 fabrics in three different styles (custom-fit; loose fit; mix and match) for over 120 different products. That's mass customization not mass production - and it shows in the end product.

Despite all these variables that play a part in the making of a slipcover, we still aim to bring top quality custom-made covers to our customers at as low as possible a price. For example, we recently managed to introduce several serious cuts to shipping costs which were passed directly onto you, our customers. The same kind of consideration and dedication is put into product pricing reviews. So now that you know what goes into a Bemz cover, aren't you glad you decided to go with us?

Topping up the Clearance Corner

Visit our Clearance Corner before Sunday, June 20th and you may be able to bag a slipcover with up to 70% off the original price. We've just added a whole collection of products so there’s plenty to choose from.

Plus, as these covers are already made, delivery times are considerably shorter too: about two weeks from the time you place your order.

Hurry to the Clearance Corner to see if we have the cover you've been looking for!

As with any sale goods, there’s a no return policy for slipcovers bought through the Clearance Corner.

Decorating with linens

Photo c/o Bemz

Linen is definitely a summer favorite so these exciting ways of incorporating this cool fabric into your home come in the nick.

Photo c/o Bemz

Photo c/o Bemz

Simple seating: Create cool contrast by upholstering smart chairs in rustic linen. The result is effortless!

If you're looking to make it a little more playful, add stenciling for a personal touch. Here, they've used bright poppy shades to lift the natural textures and matched it to other accessories for extra impact. Top tip: to avoid messy edges when stenciling, don't overload your brush and always use stippling action rather than strokes.

Photo c/o Bemz

Linen mix: Linen works equally well on upholstered made-to-fit pieces as well as on easy relaxed loose covers. Modernize the look by choosing vibrant shades.

Photo, right c/o Bemz

Luxe paneling: Bring paneling up to date by using pleated linen below dado height. Design trick: For paneling, staple a length of fabric at one end, top and bottom, then pleat and staple, pleat and staple all the way along.

Chic upholstery: Look at how glamorous this glossy linen looks as an upholstered headboard. The plain color gives it a chic look and it's made even more sophisticated with buttoning and by taking the headboard up high.

Layered texture: Layer linen strips of different lengths to add a new dimension to a lamp shade, sticking them at the top and finishing with ribbon. Pick up the colors of the walls and furniture for cohesion.

Patchwork frame: To enjoy a range of linens in one contained hit, cover a mirror or picture frame with strips in favorite colors and textures. Create rough seams for a relaxed look or neat ones for a smarter feel.

Light-diffusing sheers: Add soft, dreamy light to a room with layers of linen at the window. Choose one panel, such as this roman blind, in a modern, bold print.

Credit and photos (unless otherwise indicated): Livingetc, issue June, 2010