It's a cover-up

Everything you wanted to know about IKEA, but were afraid to ask

The New Yorker magazine recently published an exhaustive list of facts and figures, along with a bit of dirt, on our favourite Swedish giant. Written by Lauren Collins and entitled House Perfect, the article was as informative as it was amusing. I fancied myself a bit of an expert on IKEA before reading the article but there were some pretty amazing facts in there. I'll highlight the ones I liked the best here.

Photo c/o New Yorker

The best of the funny facts, the so-called "dirt":

• "One in ten Europeans is conceived in an IKEA bed.".
• "Americans keep sofas longer than they keep cars, and change dining-room tables about as often as they trade spouses".
• There is an "Official IKEA Is Hell on Earth" Facebook group.
• So many middle-aged singles were congregating in a Shanghai IKEA in recent months that management were forced to cordon off the area and designate it "match-making corner".
• The Market Hall is unofficially referred to as the "Open the Wallet section" of the store.
• Inside the IKEA museum, there is a filing cabinet storing unfortunate IKEA product names, including ANIS, DICK, FANNY and other words deemed offensive in various languages.
• As reading material, the IKEA catalogue is only slightly less popular than Harry Potter books.
• The Malmo City Theatre premiered "Ingvar! A Musical Furniture Saga." last year.

Photo c/o New Yorker

The best of the facts and figures:

• IKEA has 326 stores in 38 countries.
• IKEA offers more than 9000 products, divided into four "Style groups": Traditional, Scandinavian, Modern, and Popular.
• According to one executive, the company's vision is "to create a better life for the many".
• Cots are the ticket to building a lifelong relationship with core customers according to an internal report.
• All price tags should aim to the left in IKEA stores.
• The capital of IKEA is Almhult, a small village in the south of Sweden.
• Ingvar Kamprad is 85.
• The first IKEA store was opened in 1953.
• The name IKEA is an acronym: the I is for Ingvar, the K for Kamprad - the first and last names of the store's founder, the E is for Elmtaryd, the name of the farm where he grew up, and the A for Agunnaryd.
• The first store to open outside Sweden was in Oslo in 1963.
• In 1973, German executives opened a new store in Konstanz when they meant to open it in Koblenz.
• IKEA's corporate culture centre is called Tillsammans which means together in Swedish.
• IKEA is the world's third largest consumer of wood.
• The LACK table and the BILLY bookshelf are IKEA's most iconic products.
• IKEA invented flat-packed furniture in 1951.
• 197 million IKEA catalogues in 29 languages and 61 editions were printed last year.
• Recently (on the back of criticism), the IKEA foundation pledged to donate $62 million over three years to help Somali refugees in Kenya.

Photo c/o Mister Ian

And finally, did you know that:

• Bookcases get their names from occupations, curtains from mathematics and bathroom products from lakes and rivers?
• IKEA's designer begin with a price on their brief and work from there?
• Amy Poehler once said that IKEA is Swedish for "argument"?

And, as a parting note, my favourite quote from the article (only because I could relate so well!) was: ...my parents and I spent a long night trying to assemble an IKEA bookshelf with the guidance of only a stick man with a mute smirk.

Do you have any funny IKEA stories? Share them here: blog [at] bemz [dot] com or post in the comment section.

Cookie knows quality: Ektorp in 100% linen

Animal lovers unite! Many of our customers send us photos of their pets enjoying their new Bemz covers and we love it. We are a pet-friendly workplace, having often been cheered by the sounds of a spright jack russell's nails scrapping the floor or the tiny wheeze of a pug's snore...

So we were very happy to see Lucie of Australia's dog, Cookie, making full use of her new Rosendal Pure Washed linen cover for her Ektorp sofa in 100% Unbleached linen. 

Isn't Cookie sweet? The Unbleached linen is a beautiful backdrop to Lucie's colourful and eclectic aboriginal inspired art and accessories. These loose fitting linen covers work beautifully in shabby chic inspired decors as well as the kind of rustic chic decor Lucie has in her home.

Lucie wrote: Here are some pictures of my new sofa covers - they are just devine... i'm thrilled with them and so is Cookie my dog! Thank you! Thank you Lucie, for sharing your home and your lovely Cookie with us.

If, like Lucie, you have a Bemz cover, share it with us! Send me a photo or two to blog [at] bemz [dot] com or upload it to our Facebook page. 

Design-It-Yourself: Doily Lampshade

Here is a great example of how to upcycle, which is where you take an obsolete or discarded object and you give it greater value (whether monetary or functional). It is all the rage - not only because it is kind to our Earth but also because it results in unique and very personal creations. Like!

Here, Timothy of Handmadeology has transformed lace doilies into a stunning, contemporary pendant shade.

What a beautiful result! Please visit the link for exact instructions but I'll provide a short recap here.

For this project you will need:
- cornstarch
- a completely round balloon, the size of shade you want (or a ball?)
- thread
- twine
- drop cloth
- white glue
- paintbrush
- petroleum jelly
- lamp kit
- 24+ doilies
- stiffening agent

Sew the doilies together over the balloon, allowing them to overlap in a haphazard way.

Leave a spot for the bulb socket. Timothy used twine as pictured above.

Sew doilies around ¾ of the balloon and sew the last ¼ separately as you will join them later.

Put your drop sheet down and hang your balloon over it. This is when it gets messy! Here, they used a pipe across the kitchen counters to hang their balloon.

Cover the balloon in petroleum jelly (to stop the doilies sticking - don't be kinky!), then prepare the following mixture: 5 oz of glue with 4 tbsp of cornstarch and ¼ cup of warm water together until it’s not lumpy. Once it's smooth start painting it onto the inside of your sewn doilies. Try not to use more than half as you'll need the rest to paint the outside of the doilies - once you've placed the two pieces on the balloon, lined them up and sewn them together.

Leave it to dry for 24 hours then pop your balloon! Use a clear coat of stiffening agent on the inside and out and let that dry. After about three hours your new pendant is ready. Attach the lamp kit and voila!

I've also seen lampshades of a similar style made from twine and hemp, or a little trickier from playing cards and soda tabs.

Credit: all photos, except last 4, and instructions via Handmadeology

Books to Inspire: Alvar Aalto Houses

Finnish Alvar Aalto is perhaps best known for creating stunning glassware, furniture and textiles, which are still sought-after pieces today. From his iconic vase to his cantilevered birch wood chairs, we see his creations everywhere. But did you know he was an architect?

Alvar Aalto Houses by Jari and Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen, presents 26 innovative single family homes built according to his designs between the 20s and the 60s. These were built in Finland, Estonia and France and are still considered architectural gems today.

With a hugely successful career that spanned half a century, Alvar Aalto was one of the 20th century's most important architects. He designed almost 100 houses taking a new and unique approach that cleverly combined modernist principles with traditional Finnish architecture to create a  individual style that is both exclusive and desirable.

What was so unique about Alvar Aalto's approach in architecture was that he and his wife Aino Aalto, also an architect, saw it as a complete body of art. Their designs progressed beyond the shell of the building to demand special treatments to interior surfaces as well, including furniture, lamps, furnishings and glassware. It is this holistic approach to his works that made him so successful and his works so instantly recognisable.

"There is an ulterior motive, too, in architecture, which is always peeping out from around the corner, the idea of creating paradise. It is only purpose of our buildings. If we do not carry this idea with us the whole time all our buildings would be simpler, more trivial and life would become - well, would life amount to anything at all? Every building, every work of architecture, is a symbol which has the aspiration to show that we want to build a paradise on earth for ordinary mortals." - Alvar Aalto

Even the Alvar Aalto museum showcasing his works was designed by the man himself. Truly holistic.

It's the Simple Life for this Ektorp

We get so many lovely photos sent to us from happy Bemz customers - it is a pleasure to see them and to share them with you. This one comes to us from Arto in Finland who chose a cover in Soft White for his Ektorp.

The look is one of subtle sophistication with somewhat of a coastal theme set by the starred cushion. It definitely has that warm and inviting Scandinavian feel to it and reminds me very much of our Simple Life Lifestyle. 

Arto writes: We are happy with our new cover.

Kiitos Arto for sharing your lovely home with us! If you have a Bemz cover, please send a photo along to me at blog [at] bemz [dot] com or upload it directly onto our Facebook page.

Visit the Bemz Inspiration Store

With our total website revamp and our very exciting entry into a new room in the home - the bedroom - the Inspiration Store was transformed to reflect our recent changes. As Bemz is a global company and more importantly perhaps, an online company, we realise that many of you are not able to visit our Inspiration Store in person. For that reason we are bringing it to you here.

That's the street view into the store.

A Stockholm sofa in Tegner Melange Ink Blue with cushions in Designers Guild's Coconut Grove and Castellar Indigo.

Another designer fabric - Salamander by Bantie - adorns the sofa in the forefront here on the left, and another from their collection - Kokeshi - can just be seen at the back. The store has various sections displaying different colour palettes as we have found that that is generally the way our customers shop. Here we are looking at the reds.

More by Bantie. That is a stunning cushion in Flamingo Park Fuchsia by Designers Guild on the Henriskdal barstool in the back in the photo on the left.

There's a bedcover from our new bedroom collection. 

If you would like to see more there was an interview with Bemz founder and CEO Lesley from the Inspiration Store launch, or stop in for a quick tour here, or why not enjoy its various facelifts here, here and here.

Design-It-Yourself: Ikea Rast dresser Part II

I recently posted on how to transform the lowly Rast dresser, a budget option chest of drawers - even for IKEA - into a stunning and unique piece you can call your own. The inspirational ideas predominantly came from a variety of lovely and creative bloggers. Well lo' and behold - even IKEA themselves are spouting ways of doing this! Here are some more Rast transformations coming straight from the proverbial horse's mouth: found on IKEA's own Swedish blog Livet Hemma (which means Life at Home).

Here's a Rast turned retro using decoupage and leather handles. The old pieces of newspaper were fixed to the dresser using wallpaper paste and the strips of leather stapled to the inside. The leather will wear and colour with time which will only add to the beauty of the piece. Well done Ikea!

A couple of coats of paint, stenciled numbers, a final layer of wax and black knobs gave this Rast an industrial chic look.

And perhaps a more straightforward transformation thanks to a few shades of grey, this Rast has a contemporary and classic look. There's something about grey - it works in so many style schemes. Unfortunately, they did not divulge their solution for opening the drawers as they have not used knobs. Hmmm.

This one comes from a house visit on their blog. It was an interesting article about how to introduce and blend a variety of patterns in your home. This is evident even in the way the owners approached their Rast transformation. Despite the differing patterns, the bohemian metamorphosis is successful thanks to the use of similar style of florals with a shared colour palette as base.

And this one, revamped with a lick of white paint and lovely child-friendly patterned paper, was submitted by a customer - made for their son's room!

Another customer's creative solution for their child's room. I love this animal print - it is so happy.

Have you transformed a Rast? Share it! Send a photo to me at blog [at] bemz [dot] com. If you are looking for ideas on how to personalise a piece of furniture, please be sure to follow our Design-It-Yourself series. you can find more inspiration ideas and photos on revamping dressers here and here. 

Grassy Kramfors makes a great Playground

Kicki of Sweden's living room is vibrant, inviting and playful. She chose a Grass Green slipcover form Bemz for her modular Kramfors sofa from Ikea.

The deep, crisp green paired with splashes of vibrant colour, like the purple carpet and pink and purple cushions, set against white walls creates a clean, fresh decor. Is that a turntable I see on the side table? How very vintage and chic! It's these kinds of details, featuring 70s inspired alongside contemporary, that give the room its own identity and make it the welcoming home it is. Very Playground. I love the big red apple cushion!

Kicki said (translated): I am very pleased!

Tack Kicki! If, like Kicki, you have a Bemz cover share it with us. Send a photo along to me at blog [at] bemz [dot] com or upload it directly to our Facebook page.

Trend alert: from London Design Festival 2011

What can we expect for the rest of 2011 design-wise, you ask? What better place to look than one of the hottest design highlights on the calendar: the London Design Festival. 

There were more than 200 exhibitors from around the world at this year's Tent London, one of the largest design trade shows taking place during the London Design Festival, which boasts the very latest in contemporary interior products - furniture, lighting, ceramics, textiles, materials and accessories. Just up our alley!

And from it four clear trends remained apparent: retro modern, wood, 3D/geometrics and playful. Nothing strikingly new but slightly tweaked indeed.

Retro modern has been in the spotlight for a while now and our love for it shows no signs of waning. The reason? There is so much room for interpretation in this style! The latest twist being brought to the forefront is one that we love: Gustavian Elegance. Be still our Bemz beating hearts!

Ektorp sofa in Gustavian Flowers from Bemz

Give that lovely, ornate and over-the-top Louis XIV style a touch of that clean, sleek and minimal Scandinavian design and you've got the Kings of Sweden in the 1700s, and the the root of the design term Gustavian. Introduce it today, paired with contemporary pieces and their pared-back opulence and muted colours scream style and function.

A Twist on Tweed: When I say tweed, does it conjure an image of an old man smoking a pipe in a darkened library? Tweeds are rooted in tradition and used to be a tad drab but manufacturers have broken away from that stayed image by introducing their tartans in a myriad of colours. There's nothing old-fashioned or stayed about a vibrant and intense purple, is there?

Grimen bed frame cover in Frescati Plaid Grey from Bemz

Introducing these rich and tactile fabrics into your home in unexpected ways also helps bring them up-to-date. Layer them using different scales from a single palette to make a wonderful impression.

1930s Drama: We love the fact that this sexy, feminine, curved and voluptuous style is finding its way back into our hearts and homes. Everything about it is soft, curvaceous and sensual. It's taking all that modern bling and giving it a sophisticated and elegant edge.

Nils chairs in Sybary Charcoal Grey, New Baroque Chocolate Brown, Hounds Tooth Dusty Rose and Aubergine from Bemz

This is a tactile style, where textured fabrics really come into their own. Stick with sophisticatedly deep and rich colours, add a dash of sparkle and remember above all else, glamour, and this contemporary style will be yours.

Playful indeed: This is where we don't take ourselves too seriously and introduce a bit of fun and tongue-in-cheek humour into our decor. And why not? Embrace the fantasy, the surreal and imaginative. Can you spot the 21st century danger hidden among the fruit?

This style embraces a spectrum of happy colours and daring patterns where design and functionality play equal parts and curiosities have a happy place in the home.

Credit and photos, except where otherwise indicated: House to Home

Guaranteed sweet dreams

Grimen bed frame cover in Unbleached Belgian Linen Blend from Bemz

With the launch of our brand new bedroom collection, and the promise of more to come, we felt the need to focus on how to slumber in style. Here's your style-guide to bedroom must-haves and the latest in bedroom trends, and, of course, the requisite pretty pictures to inspire!

First thing's first, we have to get ourselves ready: with a beautiful dressing gown to go over our silk pyjamas.

Don't forget slippers and eye mask...

 

Photo: Ben Anders

Up the luxury-factor when getting cozy by choosing tactile options like this velvet hot water bottle and cashmere bed socks.

 

Now let's get into the details that will make your bedroom truly yours.

Photo: House to home

There's a plethora of rugs out there to choose from and they're a wonderful way to help define the style of your room.

A nightstand can be traditional or you can think out of the box to really add your own personal touch. This Tolix stool would make a beautiful nightstand and if that's too contemporary, you could always go for something a little softer. Or put your hand at making your own.

Bedside lamps are a great way to add style without sacrificing on function. I love Original BTC lamps but there's always a budget option.

And you will need a clock - why not go retro modern? And a water carafe - whether for you or for your flowers.

What about bedding?

Bed skirt with pleats and Bådalen headboard cover in Mocha Belgian Linen from Bemz

There are lovely headboard covers and bedframe covers available in about 150 fabric choices from Bemz. If you don't have an Ikea bed, there's always the option of a bedskirt which will fit any manufacturer's bed.

Florö bed frame cover in Soft White Belgian Linen Blend from Bemz

There are designer sheets, I especially love the ones from Pip Studio, and quilts.

You will need a mirror...

An upscale scented oval to hang in your closet or throw in a drawer and requisite candles add atmosphere.

 

Photo: Ben Anders

And of course, no bedroom would be complete without plenty of throw cushions to ensure comfort and style.

Left: Florö bed frame cover in Stockholm Stripe Jet Black and cushions in Grass Green, Sun Yellow, Daquiri Green, Soft White and Gotland Stripe Silver Grey. Right: Florö bed frame cover in Lisa Bengtsson Sir Harald and cushions in Stockholm Stripe Candy Pink, Stockholm Stripe Jet Black, Vanilla Yellow in Belgian Linen Blend, Panama Cotton Candy Pink. All from Bemz.

Photo: Ben Anders

What bedroom buys have we missed that you feel are essential to ensure a stylish slumber?

Credit: Livingetc November 2011 issue