It's a cover-up

Sitting pretty in Poland

Thank you to Magda of Poland who sent in this photo of her Tomelilla newly recovered in Ash Brown.

Magda writes: Many thanks for the beautiful slipcover for my old Tomelilla. I have been looking for new slipcover for a long time before I had found Bemz website. Then it took me some time to choose the color and fabrics but when my sofa finally got the new cover I really can't stop looking on it , looks great (I choose ash brown). 

You too can share photos of your home with others by sending them along to me at blog[at]bemz[dot]com or by posting it on our Facebook page.

These are odd birds

Karin put me onto these guys, Oddbirds, after seeing some of their stuff recently at Formex. I love that lamp!

Aside from having totally quirky-cool and utterly unique pieces, they also share the same philosophy as we do at Bemz: they sell what they consider to be "incomplete" products. They leave room for your personal input and own creative flair to ensure the final crowning glory is yours.

Some of the Oddbirds products that immediately caught my eye:

You can check out their full range on their website.

And speaking of Formex, Lesley gave a talk there again this year. 

Following on nicely from last year's talk The E-Commerce Revolution she gave the aptly named: The E-Commerce Revolution Part 2- The impact of Social Media Social Media is the new buzz on the Internet- what is it? Is it really relevant? How does it affect you in the retail industry? 

Well done Lesley.

$26 make-over

Came across this fantastic make over while perusing the virtual world. Lauren, author and owner of Observations of an Occasional Artist as well as the room pictured, picked herself up a cowhide rug and realized that her new find didn't fit in with the rest of her room... So she changed it.

Before...

And after:

She replaced the lampshade and cushion covers and voila! A whole new room, a make-over priced at $26 total! I think the first picture's a tad dark as I don't believe she changed the slipcovers but she does write:

Did I ever mention the slipcovers for my sofa? They're from Bemz, a Swedish company that sells a huge variety of covers made to fit your IKEA furniture. So instead of black, white, or black & white floral, which were my IKEA choices, I now have Aubergine. Bemz is awesome.

Thanks Lauren. We think you're pretty awesome too!

Good start to 2010

By day two of 2010 Bemz had made the press. Thanks to Cincinnati.com for including a Bemz slipcover as one of the easy and affordable solutions for a single dad to turn his new pad into a cozy home for himself and his two teenage boys. We were also mentioned in SFGate.com of the San Fransisco Chronicle twice! And elsewhere in the world, French Décotidien highlighted our new Downtown fabrics, Frescati and Tegnér. Merci beaucoup. Swedish Text 100: Stockholm was enamored by our keenness in connecting with our customers on many social levels while Trendgruppen and Design Delight were more enamored by our Inspiration Store. Blogger Agneta just got stuck in and ordered a new cover. Tack alla ni :) 

Thanks are also due to Redo Your Decor with ra reDoes rooms for the very kind shout out on Facebook and for having us as one of your faves. M2JL::Studio included us as did Polyvore in some pre-holiday posts.

And most recently, Bemz was included in designer Alykhani Velji's list of green solutions on how to treat under appreciated household items to a makeover in Canadian New Home Living magazine as well as Snapnews' 60 ways to beat the credit crunch. Thank you everyone!

You're welcome Iro Ivy

Iro Ivy was one of the entries featured in our Crafty Christmas post. As thanks she, along with the other entrants, received a cushion cover from Bemz which Sara picked out. Iro then featured this photo on Flickr. Thanks!

Stay tuned, as Iro Ivy is also going to guest write a blog post for us.

Design time goes global

Photos: imm cologne

This time of year is busy for anyone working in the world of design. Karin and Sara are, at this very moment, exploring the inner workings of Interior Design Week Köln at PASSAGEN – an exhibition event focusing on current trends in design with 190 designers and businesses participating around town, as well as the more formal imm cologne which showcases home interiors of the future.

Photos: Formex

Next on the calendar is Formex, the largest trade fair for Nordic interior design, where Bemz in partnership with Nespresso will host a café with free coffee and lounge chairs. The fair's theme this year is creative flow and our in-house designers, Kata and Lisbeth have created a few central pieces for the café to reflect this theme. If you are around, drop in and put your feet up.

Photo: Maison et objet

Jet off to the capital of fashion, gaie Paris, for Maison et Objet, the show for home fashion, held from January 22-26 and honoring 10 top designers of the past decade including Philippe Starck. Lesley will be there on the 25th but back in Stockholm in time to give her talk at the Spread Your Wings seminar put on by 4good. She's been dubbed the Sunshine Story for the event.

Photo: Furniture Fair 2010

Finally, the Stockholm Furniture Fair in conjunction with Design Week Stockholm rounds up the first part of 2010 in design. Much like the format ongoing in Cologne right now, The Stockholm Furniture Fair is the main meeting place for Nordic design open to the public (and has guest of honor Sir Paul Smith in attendance). All the while, Design Week sees showrooms, museums, galleries and furniture stores compete for public attention with special exhibits and events all over the city. If you are around, include the Bemz Inspiration Store on your list of places to visit. More to come!

Ben goes stripy over black and white

Ben of the Netherlands sent in this photo of his home, redone in Stockholm Stripe- Jet Black.

Ben has done a fantastic job making the black and white combo work for him. This room looks stunning and contemporary without sacrificing on warmth and snugness. It may feel pretty daring to paint a wall black but just look at how wonderfully it has worked here - it helped pull the room together and hasn't made it feel dark at all. The white lanterns on the window sill bring a touch of the exotic to the room while the simple wood floor keeps it warm. Well done Ben!

If, like Ben, you are proud of the look you have achieved and would like to share it with others, please send a photo or two along to me at blog[at]bemz[dot]com or post it on our Facebook page.

To pipe or not to pipe

Following on our "personalizing your home" ambition, we have added some new details for you to play with when ordering a cover from Bemz to help you get just the look you are after. Last November, we launched the medium-length skirt for the Henriksdal chair (pictured left), a product available exclusively at Bemz. Now we have introduced the option of piping to two of our armchair covers: the Jennylund and the Tullsta, which means you can now choose to have your chair cover with or without piping detail.

While we were at it, we also added Ikea's Allerum sofa bed, the Backamo 3-seater sofa and an oblong cushion cover to the range of covers available through bemz.com. The Strömstad line now includes the 2-seater sofa, the corner module has supplemented the Falsterbo collection and the footstool has been added to the gamut of Karlstads.

Unfortunately many of these are not yet available to test drive online as we prioritize making the new products available to you over getting the technology in place, but it'll be coming soon! In the meantime, get ready by ordering your swatches.

People in glass houses...

Shouldn't throw stones as the old adage goes but this is taking it to whole new literal level!

This glass house is only a concept designed by Carlo Santambrogio and Ennio Arosio of Santambrogiomilano who have previously designed glass furniture that is either partially made of glass to fit in a glass environment or made entirely out of glass.

 

The pictures are stunning and the idea is beautiful but you couldn't be a prude and live there! I love the utter contrast of the über modern home and style planted smack dab in the middle of nature. Somehow, that's what makes it work.

I can just see the real estate listing now: "360 degree views..."

Credit: Freshhome

Crafty Christmas

As craft is officially cool, we asked our Facebook fans to show us some of their home-brewed Christmas decorations and here are the really great entries:

This from Kathleen Smith who says: My Christmas craft is my tree. I made it with a spiral plastic tree (the kind you buy for your front yard) and feather boas! Ingenious and very festive.

Both of Iro Ivy's entries are worth their moment in the spotlight:

...let it snow! I always dreamed of having a real Christmas tree decorated by snow...This year it is happening....so so happy that I returned home today after a lovely lunch and found this....: ).....: ).....: )...love the simple things in life... : )

....some of my creative moments this Christmas so far....almost everything of the decor is handcrafted by me. Some of them are also available in my Etsy shop and others are on their way there. Hope you enjoy! Best wishes to all : ) : ) 

Jenna's was probably the most original!

Here's my Cool Craft (really it's a geek craft). The blinky computer Christmas wreath! (It lights up and blinks, although that's difficult to get in a picture).

Each of these ladies has a gift from Bemz on its way to them. Thanks everyone for your inspirational entries!