My Ektorp Sofas Get a Luxurious Ikea Hack from BEMZ
February 17, 2017 |
| BEMZ Belgian Linen Slipcover on Ikea Ektorp Sofa |
then you know I just returned from Arizona,
where my family resides and where we bought
a love shack of a fixer upper no. 2
(a way easier DIY makeover
than the Chicagoland fixer upper!!).
 |
| Hello Lovely Arizona Fixer Upper! |
While my time was limited for renovation
projects this visit, it was exciting
to open a big box of slipcover goodness
from Bemz Design
to transform two Ektorp sofas from Ikea.
Bemz invited me to select a fabric from their
lovely collection to have custom covers created
for the Ikea Ektorp sofas we purchased for the living room.
These are not your run of the mill slipcovers, friends.
Take the Respect collection from Bemz:
They create SUSTAINABLE covers,
where leftover fabrics from the clothing industry are:
collected
sorted by color
shredded
ground into cotton fibers
and
spun into yarn.
Those fibers get mixed with recycled plastic bottles,
and then the yarn is woven into a new textile
for pieces in the Respect collection.
Is all of this soaking in?
Bemz not only takes waste and recycles it into lovely
without using water or dye, but their sustainable
creations then extend the life of Ikea furniture.
The makeover is underway so there aren't
gorgeous finished rooms to share yet of the
desert getaway (which is part investment,
part maybe-retirement-home, and mostly a
toasty lovebungalow to escape the cold), and
today we'll take a peek at progress in the living room
where a dated Southwest styled space is getting its
Euro-Serene-Timeless ON with
a smart furniture extending option!
Below is the BEFORE living room at the fixer upper
with its earthy browns and reds and masculine furniture
from the previous owner.
The floorplan features an open concept for
the living and dining areas, and today's focus
is a simple design enhancement from Bemz
for the living room sofas to provide instant
"ahhhhhhh."
By the way, don't even tryyyy to put a price tag on a peaceful
AHHHHHHH moment...it's money...and capturing it
is what Hello Lovely is all about...it's how
we all want to feel when we arrive home.
Here's another shot of the BEFORE living and dining rooms
when we toured the house.
We're starting completely from scratch for all the
furniture and accessories and bought two
Ikea Ektorp sofas (his and hers!) for two reasons:
Budget and L o u n g i n g lovely...
one for him to stretch out, one for me.
I'm a fan of beachy/casual/white,
and Ektorp sofas have garnered a reputation
for beginning life as a temporary fix
and then lingering as an unexpected informal find.
Here is one of our white Ektorp sofas in the Arizona
living room with newly painted walls
in Sherwin Williams Salute.
 |
| BEFORE |
I'm cool with the white Ektorp covers.
They are good.
They're fine.
But I'm also keen on a luxurious Ikea hack.
So when Bemz came into the picture...
Ya know?
Picking a fabric from Bemz to dress up the Ektorps was easy.
A longtime fan of online shopping, my only worries
were (1) making a good fabric choice and
(2) whether the covers would look as good
in person as on the Bemz website.
 |
| BEMZ Fabric Samples |
and I even took video when I opened up the sample pack here.
(please follow me on IG @hellolovelystudio!)
On the back of each fabric swatch is detailed info
to keep the ordering process organized and easy,
and I couldn't wait to have those babies sewn!
Some of you asked me about Bemz
shipping costs, and here is a link to specifics,
for customers in the USA. Shipping is a flat
rate of $20, and there are no customs and duty fees
tacked on to that for orders $800 and less.
But you'll run into paying fees for
orders above $800 so keep that in mind
when ordering (maybe place multiple orders
to avoid fees that have nothing to do with Bemz?).
 |
| BEMZ fabric samples |
Are you even surprised that I immediately fell for a
natural Belgian Linen fabric from Designer's Guild?
Thick, luxurious, and nubbygood, I knew
its timeless Euro essence would enhance
and help our plain ol' Ektorp sofas live large.
It was tres helpful to be able to see
a rendering of the linen on the Ektorp sofa
on the Bemz site right on my computer screen.
There are all kinds of reasons you might
want to invest in a new cover for Ikea furniture,
and one of mine was design flexibility.
As a creative free spirit, I grow easily
bored and get the itch to change things up
to suit my mood or the season (wanna hear
awesomeness about aging?...there's
no more apologizing for being gifted
with such a spirit).
Classic white sofas work superbly for creating
a coastal, informal, beachy vibe,
yet what a lovely bonus to be able to dress up the
Ektorps in warm, natural, high quality linen
WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT,
WHENEVER I WANT WOW,
WHENEVER I CRAVE LUXURY,
WHICH FOR NOW IS...
A L W A Y S.
Here is a close-up of the Bemz Belgian Linen
custom cover on our sofa:
 |
| Bemz cover on my Ektorp sofa |
It took about 20 minutes to get each cover on properly,
and the hand feel of this linen is heavenly sunshine...
 |
| Dressing the Ektorp in Pretty New Clothes |
 |
| Bemz Belgian Linen from Designer's Guild |
 |
| Hello Lovely Studio |
 |
| AFTER: My kind of Ikea Hack! |
 |
| Hello Lovely Studio |
 |
| AFTER |
 |
| Bemz Cover for Ektorp Sofa |
 |
| Bemz Cover for Ektorp Sofa |
 |
| Bemz Cover for Ikea Ektorp Sofa |
will be returning to the site a week from today!
A big thank you to
TO MY SISTER JO for snapping photos
for this shoot...she is magic.
ANOTHER HUGE SHOUTOUT OF GRATITUDE
TO BEMZ FOR THEIR COMMITMENT TO
SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION...thank you, Bemz,
for caring so much about the earth and recycling.
I am having a blast decorating this Arizona fixer upper,
and I sure hope you stick around for the journey because
the makeover from Southwest Masculine to Euro Serene
will be a dramatic, budget friendly, lovely one.
Peace to you right where you are.
Linking to these lovely bloggers.
Thank you, Bemz, for partnering with me on this story
about creating timeless and tranquil peaceful decor at home.
 |
| Pin this post! |
4 comments
The new slipcovers look divine....wondering how much they cost? We're doing a small fixer upper to escape to as well. You and your blog are much loved.
ReplyDeletethanks, cheri. escapes are awesome! for sofa covers, visit here: https://bemz.com/articles/models/sofa-covers/ since pricing varies with the ikea model and fabric choice. for Ektorp, pricing starts in the $250 range.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how I missed the news about the new "fixer-upper" but is looks fabulous so far! I love these slipcovers!!!!! I cannot wait to see more.
ReplyDeleteit's all my fault, elizabeth. i have been short on time and haven't properly introduced that project! i'm getting there though...stay tuned! xox
DeleteYour comments add to the beauty...thanks in advance for your kindness.