October 2015 - Comfort Works Blog & Sofa Resources

7 little known facts about IKEA!

Posted on October 31, 2015April 28, 2025 by Chris

Gather around folks, and let’s play a game of guess the fact. We’ve made slipcovers for many IKEA sofas, but never explored the rich history of this company.

Currently we have 7 of these but hope to grow this list even further, so do let us know if we missed out anything :)

1. Umbrellas are priced differently depending on the weather

That’s right. On rainy days, umbrellas are half off; and on hot, sunny days the price doubles!

2. The POÄNG armchair is 38 years old

A few more years and it’ll be old enough to be your granddad! Designed by a man called Noboru Nakamura in 1977 with the goal of creating an “armchair for life”, it was renamed from POEM to the now eternal POÄNG in 1992.

3. IKEA beds didn’t sell at all in the US until they changed one small thing

Americans were confused at numbers like “160 cm” on the label of the beds, hence they hesitated on buying. Once IKEA switched to Queen and King sizing, sales more than doubled.

4. IKEA-ville is real and under construction in London!

3D Render of Strand East, by IKEA

Strand East is the name of this new township, which covers 26 acres and will feature shops, schools, hotels and flat-packed houses. That’s right, the BoKlock house will be the main residences here. IKEA isn’t planning on selling them either, but merely renting them out.

5. There’s an IKEA museum in Amhult containing a file cabinet with rejected IKEA names

Snippets include ANIS, FANNY, GUTVIK (only if you sprechen Deutsche). No, we’re not making this up.

6. IKEA claims to have run the first ever ad featuring a gay couple in 1994!

Called “Dining Room”, it was part of the Lifestyle campaign IKEA launched in 1993. The ad was inspired by actual IKEA customers who visited a store in New Jersey. According to art director Patrick O’Neil, IKEA “believed in it from the beginning. They were never nervous about it.”

7. IKEA is actually Dutch

You’d think that they would be Swedish right?

The Kamprad family owns IKEA through a complex network of companies which ends in a non-profit, tax-exempt, Dutch stichtingen entity. The end result: €19m paid in tax on their combined profits of €553m in 2004.

Takeaway

I would end with a brief mention on how slipcoverable IKEA sofas are, but you already knew that didn’t you ;) So let me know your favourite IKEA facts or tricks in the comments, hopefully you’ve learned something new to impress your friends with!

Sources:
The Economist, The IKEA Story: Ingvar Kamprad Talks to Bertil Torekull, Spiegel, New Yorker, AdWeek

DIY tufted sofas and headboards with Comfort Works’ couch tufting kit

Posted on October 28, 2015April 28, 2025 by Chuck

Ain’t she a beauty? Everything you need in a single, beautiful Linen “Wallet” to get awesome tufted headboards and sofas.

The Tufting kit includes:
– 1 Upholstery Needle
– 1 White Chalk
– 1 Measuring Tape
– 1 Upholstery Twine
– 1 Small pair of Scissors
– 12 Fabric Covered Custom Buttons

So about a year ago we were inspired by a couple that does DIY stuff for their home — you might know their blog: honeybadgerhome.com

We came across their tufting hack blog post which helped them save a thousand bucks. Yes – $1,000.

Here’s the look that they were going for:

That was a Crate and Barrel Petrie Sofa costing $1,699. Here’s what they got at the end:

It definitely looks better than something that costs $1,699 wouldn’t you agree? :)

Needless to say we realized that there will be other people searching for the same tufting materials so that can have tufted sofas, headboards, etc.

And so we started researching, sourcing and designing till we were able to recreate what this couple had done – into your very own DIY Tufting Kit — all just for $69.

Then we had to do a little bit of testing, have a look at our very first guinea pig – our office Kivik 1 seater:

The slipcover material here is actually felt, which is a work in progress and we’re still trying to figure out what colours to get. If you are looking for something in particular, this is your chance to leave a comment down below to tell us what you’d like to see from us in the future! :)

Did I mention that I’m a pretty decent Ukulele player? Sommm.. wheeerrr.. o-ver the rainbow~

The Kino Charcoal buttons look a little different here, but they still complement the dark grey felt slipcover very well as seen above.

And that was when we thought, “Hey, how about we ask some of our customers to try getting some stuff tufted with our custom tufting kit?”

So it happened — A recent customer (Ashley from BiggerThanTheThreeOfUs) of ours actually tested it out and documented the entire thing here:

It really makes our hearts all warm and fuzzy inside when we see how creative people can get with the little things that they’re given. Here are a few more inspirational photos:

The possibilities are endless so who knows what’s coming next — to get your own tufting kit with 50+ different button options, clicky here: Buy Tufting Kit

Let us know, in the comment section below!

Hack the IKEA KALLAX – With replacement IKEA sofa legs

Posted on October 24, 2015April 28, 2025 by Chris

Give everyone’s favourite shelving unit legs, with this simple guide! We’re hacking the IKEA Kallax with replacement IKEA sofa legs today, and it’s going to be perfect for that mid-century Scandinavian look you have going in your living room.

(Note: our replacement sofa legs also fit on many IKEA sofas including the Karlstad, Klippan, Klobo, Soderhamn, Harnosand, Sater, Stockholm, Strandmon, Landskrona and Norsborg sofas. They’re pre-installed with M8 bolts so just twist off your old legs and put these on.)

Here’s a sneak peek of the finished product from your favourite custom slipcover maker:

Alright enough teasing. Here’s what you’ll need:

1) Replacement mid-century sofa legs

2) Furniture leg attachment plates

3) Power drill

Got everything? Good!

You’ll want to use the power drill and fix the metal plate attachments to the underside corners of the Kallax, basically where you’d like the legs to be attached. To do this, use a 4mm timber drill bit to pre-drill your holes for your screws. Don’t go too deep though.

Quick tip: pre-mark your drill holes using a pencil and the attachment plate for easier drilling!

After that, go wild! Remember to drill at a 90° angle, and be gentle with the 4mm bit!

Here’s an idea of what it should look like when you’re done:

There you go and congratulations on your hack! If you enlisted help, make sure to buy him a beer for the work – and let us know what other DIY miracles you’ve performed as well!

Happy hacking :)

P.S. A kitchen Benchtop from IKEA was stacked on top of the Kallax with 6 Phillip screws (5cm/2.5″ in length) drilled in to secure it – kindly note that this was a quick method so we wouldn’t recommend this if you’d like to finish with more finesse.

Photo credits to;:
Amazon, DJTechTools, HelloHarriet

These bloggers have beautiful IKEA living spaces

Posted on October 4, 2015April 29, 2025 by Felicia

The web is a major source of inspiration and there’s nothing more I like to do in our down time (well, aside from eating ice cream, watching TV, shopping, etc) than stalking DIY and decor bloggers online and obsessing over their amazing living spaces. What’s more captivating, is their keen sense of aesthetics using IKEA products – would definitely advise to have your Pinterest extension ready if you haven’t.

I’ve managed to narrow down my top five favourites below:

Liz Marie Blog

Liz Marie’s super cool living room is anchored by her lovely IKEA Ektorp sofas and done in a neutral palette. Piled with throw pillows and a woven carpet underfoot, it looks like the perfect recipe for a lazy afternoon with a good book. Liz Marie is an interior designer and antique collector; and I love how her living room encapsulates her interests in a nutshell. More pictures with a detailed breakdown of the pros and cons of her IKEA Ektorp sofas can be found on her blog.

Liz Marie Ektorp Sofas — Beautiful neutral colours blended nicely from sofa to rug

Loving the proportions of each piece of furniture.

Retreat

There’s an elegant simplicity to photographer Emma Gutteridge’s hacked IKEA Karlstad 2 seater. She says her living room is small and it’s difficult to get far back enough to take a good picture, but you’d never guess that! Emma’s blog is mostly focused on wholesome, simple living and sustainable home products, and this aesthetic is represented clearly in her living space.

Just look at the sofa legs and tufted cushions, who would even guess that it’d be IKEA? A light-filled room, a cup of warm tea – you can feel it already, can’t you?

Emma’s style is mid-century modern and skandi-chic.

Veronika’s Blushing

The pictures below presents a strong case for a living room with high ceilings – look at how the long IKEA Ritva curtains balance out the low, horizontal lines of the couch! Veronika blogs mostly about fashion, beauty and style with an enviably beautiful home to boot! Her open plan living room looks both luxurious and cosy and I’m also loving the IKEA Latt table in the kids’ corner.

Light, airy linen curtains complement the lush velvet textures of the rest of the room. A living room isn’t just for adults – check out the kids’ corner!

The Makerista

But wait… are those Billy bookshelves? I didn’t believe it until I saw pictures of the project in progress. Gwen is a stay-at-home mom-slash-DIY blogger extraordinaire who took on the project of revamping her friend’s living room and she did a phenomenal job. The challenge was to maintain the historical aspect of the home while adding a more modern character to the living area.

It’s especially wonderful how a traditionally budget-friendly item like the Billy can be used to lend a contemporary feel to the room and the library ladder lends an rustic element to the otherwise elegant, bold elements in the rest of the living room. Check out how it was done over at Makerista.

DIY meets classic elegance in this remodelled historical home.

Lovelies In My Life

Recently, Kirsty transformed her Soderhamn sectional with a new slipcover and the results are spectacular. I’m loving the wonderful openness of the space and how the colour theme ties together so nicely. It’s just the perfect, cosy family room.

That sums up my current obsessions in a neat little package for living room inspiration. Do you know any other super amazing Ikea living rooms from around the Internet? Share it with us in the comment section below!