Lounge Makeover with Comfort Works

Crikey, we’re a week into February, and this is my first post of the year – shameful! I’ve been so busy with work, and little projects around the house that I’ve not really done anything blog-worthy for ages – we have finally finished giving our lounge it’s little makeover though. At last!

Until the last couple of years, my interior style used to be ‘more-is-more’. More patterns, more fabrics, more pictures, more lamps, more stuff – if you want to see our lounge from our previous flat, click here (seriously, those pictures make me twitch every time I look at them. So. Many. Things.) and from August last year in our current house, click here (still so much stuff!) I’ve done so many decluttering sessions, I’ve lost count – I’ve finally got to the point where I don’t walk into the room and feel like my things are trying to suffocate me though, so I reckon we’re done!

My favourite thing of all has to be the sofa covers; they were sent to us by the lovely folks at Comfort Works, a small company based in Australia who specialise in making covers for IKEA sofas. We’ve had our Karlstad sofa for about five years now, and it’s wearing incredibly well, so I had no interest in buying a whole new one – by the time I got round to actually thinking about buying new slipcovers (I wanted some lighter ones, to help brighten up our dark lounge), IKEA had stopped selling the sofa, and obviously the replacement covers. So when Comfort Works got in touch and asked if I’d like to try out theirs, I jumped at the chance.

Firstly, I’ve got to comment on the absolute mind-blowing choice available on the Comfort Works website; eight fabric styles (everything from delicate light cotton to tough leather, and even luxurious velvet), with several shades in each category, options for everything from seams to ties and armrest protectors, and even the chance to add on some fancy new mid-century style legs (ours are the Bailey legs).

Secondly, they are the absolute perfect shade of grey – exactly what I was looking for – and they’re remarkable resilient. Ours are the Heavy Duty covers in Kino Ash, and they definitely live up to their name; when I shot these pictures, they’d been on the sofa for about two months, and the covers had been dived on, dribbled on, sat on, laid on and spilt on. They’d been covered in chocolate, popcorn, squash and biscuit crumbs, and still they look perfect. Any marks or stains came away in seconds with a baby wipe, and the fabric dried back to it’s original colour, leaving no trace of what had been there before. I honestly cannot rate them highly enough for durability – in fact, I think they’re a better quality than the ones that came with the sofa!

I didn’t realise before just how much difference changing the covers on a sofa could make; our whole lounge is brighter, lighter and seems much bigger than before. Plus, they’re so much more stain resistant, which means less washing for me. Hurrah!

I’m also really in love with our coffee table; we found it for £25 on Gumtree, which is a brilliant bargain considering it’s solid wood. It’s got a tiny little drawer, which the kids love to stash things in, and the previous owner had already painted the legs in a dark blue-grey Farrow and Ball paint. Very kind of them!

We’ve added plants and a print, removed cushions and LOADS of books, and I made a wallhanging by adding fringing to a panel of moss stitch crochet – I did want to make a weaving to go in that space, but I’ve not got round to making the loom yet, so….!

Sources:

Sofa Covers: Comfort Works
Blanket: The Future Kept
Cushion: eBay (try searching for ‘Kilim cushion’ or ‘Aztec cushion’
Lantern: Wild Damson (now closed). Similar at IKEA.
Clay Plant Pots: Wilkinsons (painted myself)
Mountain Cup: The Future Kept
Enamel Candle Holder: Workshop Living
Cavallini & Co Botany Print: Willow and Stone
Small Plants: IKEA
Mug: Luke Arthur Wells (sold out)
Coffee Pot: Utility
Spoon: The Good Times Homestore
Large Plants: B&Q
Basket with Plant in: Closet and Botts
Rug: IKEA
Coffee Table: Gumtree
Dining Table and Chairs: Gumtree
Table Runner: IKEA


Many thanks to Comfort Works for generously gifting us the sofa covers – which we would definitely have bought anyway! All words and opinions are, as usual, my own.