ikeahacker contests

bemz second chance contest winner!

2007-10-18T04:41:00.000-07:00

we have a winner! the judges, katarina of bemz, susan of ikeafans and i have reached a unanimous decision.

and the winner is ...

simone and bubo!

simone's heartwarming story of an abandoned cat ... her spending nights coaxing him into a cat carrier and eventually giving him a new home won us over. she gave him a second chance and as they say, a good turn deserves another.

simone gets $500 to spend at bemz. congrats simone and have fun picking out your new slipcover!

also, to all who took part and voted, thank you.

bemz 2nd chance contest has ended!

2007-10-16T04:37:00.000-07:00

we're going through the entries and hope to announce the results really soon. watch this space.

mark's angby gets a second chance?

2007-10-05T10:42:00.001-07:00

mark gets brownie points for effort. click the picture to view his entry.

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

give nellie her white cover again?

2007-10-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

nellie's experiment gone wrong.

"Please consider us in your second chance contest. I recently tried dyeing my white covers grey but it went terribly wrong and I had to try black. They look like a bad 1970's experiment and my 8 year old is embarrassed to bring her friends home.

I love my ekeskog and would love a beautiful as well as comfortable place to cuddle up with my four gorgeous kids this winter in england by the sea. At the moment my lounge doesn't do them any justice!

My kids on the sofa before i destroyed it, please give us back our sofa." - Nellie

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

amy wants a new slipcover for the family

2007-10-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

a letter from a cat that wants to reward her family.

"Hello. My name is Amy. You would know me on the photo because I am the one sitting on the table and showing my status within this household. Because I am the sole/single ruler of this living room, at least that is what I think! Besides my favorite task - sleeping -being the tyrant of the sofa is one of the best thing I like to do. My favorite places on the sofa are the armrest, which I mark by scratching and stretching, and then finding a good place to sit and curl up.

Then I dream a while and enjoy my peace and quiet. But then I notice to my despair that I am the only one on the couch. Could it be that my living room user, do not think that the couch is nice anymore? Oh how I would like to sit with the whole family in the evenings and let them rub my fur. But to have that possibility and give my lady of the house the knowledge that I have earned the right to sit with them once again, I must find a way to get a new couch cover for her. But as you know, I do not make any money, nor do I have a job, except to catch mice, which I eat right away, so I have no other choice but to ask for your help.

Please help me before i lose one of my nine lives." - Amy

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

slipcover cleaning chore no more?

2007-10-05T09:50:00.000-07:00

new yorker valerie is tired of constantly cleaning her white slipcover.

"I realize my couch is not in the worst shape, not ripped, torn, or stained (much), just faded and slightly grimy, but that is only because of my sheer diligence, and man, it has been exhausting.

I bought the couch on sale at Ikea about 3 years ago. The light gray cover was the only one available. Looks OK, I thought, goes with anything, etc. But then...did I mention I have 2 children? Are children interested in keeping things clean. No, they aren’t. Did I also mention I live in New York City, the dirtiest city on the planet?

So as my couch faded in the sun, was bleed on, wiped snot on, had dirty feet wiped on it, chocolate smeared, and tea spilled on it, I would wipe it with detergent and scold the kids. I couldn’t take it anymore as I was constantly cleaning it, and got a blanket to throw over it, That was another headache as it ended up messy or on the floor most of the time and basically looked terrible.

I also didn’t realize the cover was dry-clean only. Who could afford to do that? Who could live with a bare sofa for 3 or 4 days? I began to dream of a new cover, a dark one. One that would let my couch look nice, but hide the dirt so I could relax and let my kids relax on the couch. One that I could throw in the washing machine and put back on in the same day, But lo and behold, the couch, and it’s oft dreamed of slipcover, had been discontinued.

I also have an Ikea armchair that was so filthy that I got a slipcover for it only to discover the zippers were broken so I had to sew it on the chair, therefore canceling out the point of the slipcover as I need to cut it out and resew it anytime it got dirty.

I almost gave up, but luckily I found out about Bemz. As money is always an object, I would absolutely love to win a free slipcover for my couch and chair (matching furniture, what a concept). Life is too short to be constantly cleaning your couch." - Valerie

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

sick of red slipcover

2007-10-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

lotta is no longer feeling the love for her red ektorp slipcover.

"I bought my sofa for 6 years ago. Ektorp Red. I painted my walls so they should match the sofa. This summer (07) I got a water leak in the living room and it ruined my ceiling as well as my sofa. Then my landlord renovated my walls but not the way I wanted it. It became white. This is not what I wanted together with my red sofa. So, I really hope I could get the right color (Latte). Otherwise I will throw up, because now I feel sick.

Besides that, the cover of my sofa is damaged from the water leak. I desperately need new covers for my sofa but I am out of money. Please help me!" - Lotta

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

a sofa that brings out the picasso in them

2007-10-03T02:06:00.000-07:00

ros' artistic klippan needs a new cover.

"Here's the fate of my Klippan under the manipulation of my 3 artistic kids.

The aeroplane appeared after their first flight, the bunk bed is a way to express that's what they wanted for the next trip to Ikea, and there is one showing one of them trying to spell her name.

I have many but I'm sure you've got it already.

Yes, the cover is washable but some stains are just stubborn that I resorted to the bleach. Some go away, others stay. Too many washes that I lost count and recently I found a hole near the armrest.

I'm tired of having a throw on the sofa every time we have guests that I decided that we really need a new one. Something that we would take off during normal use. I chose sprezzatura fuchsia for my beloved Klippan." - ros

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

cheyenne to get fitting slipcover?

2007-10-03T01:48:00.000-07:00

cheyenne's shapeless slipcover needs nip and tuck.

"Attached is my 'lovely' slipcover on my Klippan 2-seater. As you can see from the pictures, this slipcover doesn't do my cute little sofa any justice. Colorful blankets and pillows cannot save this thing!

- To start, it was labeled as being able to fit sofa/loveseats from sizes "blank" to "blank", but regardless, it is far too big for the 2-seater Klippan. I have to stuff yards and yards of fabric into the intersections of the back and arms, and the seat and back, of the sofa. It ends up looking so sloppy! I have tried shrinking it in the dryer several times and it is still better off as a car cover.
- Secondly, another side effect of its ill-fitting size is that it never is even all the way around. It is either grazing the floor in the back and front and flooding on the sides, or vice versa. I can never get it to look the same after I've taken it off for washing.
- Those ties in the back that are supposed to help with that perfect fit have become conveniently placed toys for my cat. Therefore, they never fulfill their duty.
- It snags easily - as you can see from the arm rests that look like spaghetti.

Now, I'm sure this thing could look worse, but because I have Shout stain remover and a lint brush for hands, I don't let this cover get any more out of control than it already is. Most of my friends would say I'm neat and organized as well, but my haphazard and shapeless sofa cover says different. This eyesore, the focus of my entire living room, gives the impression that I'm still living like a destitute college student when I've actually been out of school for almost 3 yrs!

I think the Sybary Brown cover is a perfect choice to upgrade my sofa and living room and the status of my organizational sanity.
Please help me save my Klippan from this catastrophe. Thanks!" - Cheyenne B.

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

miss T to get second chance?

2007-10-03T01:31:00.000-07:00

does meg's Miss T deserve a second chance?

"Our Tomelilla bedsofa from Ikea bears the stains and wear of loyal service on two continents. She's tired but loyal and deserves a second-chance makeover. Royal-blue Miss Tomelilla joined the Auderset family in Switzerland in 2003, when our babies were not-quite-two (Susannah) and about-to-be-born (Ella). My husband, Stephan, taught math to middle-schoolers while I spent my days cooped up and hugely pregnant, after being ordered by my doctor to “lie down and don’t get up.” With 12 weeks to go in my pregnancy, alone in bed in our Swiss apartment all the livelong day, I was feeling very sad.

At the time Stephan and I had only one sofa, a charcoal-gray Karlanda from the Ikea near Bern. But we needed a bedsofa where Grandma could sleep when she flew over from the USA to entertain Susannah, help me keep Ella from being born too early, and feed the lot of us. The purchase of Miss Tomelilla made that possible: she pulled open to give Grandma a comfy place at night, then folded up during daylight hours.

Baby Ella arrived in June, a few weeks after Grandma had returned to Baltimore. Now Miss Tomelilla hosted round-the-clock feeding sessions and “ssssshhhhhh, Sweet Baby” crying jags. She served us valiantly, never complaining about the infant-related stains that appeared daily. Some were easy to remove (think breast milk); others defied both washing machine and scrub brush (think … well, you’d probably rather not).

We Audersets decided a year later to give Maryland, my home state, a try and, after months of multiple green-card applications, large checks written to the U.S. State Department and a whole lot of crossed fingers, we boarded a plane. Miss Tomelilla traveled by boat, locked up in a large metal shipping container along with our bed, bikes and few other assorted odds and ends.

Miss Tomelilla served us well in Switzerland, hosting a slew of guests, including Grandma, Aunt Becky, our friend Liza from Belfast and another friend, Lynne, in town from Paris. She moved house yet again after our arrival in the U.S., but now rests in our living room where Ella and Susannah regularly feed her breakfast cereal and chocolate milk, and our formerly feral kittens, Silver and Strawberry, lounge across her back, stretched out like only kittens can. Miss Tomelilla bears the marks of a life well-loved: her once bright-blue cover is faded and spotty, with a few small holes, pulls and splitting seams. She’s like a road map of my family’s early years, and we love her. She definitely deserves a second-chance makeover.

(Note: Here is a picture of how Miss T looks clothed in “Cinnabar Red,” but she is especially fetching in an outfit from the new Bemz “Mix and Match” line: Palette Xanthous, with Old Gold/Brown on the bottom, Moss Green on her seat cushions and Prisma Stripe Moss Green on her pillows. Unfortunately, “Mix and Match” photos can’t be saved.)" - Meg

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

new slipcover for new baby?

2007-10-03T01:10:00.000-07:00

dorothee's karlanda has seen her through one pregnancy. here's to another?

"We bought this beautiful Karlanda couch, my dream orange couch, in 2003, and a few months later I got pregnant.

The last 3 months of my pregnancy, I had to live in my couch and did not have the right to get up. So I literally lived in this couch : I was watching TV, reading, eating, receiving friends from my couch. I believe the couch suffered from this intimacy as he was never the same after that, all stained from my numerous meals (ever seen a pregnant woman with a belly twice the size of a bowling ball eating?), and smashed from my overweight (no comment).

Then, baby came and we continued living with the couch, feeding baby on the couch (ever heard of new born backward surge?), changing baby on the couch, long night with sick baby on the couch (did I mention the vomiting period?).

our daughter Luna from 1 month to 18 months

Then we moved abroad for a year and left our couch to my brother-in-law and his girlfriend who had recently moved in together, so I have no idea what the couch went through during this period (probably a few parties and a few buckets of beer).

Few months ago we came back to France, got our couch back, and moved in to a new place. Our daughter is now almost 3 year old, she loves to eat cookies and yoghourt on the couch, she loves drawing on the couch, she loves wearing her favorite shoes on the couch, and we are having difficulties with toilet learning... So here is what the couch looks like today:

Plus, orange is definitely not fashion anymore, and the slipcovers are all stained and used... Lastly, we are planning to have another baby. Wouldn't it be time for a brand new slipcover for our couch? Wouldn't you want our new baby to have its own new slipcover to make brand new memories out of it ?

The chocolate brown would definitely be my new dream slipcover.

Don't you think?" - Dorothee

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

help end adam's sofa disorder

2007-10-03T00:53:00.000-07:00

adam's 15 year old sofa has gone to the dogs.

"Long ago, in 1992, I went to Ikea and saw the black leather sofa of my dream. It was the perfect size, color and style for my new condo. The sofa remained in excellent condition, even after 5 moves (4 were cross-country) and my napping on it for 15 years. However, the love of my life entered into my household: a lovable, black Labrador puppy. I thought my new dog and my sofa were a perfect match. His shedding won't show due to their being the same color. He started napping on it. Then he started scratching it. As he grew larger (now 65 pounds), the less room I had on my favorite sofa. I was forced to sit in my old rocking chair. Let's just say that Zach, my doggie, didn't take as good care of the sofa as I had.

As you can see in the attached photos, he really made the sofa his own. It's all scratched and ripped. It's not presentable any longer. I'm ashamed to have people come to my apartment. It's giving me a complex. I now have to see my psychiatrist once a week due to my PTSD (Post Traumatic Sofa Disorder).

For months, I've been looking for the perfect cover for it but to no avail. Nothing I saw was good enough for my faithful friend of 15 years, my sofa. That is, until I found Stockholm, Older Model on bemz.com. I need this slipcover. My psychiatrist said that if I receive this slipcover, I can stop taking the Prozac. That would be a dream. I'd be able to keep this sofa for another 15 years.
So, please, please, award me this slipcover." - Adam

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

gema for a new ektorp slipcover?

2007-10-03T00:48:00.000-07:00

gema's slipcover has shrunk way too much. give her a new one that fits?

"We deserve a Bemz slipcover because our beige slipcover has shrunk after numerous washes and does not fit our sofa properly anymore. In the picture you can see how it is stretched (and in some parts ripping at the seams). It also has marker stains that just do not wash off. When our son was in his "terrible 2's" he expressed his artistic abilities all over our sofa (even on the cushions inside the slipcovers).

We don’t want to get rid of our sofa because it is the perfect size for our small living room, plus it’s very comfy. Furthermore, our Ektorp corner sofa isn’t just a sofa but a part of our family, it has been with us through thick and thin.

We deserve a Bemz slipcover because we really love our Ektorp sofa. It wouldn't just be a prize we won but a second chance for our beloved sofa to be as beautiful on the outside as it is on the inside. Thanks for reading this and please vote for us." - Gema

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

pierre and christine's "love again" couch

2007-09-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

a story of second chances - for love and for sofas.

"We are two ikea-fans living in rainy Vancouver, BC. Our Nikkala was purchased upwards of 10 years ago, when Pierre was living in Paris. He purchased it with his then-girlfriend, with whom he was just moving in with. Orange is Pierre's favourite colour, and he is a huge movie buff - as other Nikkala owners have attested, the couch is perfect for lounging and watching a movie. The couch's moderate size also made it perfect for lugging up and down flights of stairs, as the majority of apartments in Paris don't have elevators and are often five or six flights up. Besides a couple of moves, the couch's destruction began with the claws of Pierre's girlfriend's cat, Tsunami, laying the ground work for years of further destruction.

Pierre and his girlfriend got married a few years later and moved to San Francisco together, shipping the Nikkala with them – six months spent on a container ship to get to the US before they finally got their furniture delivered. The couch saw them both adjust to a new country, learn a new language, and come to love the city of steep hills and 4 'o clock fog. But after a few years disaster struck – Pierre lost his job (and consequently the right to stay in the country) at the same time as his marriage was dissolving. When his then ex-wife moved back to France, he packed up his stuff and took a job opportunity in Vancouver, looking for a fresh start. The Nikkala got packed into a truck once again and made another cross-country journey.

That was four years ago, and Pierre and I met shortly afterward. We spent many evenings on that couch as we got to know each other and eventually fell in love. Two and a half years ago we moved in together and the Nikkala had a feline friend once again. Our cat Lola has sped up the demise of the current slipcover, bringing it to it's current state.

Once a vibrant orange, our faded-peach friend is still incredibly comfy and the frame and cushions are in great shape. We've also since trained our cat to not destroy the couch in the future by purchasing her a proper scratching post and putting double-sided tape on the couch to break her habits. We would love to give this couch a second chance just as Pierre had his chance a few years ago. We've chosen a nice graphite grey to contrast our bright colours in the carpet and the cushions, and we think this will be stain and wear resistant – not to mention really classy.

We hope we can give our Nikkala a chance for love again! Thanks!" - Christine & Pierre

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

Heartbroken over Goteborg

2007-09-27T12:31:00.001-07:00

finally, some thing different! a poem for a sofa.

"I remember fondly a spring day,
seven years ago this May.
That’s when my new Goteborg came home to play.
It was my second apartment, all on my own
Into a two bedroom I had grown.
I skipped through Ikea, glisten in my eye.
To my Goteborg I would fly.
He was so handsome and proud, a crisp green
surely he wouldn’t be hard to keep clean.
Finally he was home completing my set
so sadly I would regret.
The stains of time, so set in and true…
The fades of the sun have hit him too.
Why not throw the cover in the wash you say?
I did, to my dismay...
I ended up with shreds of threads
Looking like hay.
Please bring back my Goteborg today…
Tears and rips, alas what shall I do?
Bemz shall help renew,
The love of my Goteborg has remained true.
He has been my warmth on a rainy day…
and my perch to watch the birdies play.
He has sat with my friends when a movie would fright…
Been a shelter on a cold night.
O’ how I long for him to stay…
but dire straits put me in a pinch.
The money I can’t stretch another inch.
No cover, no money the outcome is up to you….

Vote yes to save my Gotie from the trash. Please!!!!" - Sarah

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

make it smell good again

2007-09-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

a minor fire makes a stinky sofa. give lisa a sweet smelling new slipcover.

"I think our sofa deserves a second chance not only because it's starting to look really saggy but the fact that it stinks!

We had a minor fire two weeks ago in a flower pot in the living room and the smoke just won't come out not matter that we've washed the covers. The couch itself we still love so why buy a new one? Don’t you agree?" - Lisa

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

uglydolls demonstrate against ugly sofa

2007-09-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

uglydolls look better than ann's sofa. give her a pretty new one?

"My name is Ann and I live in Sweden. My living room would look a lot better with a fresh Bemz slipcover for my Karlanda sofa...

I tried to dye the cover myself but it ended up a disaster. After having dyed the cover I found out that it wasn't made of 100% cotton. Instead it is partly linen and needed dry cleaning!

So after washing and dyeing it at home in the washing machine, it had shrunk! I had to work for hours to get the cover back on the sofa! There's no way I can dye it again to make the color look better because then I will never get it back on!

Me and my daughter feel ashamed when people visit. Usually we try to hide the entire sofa with blankets but of course it never looks good.

Our sofa is so ugly that not even our (very cute) Uglydolls will spend any time on it (except for when they are demonstrating against ugly covers)!

This is the Bemz slipcover that I (+ my daughter + the Uglydolls) would love to win: Sybary- Midnight Grey.

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

a new slipcover for silke?

2007-09-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

the last of the cat entries, for now. phew!
(if you're thinking of sending in an entry, no more pet stories, please!)

"Unfortunately for my Tomelilla armchair my two cats love it as much as I do. I love it for its comfort and it's simply the best spot to read. My two furry roommates adore the chair...
...because as cat you can sleep on it, munch you treats on it, watch the birds and since the zipper doesn't work anymore, creep underneath the cover and hide when there's a rain storm.

Since they both share this view, my chair has seen a lot of cat-jealousy during the years... for the best spot is always the one already taken." - silke

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

gaelle's grey sofa to go red

2007-09-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

gaelle's stromstad wants to slip into something red.

"As you can see on the pix, our Stromstad sofa is very tired. It came into our life in 1999, and it has been our best friend till today. It is also our Pomme cat's best friend, so its original grey slipcover needs to be changed as you can see on the other pix.

We moved in to a new home (a house in a mountain), and a little baby girl was born in February, we'll love to have a little more color in our new living-room. So we hope to win this red slipcover to replace our grey one.

Our cat, Pomme des Muses, a lovely Siamese, can go out to play with mice, so that our Stromstad can have a little rest now. It deserves a second chance for its second life."

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

a new klippan slipcover on the menu?

2007-09-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

cooking accidents on the klippan. how in the world did that happen? but it did with thomas.

"My Klippan 2-seater is still in a good condition, but the surface is simply *#f*?ß. The spots come from cooking experiments gone wrong, little puppy dogs feeling too well ;) and the effects of age.

I would like a nice dark and elegant cover so I can give my guests a nice and comfy place to sit and talk. Woven whimsy graphite gray

or Sybary midnight grey." - Thomas

lavanya's sofa that nobody wants to sit on

2007-09-26T10:21:00.000-07:00

lavanya's sofa is a huge turn off for her friends. a new one could perk up her social life again.

"My reasons why my Lillberg sofa needs a new bemz slipcover:

1. I thought my Lillberg sofa would add a touch of sophistication to my studio apartment, get rid of my seating woes (it is a 3-seater, can seat 4 or more depending on proportions). It did, but the faded (after wash) patchy stains/scratches on the cover invite "how-disgusting" stares now.

2. Friends keep staring at the stains, plop themselves on the floor - my sofa is the last option for a decent seating. Some dog-nail art can be seen on the cover.
3. Black definitely adds to my overall gloomy situation- I need color! Or at least a print. :)

HELP!" - Lavanya

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

maureen's sad sofa story

2007-09-25T07:56:00.000-07:00

maureen has gone through a fair bit with her yellowed ekeskog. your vote could help put a sweet end to this unfortunate chapter.

"My name is Maureen and I own an IKEA Ekeskog Sofa that my husband and I purchased in 2004 in the color 'Mannarp Dark Blue' a year after moving in together. I was very pleased to have finally found the sofa of my dreams and style, after a year of living with nothing but a ratty hand me down. Unfortunately for me little did I know that a year later I would be so unhappy with my color choice. After owning this couch for a year I watched in horror as it slowly started turning a yellowish hue, anywhere an arm was placed the couch began to get a yellow hue to it! I sent numerous e-mails to IKEA asking what to do and none were ever replied to. :(

And now I will rewind a little, shortly after purchasing my dream couch I became horribly ill on and off for a few months and then after a visit back home I was in the Hospital 3 days later having my appendix removed. I felt such horrible pain after the surgery because they put too much gas in my stomach for the Laparoscopic Surgery, I was scared and confused and it was not helping that I could not yet communicate with the doctors because I speak a different language. I left this hospital shortly after only to end up in another one where I learned that they put a little too much gas in to my belly for the surgery.

When I was sent back home from the hospital in 'good health' I had often a lot of pain and could barely move around some days, it took a year of convincing doctors that something was still wrong with me and that what I suspected as me having developed scar tissue from the surgery was actually true.

These are the main reasons why I was only ever to e-mail IKEA and not go there in person. One day when I was not feeling so much pain I went to IKEA in person to ask about my slipcover and why this was happening and I was told to bring in the receipt and cover with me the next time I went there. Sadly because I was still in so much pain the next time was not for awhile longer.

When I had finally had my scar tissue removed and I was on my way to recovery I went to IKEA with my receipt and slipcover to ask for a refund, only to be told that I should have complained sooner and that what was happening to the slipcover was 'perfectly normal?' When we had explained that we e-mailed several times over the course of a year, we were told something funny and that was "Well, we read all e-mails sent to us!" Yes we were only told this and not that they actually reply to them. We were then told that we could return the cover for only 150 Euros worth of credit. At this time, a new cover would have cost 300 Euro more, we were also told we would have to wait over 4 weeks for the new cover in the color we wanted to be in stock. We decided to just say the heck with it in the end and leave after talking to an 'IKEA Master' in the couch area. I have never been so disappointed with IKEA's customer service or lack thereof as I was that day. To make matters worse my husband's wallet was also stolen while we waited to speak with customer service on the issue with our couch cover.

It is now 3 years later and my couch is a very horrid yellow in certain spots and faded blue in others. Not exactly the couch of my dreams. :(

If I win I would love to have a new slipcover from bemz in Chocolate Brown, it would go nicely with our newly redone wood floors.
Please help my dream come true again!" - Maureen

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

poekie wants a new slipcover to sharpen its nails

2007-09-25T07:46:00.000-07:00

i guess it had to come to this. poekie the cat sends me an entry.

"To Whom It May Concern:

First of all, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Poekie and I am a cat.

Yes, I'm sure you must find it most unusual to receive an e-mail written by a feline, however, desperate times call for desperate measures.

I live with 2 feline friends, Alice and Anita in a flat in Vila Nova de Gaia, a city on the outskirts of Porto, Portugal. There are 2 humans which I have allowed to share our space with us. They are generally good people, though I don't really like it when they interrupt my naps on the table when they want to eat, but hey, they bring home the bacon!!! I would also prefer it if they slept on the floor, sometimes it gets too tight for all 5 of us on the bed, but unfortunately, nails can only go so far...

Anyway, to cut to the chase... what is totally unacceptable is the fact that they realize that we badly need a new slipcover to sharpen our nails on (this one's definitely no fun anymore...) and do absolutely NOTHING about it!!! The cheapskate bastards!!! So this is our humble and desperate plea (or should I say MIAOW??) for a new slipcover... We may have to resort to drastic measures, like kicking our owners out, and you wouldn't want them to be homeless, would you??

To sum up, PLEASE SEND US A NEW SLIPCOVER TO DESTROY!!!

We would be extremely grateful...

Poekie.

PS: NOTE FROM OWNER (Sofia): I had to put food on the sofa for the photoshoot so I definitely deserve a new slipcover!!!!"

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

bree's sofa and the jealous cat

2007-09-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

bree from canada has a jealous cat. the kitty does look mighty upset.

"In the picture you'll see my cat, Ursula, my 11 year old tortoise shell kitty who is extremely jealous of the new addition to our family...our 3 month old son Linus. As you can see she has taken out her frustrations on our living room sofa."

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

sandra's slipcover request

2007-09-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

a short entry from sandra. and no pets!

"The picture speaks for itself! As you see, I really need this. Let me win, please." - Sandra.

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

chelsea's chocolate brown wish

2007-09-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

a new addition to the family meant the end of the pristine white covers for chelsea. she's gunning for a chocolate brown set now.

"My name is Chelsea and my boyfriend and I love dogs in fact they are our passion. So when a friend of a friend needed to get rid of their beautiful great dane, we were more than happy to adopt him! His name is Neko and is the best dog ever, so well behaved and lovable!

The only problem, he loves our couches as much as we do, therefore, they are ruined! There are numerous stains all over, on every piece of furniture, a rip on the loveseat, and dog hair everywhere!

At first, we wanted a modern look and decided to get the white covers, however, now that we have him, it just is no longer practical, so we would love to have the ektorp chocolate brown covers, because they would warm the place up and hide some of the dog hair.

Now, let me say that because of Neko we are short on cash because of the unexpected costs we had with him, so as a first resort I attempted to dye the covers myself to save money and to get us by for awhile. Well, two days later, the footstool looks peach, the loveseat has dye stains all over it, and the rest is still hidden under several blankets. It would be so nice to enjoy our living room again without worrying about the stains and dog hair when we have company. So please, please, please, help us, we desperately need it. Thank you!

1. This is Neko. Isn't he gorgeous!!!

2. An example of some the stains, the pictures do not show the stains well, but trust me they are there!

3. The peach mess

4. A close up of the peach mess

5. The dye disaster

6. The beautiful before

7. And the covers we would love to have.

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

save john from his purple karlanda sofa?

2007-09-24T06:27:00.000-07:00

john and mia tried to save their karlanda but turned it into barney instead. can bemz save them?

"To make a long story short, someone at home accidentally knocked over a mug of coffee all over the sofa which made it look like if someone had, excuse my language, pissed all over it. So we tried to dye it dark-brown using a textile color that turned it into a purple monster with black spots, we have been to Ikea but they stopped selling Karlanda and the cover.

Me and my girlfriend deserve to win a new slipcover."

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

amanda's dingy klippan to get new slipcover?

2007-09-24T05:44:00.000-07:00

this is from amanda, who has to live with a dachshund and a dingy klippan.

"We have had our Klippan for 2 years now, but it looks like more like 20. We have a dachshund (wiener dog) and bought the black cover for our sofa when we first got it, the cover lasted a few months. We bought the cover and it was never fitting quite right which enticed the dog to constantly pull the excess fabric, this lead to torn seams. The dog also has an addiction to Dingo bones, which means our black slightly holey slipcover was always covered in “bone crud” when dried this is not pretty. After a few washes we could not even get the cover back on the sofa. We have been using the sofa as is with the natural color canvas and a blanket thrown over. The sofa itself is now dingy and has its bone crud issues, we have cleaned it numerous times but it never quite works. Please help!!"

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

will yeonwoo win the case for a new klippan slipcover?

2007-09-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

yeonwoo and jonathan submit their case for a new mud coloured klippan slipcover.

"Please find attached photographic evidence of why a Bemz slipcover is desperately needed in this household:

1) The culprits: Attila the Greyhound and Haggis the Scottish Deerhound. The victim: Klippan 2-Seater.

2) Attila is a Sofa Connoisseur. Here he is tasting and nibbling his favorite.

3) Furniture porn? Nay! Rather, this is what happens when you leave a puppy alone for two minutes.

4) We bought an iRoomba Scooba recently to mop the mud (from dirty paws) off of the floor. Unfortunately, it does not work on sofas. i.e., why I need a mud-colored slipcover.

5) But you see, the dogs really love this couch. We bought a dog blanket from Costco as a futile attempt to cover the stains and rips, but the blanket always ends up on the floor and the Klippan is left naked and shivering in its embarrassment.

6) IKEA does not make any slipcovers that I like. Bemz does. Imagine how beautiful this scene would be with a Bemz slipcover...

PS. We also have two cats."

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

pamela to win symmetry light olive green slipcover?

2007-09-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

presenting pamela's break-up sofa. the boyfriend's gone but she's still in love with nikkala.

"I'm a busy 33 year old artist living in a tiny house with 3 rambunctious kitties. This is my beloved couch:

This is a Nikkala couch and this is how I present it to friends... except with 'mood lighting'. The throw covers the arm rest which my cats have torn up beyond hope.

I bought this at Ikea in 2001. I had just moved into a lovely loft apartment with my boyfriend at the time. The apartment, unfortunately was built so that it was impossible to move our old furniture in, which was fine, as it was my parent's basement hand-me-down floral printed monstrosity of a couch. So, we went out to search for more compact furniture and Ikea was ideal. Ikea is half an hour away from where we live. We travelled up there, picked out this couch and arranged for delivery on the day that we moved in. We liked it because it was comfortable, it was high backed which was conducive to lounging, and it had a cool name. Say it with me... Nikkaaaaaaaaala... it sounds sexy.

The Nikkala was bigger than we thought. The movers had to use super strength and acrobatics to bring it up the steep fire escape of the house and through the fire escape exit and even then it was a close fit through the door. The couch was moved in safely and we enjoyed it and the loft for two years until we broke up (I'm pretty sure it happened on this couch).

In the break up, he got the car, and I got the furniture. As soon as I could, I took a big step and purchased my very first house by myself. So, we had to do the whole crazy move again with the couch, down those same steep fire escape stairs.

I've been slowly fixing up my house and decorating it to my tastes as time and money allow. I've been hesitant to replace the couch because I still think it's so comfortable. It's perfect for lounging on, watching television or squeezing all my friends on at parties. And it's also great for friends and family to crash on for when they visit from out of town. I've even crashed on it from time to time after spending late nights watching T.V. and as far as sofas go, this is pretty comfortable to sleep on.

However, through repeated washings, parties, my cats and other unfortunate accidents (my bathtub leaked, which soaked through the floors and onto the couch in the living room beneath it), it's really beginning to show it's age. There are water stains from the ceiling leak on it. The colour on the seats have faded from wear. My cats have had their way with it time and time again.

I have considered finding another slip cover for the couch but to my dismay I found out that Ikea had discontinued the Nikkala awhile ago and slip covers were not available for it anymore. I've been entertaining the notion of getting one custom made but I couldn't afford the money or the time to find a good upholstery shop who can do it for me. Then I found Bemz, which really made me happy because now there was a chance that I could keep this awesome couch and fix her up so she's good as new again.

This couch has been with me through some of the best and worst times in my life. This couch has seen danger, excitement, heartbreaks, first kisses, friendship, and fun. I would hate to have to let it go just because of a few tears and stains on the surface. However, it's time for the old ratty blue slip cover to go now, as it also represents a different time in my life and I need new colours to represent the present and possibly the future. So with that in mind, this is the Bemz slipcover I'd like for it:

I honestly could not decide on one colour or pattern. The "Symmetry - Light Olive Green" won out because it's a fun pattern and it would go well with my new style and colour scheme. I would not let the cats wreck it like they did the last one and I'd be so good to it like it would be good for me."

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

nancy to win matching slipcovers?

2007-09-17T03:17:00.000-07:00

nancy from the netherlands has second hand sofas that desperately need new slipcovers. will she get a set that finally matches?

nancy says, "Last year we bought a second hand Goteborg sofa and the cover was very bleached due to the sun. It was an olive green one. The first (relatively cheap) cover we could find was a white one (also second hand).

That is not very practical with 4 Maine Coon cats and two little children (Noa aged 5 and Maik aged 2). And I have to wash it very often because you can see every little stain.

This year we bought (also second hand because we know the quality of Ikea is very good) two Karlanda chairs. On these chairs is a fabric which is very soft but also very sticky (and with cigarette burn marks from previous owners). You can imaging that cat hairs sticking to it and it is not very nice to look at.

Therefore we would really like some new covers, so I send pictures of two possibilities."

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

simone and bubo to win eggshell blue sofa slipcover?

2007-09-11T14:42:00.000-07:00

another cat and owner needing a new slipcover! which is why i only keep fish.

simone says: "Well, I'm sure the first thing you notice about the slipcover in the picture is that... there is none.

I found a cat (he of the glowing eyes in the picture) in the garage of my apartment building. He was meowing pitifully, obviously starving, and filthy dirty. As I tried coaxing him into a cat carrier to take him home, someone from my building walked by. She recognized the cat as her neighbors' and went upstairs to tell them I'd found their cat. She came back minutes later to tell me that they knew it was out there; they'd let it out because they didn't want it any more.

I was determined to catch the cat and give him a good home. It took a week of sitting in the garage in the evenings, feeding him, and eventually petting him before I could get him in the cat carrier and bring him up to my apartment. When I got him home, I cleaned him up, fed him, and named him Bubo (short for Bubonic -- his fur color and his condition made him seem like the Black Death when I found him!). He was a good cat... until he had an accident or two on the couch.

I took the stained cover off my Ektorp sofa and washed it to get the stains and smell out. I risked tumble-drying it because there's no way for me to line dry the entire cover in my apartment with no balcony or yard. And unfortunately... it disintegrated. The lining of the cover for the body of the couch fell apart, causing the cover to pull away from the sofa and crumple onto the floor next to it. The smell wouldn't come out of the cushion covers, either. I ended up tossing the entire cover.

I took Bubo to the vet and got him fixed. Since then, he's been a model cat citizen. But his surgery cost so much that I couldn't afford to replace the couch cover. I put a blanket over it (as you can see). It's been working out all right so far, and the smell in the cushions has gone away.

This contest is the perfect opportunity to get my living room looking good again. I picked the Bolster Stripe Eggshell Blue pattern because the beige will lighten up the room, the blue will match the rug (also from IKEA!), and the black stripes will help disguise any kitty fur Bubo sheds while snuggling up with me."

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.
click here to view all entries.

a chocolate slipcover for liz and cthulhu?

2007-09-10T14:06:00.000-07:00

we have entries!

liz andrade & her cat, cthulhu need help to salvage their klippan sofa. if you think liz and kitty deserve the prize, give them a vote.

need some more reasons? ...ok, let's see, i'm sure i could get this to an even dozen.

7. i'm so over the red.
8. cat hair will show up less on the baroque chocolate brown pattern.
9. the chocolate brown will match my hair, and how cute would that be?
10. i'm a web designer and programmer from seattle, i spend a lot of time on my laptop sitting on my couch.
11. i was very unpopular as a kid.
12. please.

the 2 bemz slipcovers (she can't decide!) she would love to win.

want to win $500 to spend at bemz? here's how to send in your entry.

win a customized bemz slipcover

2007-09-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

so you have an old ikea sofa or armchair looking like some thing the cat dragged in? you're in luck then! cause you're about to get to give your sofa/armchair a second chance.

i am very happy to announce a brand new contest from ikeahacker and bemz, the company that sells removable, washable slipcovers for sofas, armchairs and cushions, tailor made for the ikea range.

want to know what you can win?

$500 to spend at bemz!

now that i've got you excited, here are the easy steps to take part:

1. take a photo/video of your tatty old ikea sofa/armchair. ideally, your photo should highlight the condition of its current slipcover, with particular focus on rips, tears, stains or other signs of its eventful existence on planet earth.

example: if you have a klippan, take a photo of its current condition.

2. go to bemz.com and pick a new slipcover for your ikea sofa/armchair. save a photo of your selection by clicking on “zoom in” and then right-clicking (mac users should control-click) to save the image to your computer.

example: the gustavian flowers black for klippan

3. write or tell us your heartfelt reasons why you deserve a new bemz slipcover.

4. finally, email your photos, the image you downloaded from bemz.com, and your reasons why your sofa or armchair needs a new bemz slipcover to ikeahacker [at] gmail [dot] com. please write "second chance contest" on the subject line.

all submissions will be posted on ikeahacker. readers can vote for their favourites. votes do carry some weight but the final winner will be decided by our judges - bemz’ in-house designer, katarina wiklund, susan martin of ikeafans and of course, moi.

so, bowl us over with your reasons and we may just give your sofa/armchair a second chance. send your photos/videos in by 5pm PDT on friday, october 5, 2007. the winning entry will be announced on october 10, 2007.

click for more information about bemz.

contest terms
the prize, up to a value of USD500, is only redeemable for bemz products and shipping costs at www.bemz.com, and is not exchangeable for cash. should the prize winner’s total order invoice exceed USD500, any additional costs over USD500 will be borne by the winner. no cash will be awarded should the prize winner’s total order invoice be less than USD500. only one prize can be won.