DIY: Sofa pimping with DFS

It's only a small pimp, but a significant one I hope you'll agree. And one not unlike switching the buttons on a high street coat to give it a posher edge.

So this is how my sofa looked before I got into the DIY lite zone during a holiday at home, last week.

My sofa, before

Ever since I bought my DFS green sofa, quite a few years ago now, I'd wanted to customise it. Had I had the upfront money, rather than around a tenner a month for the handy interest-free credit that DFS offer, I'd have gone for a swanky Habitat or Heal's number, or the wonderous emerald velvet design that Ikea was recently selling.

Most importantly, I'd have liked the legs. That was the only real downer on my DFS: it looked ropey downstairs. The shape of the legs is a little naff, in my opinion, but I could live with that. It was the pale, uninteresting wood and the fact that some of the legs hadn't even bothered to match that bothered me (look closely and you'll see the horrible black plastic feet in the corners).

My plan was always to paint the legs. Several years later – so much time has passed I've even paid off the sofa in full – and I've got around to it.

Initially, I was inspired by Pretty Pegs, an innovative Scandinavian company of which I'm a big fan. They make replacement legs for exactly the predicament I was in. I nearly went with one of their designs (above), in fact, but in the end thought that a couple of coats of paint would do the trick instead. (I have upcoming and exciting PP news though, concerning my new bed, which did involve a set of their designs.)

So here is the sofa after possibly the easiest DIY revamp ever.

Black's a pretty safe colour and goes with quite a few bits around the living room too. Plus – *bonus* – it disguises the plastic feet that were once so prominent.

I should mention that I've checked, and the sofas at DFS have improved in the leg department since I shopped there, so if you're in the market for some credit it's still worth a look.

But let me know what you think of the leg update. I think it makes a surprisingly big difference. Do you?

#Cheaphometricks: when is an Ikea sofa not an Ikea sofa?

When Saustark Design has been at it. This Munich-based company has taken the Ikea hacking trend to a clever, commercial level.

Now you can pimp your Swedish buy by adding a customised loose cover in the fabric of your choice (as well as colourful new legs), to take the edge off the ubiquity of your purchase... I wonder how many of us do have an Ikea sofa? (And you can check the rest of your home against this ubiquity list.)

I've written about a company called Pretty Pegs before, which has been selling lovely legs that fit Ikea sofas and armchairs for a few years now. Yes, Saustark has kind of swiped that idea (though with fewer design choices) but it was only a matter of time. It is a fantastic idea, after all. But Saustark cunningly also combine their legs with its own, fairly extensive range of alternative loose covers too. So far, the legs are only available from the German online store, details below, but the company is open to helping buyers from further afield if that's what you're after.

So back to the clever loose covers. Taking the Karlstaad two-seater sofa – pictured below in just four of the fabrics Saustark offers – as an example, your new cover will cost at least half the price you paid for the furniture initially: a cover could cost anything from 166 Euros (£136) for, say, the man-made corduroy type textile, up to around to 239 Euros (£196) for plain cotton.

It's a lot of money to pay on top of buying the sofa in the first place, but if your sofa is old but structurally sound it's a great way to get a new sofa without getting a new sofa. Equally, if you buy covers when you buy the sofa, you'll still probably be paying less than you would for a sofa from pretty much everywhere else – but it won't look like the Ikea sofa that everyone you know has in their front room.

The downside is that you have to choose one of their fabrics (which you can request free samples of to see how it looks in the flesh). There is a lot of choice, but it's a shame they don't offer a service where you can choose fabric elsewhere or send them some and personalise your sofa even more.

Check out Saustartk Design's website for more info. To find the legs, you'll need to go to the German version of the site here.

Oh yes, and if you want to read all about the Ikea backstory, here's a piece I wrote about the brand for the Independent a while back, which features Modern Toss and expletives in the first paragraph.

Post by Kate

Object of the day: DFS does good

I've got a DFS sofa, but still have never been a big fan of the brand. 

Largely, I chose DFS because I found one lone design out of all of the ones on offer that I almost liked, and I chose it because John Lewis don't do interest-free credit. (I'll probably be paying for the sofa in £10 instalments for about the rest of my life – it wasn't cheap).

That said, It's not a bad sofa at all – you can see it here, a couple of photos down – but though it never wowed me, I liked the colour and it was the right size. The legs, though... I've been meaning to do a Pretty Pegs on them for ages. And the ones at the back, not – alas – quite out of sight, don't even get proper legs, just black plastic stumps.

I only reflect because it sharpens the surprise that these beauties, above, are from the very same store. The grey, 50s style designs with lovely button detailing and nice plump curves are called Mira. Good legs (and four matching ones, to boot). They are also around half price until the end of this month: the large sofa at the top, for example, is currently £599 instead of £1099. 

The Harris Tweed Loch Leven Wing Chair (more good feet!) has its trademarked upholstery woven on the Isle of Lewis, in a mill that also produces textiles for Chanel and Hermes. It is more heftily priced at 1,599 – but you could be a monthly payment cheapskate like me.

Freestyle Thursday: colour me good

Colour inspiration can come from all sorts of places. 

I've found it before on philosophical book covers, on the Berlin U-Bahn (scroll about half way down), on necklaces and always inspired by the vibrant combinations the excellent Out of the Dark team come up with.

And today, I'm feeling inspired by the Autumn lookbook from Sofa Workshop. They've taken some very beautiful shots of their new range – and given the pictures extra wallop with some creative colour contrasts. Here are my favourites.

Above, if strong shades scare you – putting a rich colour against the right neutral background keeps things muted yet striking. This denim blue and biscuit-y wall get along famously don't you think? The backdrop really brings out the brightness of the sofa. And that yellow book suggests a good cushion or accessory colour if you're after a zingier palette still.

...like this. Not for the faint-hearted. But how good does that yolky wood look against the purple-y blue of the sofa. I like the heavy-handed blue accent in the footstool and cushion too – way to beef up a colour's presence, without drowning a space in it, or creating the interiors equivalent of a double denim outfit.

And bolder still...

But if that's too much for you, this takes it down one small notch.

Kinda high summer cobalt skies and lemon sorbet – combinations that come together happily in real life are also a good place to plunder for colour scheme ideas.

I do love the dark and the zing effect though – and these strong colours feel more manageable and less in-your-face with that confident, grown-up neutral backdrop.

But if understated is way more your thing, give natural tones a sharp edge with strong accents: black does a very good job, and I like the green grasses here too, giving taupes, ropes and beiges a sand-dune vibe.

See more at the Sofa Workshop website

Post by Kate (still in the thick of plaster dust)

Can't afford the new Sheila Bownas sofa?

What do you think of this sofa/daybed, designed using fabric from the Sheila Bownas archive and created in collaboration with furniture-makers, Parlour? 

It's called the Edwin, and I think the shade of blue, the smooth solid walnut, 50s-ish legs and back and the classic, boxy shape make it very good indeed.

Alas, thanks to rather beautiful details like these...

...it costs £2400. But if you can't stretch to that, you might like the accessories in the same range.

The cushions, above, and prints, below, come in olive yellow, steel blue or grey. Cushions, £55 each.

The prints are limited editions and come with the official Sheila Bownas archive stamp (more of which shortly). They're 50x70cm so can fit into a standard frame, which saves a bit of money – and the prints themselves cost cost £65 each.

There are lamps in the range, too. These were designed in collaboration with English lamp designer, Zoe Darlington, and cost £125. The base is solid ash, and the shades come in two main colours: white or grey linen, with a choice of lining colours, again in the Edwin range fabric.

Check out the Edwin range at Shielabownas.com

The backstory of the Sheila Bownas range, in case you don't already know it, is an interesting one. The Yorkshirewoman and prize-winning Slade graduate exhibited five of her paintings at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1949. She then went on to turn her talents to textile design, producing fabrics for Liberty, Crown Wallpapers and Marks and Spencer. But it wasn't until her death, in 2007, that her family discovered a vast archive of other work in her studio. This archive was bought by superfan, Chelsea Cefai, a year later – she is gradually producing pieces that showcase Sheila's work.

Not a dissimilar rescue story to that of the company behind the archive of Australian mid-century designer, Florence Broadhurst. I have some of Florence's textiles in my living room; that massive monochrome canvas on the wall, above left, is one of hers – and there's more about that in this previous post about how to make expensive textiles or wallpapers go a long way. You might also like Florence Broadhurst's amazing rampaging horses fabric, which you can just see poking out (also black and white) in the cushion mountain on my sofa.

Post by Kate

Looking for a good, British sofa? (Or lamp... or blanket...?)

I've been meaning to post about Loaf.com for a while. The company, formerly known as The Sleep Room, relaunched in October last year and I've seen their ads all over the place...

In case you haven't, or haven't made the connection, they're the ones featuring a couple with smug-looking feet poking out of soft, neutral hued blankets, as they lie about all over some rather nice looking unbleached linen sofas and pleasantly battered looking wooden beds.

So far, it probably sounds like I hate them. I kind of wanted to, but the new range of products include some amazingly beautiful pieces – as you can see above, and I'm actually just quite impressed.

Especially by the ethos behind it all: everything is well-made, much of it in Britain, tapping into some serious manufacturing heritage. Most amazing of all is the cost; the company only sells online (though you can go and see the stuff in person if you fancy a trip to west London) and I guess that's what allows them to sell at such many of their things at reasonable prices.

Though the lamps, like my favourite, the Little Dane (top right) and the Teardrop (bottom left), are not totally bargain basement prices – they £95 each – they are a feel-good buy, rare in a high-street-ish context, and also thoughtfully designed, down to the twisted fabric cables. The Little Dane is based on a pair of old lamps found in Copenhagen and the shades are made in Dorset, with the ceramic bases hand-made in Stoke-on-Trent by a man called Andrew. (See also my recent post on the beautiful ceramics by Katy Leigh, who is also passionate about preserving the heritage of Stoke-on-Trent's famous 'Potteries'.)

The Mexico floor cushion, £95, is hand-embroidered wool/linen and, confusingly, made in India. And the sofas – that's the Pompidou, above – come in really lovely shapes and aren't bad value, starting at £995. Prices vary according to size (there are four for each design) and the fabric chosen, which includes cotton, velvet, wool and linen. There's also the 'house' fabric – the neutral one from the adverts – which is a linen mix made, apparently, at one of Britain's last remaining mills. Which is nice.

Some of it is totally luxury when it comes to price (like the linen bed-linen bundles of sheet, pillowcases and duvet cover: soft, muted and beautiful but over £200); the giant lambswool blankets which, at 220cm x 240cm, are massive, and probably massively soft, but at £150 also out of reach for modest budgets. The oak Campaign bedside table, inspired by a French 1940s market find, is also pretty beautiful, but £225 on a bedside table...? Nope.

Still, on a more enthusiastic note, they are also launching a rather nice bathroom range – above – next month, all of it made from hand-beaten metal, heavy-duty hand-welded wire, reclaimed pine and sustainable, weathered mango wood. Prices for this lot begin at £95. What do you reckon?