Brandon and I moved our TV from the first floor up to the second a couple of months ago, but the seating had not followed suit. We had our brown corduroy glider with its rolled arms (not the prettiest, but so comfortable) side by side with our boxy mid-century-inspired white Petrie armchair. It worked, but… not really. We initially tried to bring our Jasper sofa upstairs (the beige sofa from the living room in our last house), but it would not fit up either set of stairs. Rather than finding a company to hack it apart and reassemble it (guaranteeing that the same would need to be done if we ever wanted to move it again), we sold the sofa on Craigslist. Three months later, we finally used that money to go buy a couch from IKEA. Because our only option for getting one upstairs is to get one that comes in pieces.That’s what took us so dang long. I couldn’t make up my mind. I like the lines of the Karlstad, but I would want to switch out the legs. This simple set is $36, and Pretty Pegs has fun options from $68-144, depending on the style.
Or the legs could be covered completely by a Bemz slipcover with a full skirt, which I like the look of. Then there was the Kivik. Similar in shape to the Karlstad, but with wide, padded arms. I actually like the width of the arms with the sofa is made longer with a chaise attachment, but I wasn’t crazy about them on the regular length version. The cushions are a little nicer than the Karlstad’s though (they have a top layer of memory foam), and I was sold on the arms as an additional spot to sit. Not all the time of course, but if we had a lot of people, a kid (or adult) could easily perch on the armrest as another seat. Plus when I asked about the Kivik on Twitter, someone said that it was an excellent napping couch. We went out to IKEA last night to test the two side by side, and come home with our new Kivik. We had to open the box in the loading zone and fit everything in the car piece by piece, but we managed to do it (just barely). Brandon and I assembled it while the kids were asleep, and when Eleanor saw it in place this morning, she was impressed.
“We BUILT it,” she exclaimed, accompanied by big eyes and a little circle mouth. (Um, we bolted a few pieces together and put a slipcover on. She and August then dove from each of the arms onto the cushions, taking turns so as not to bash their heads together. Everyone loves the new couch! And we got it up to the second floor! I kinda want to go take a nap on it. You know, to fully test it out and all.The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 (as amended in 1989, 1993 and 2010) set levels of fire resistance for domestic upholstered furniture, furnishings and other products containing upholstery. This page is intended to give an overview of the responsibilities of companies involved in the supply of upholstered furniture and is intended to help suppliers of these products understand how the new Regulations may affect them. It is not an authoritative interpretation of the Regulations, which is a matter for the courts. The Regulations like most legislation is difficult to fully understand consequently two guides have been published to assist the lay person to understand the regulations more fully.
This page provides an overview but it does not cover all the details. You should refer to the BERR and FIRA’s Guide to the Regulations for more detailed information. The Regulations are enforced by the Trading Standards Department. If you need advice, clarification or additional information contact them by using their website, telephone or go personally to the local office which will be a department of your local Council. I would suggest you download The Guides to the Regulations which gives a much fuller understanding of the regulations and combined with the regulations, should answer any question you have. In my opinion the FIRA guide is the more up to date and better guide despite having to jump through a few hoops to obtain it. The legislation and guides can be downloaded from the following links, The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 (amended 1989 and 1993) are UK law and are designed to ensure that upholstery components and composites used for furniture supplied in the UK meet specified ignition resistance levels and are suitable labelled.
There are six main elements contained within the Regulations: The Regulations apply to all persons in the business supply chain from the supply of materials for use in furniture through to the supply of the finished article as well as re-upholstery and re-covering. The Regulations also apply to persons who hire out furniture in the course of a business. This embraces furniture included in accommodation let in the course of business, such as holiday homes and residential furnished letting’s (including houses, flats and bed-sits). As such, the Regulations apply to landlords, estate agents and letting agents who let such accommodation. The first supplier of domestic upholstered furniture in the UK is the person responsible for ensuring that the Regulations are met. In this context, the definition of the first supplier in the UK with respect to manufacturers, importers and retailers is important. Specific responsibilities relating to other sectors include charities, letting, holiday homes and furnished residential properties, chalet hotels and holiday apartments, sheltered accommodation, care homes and student accommodation, Canal boats and pleasure craft, caravans, landlords, estate agents and letting agents, auctioneers and persons who supply furniture as part of a statutory functions.
All the above is fully explained in the FIRA guide. Products covered by the Regulations comprise six groups (A to F) A) All types of upholstered seating including chairs, settees, padded stools and ottomans. Children’s furniture, foot stools, sofa-beds, futons and other convertibles, bean bags and floor cushions, nursery furniture and upholstered items designed to contain a baby or small child. Domestic upholstered furniture that is supplied in kit form for self-assembly. Second hand furniture, upholstered head-boards, footboards and side rails of beds. B) Furniture for use in the open air (garden and outdoor furniture) which is suitable for use in a dwelling (homes and caravans), upholstery in caravans (although not vehicles or boats). Cane furniture which includes upholstery. C) Divans, bed-bases, mattresses, pillows, and mattress pads (toppers) (FILLING MATERIAL ONLY) D) Scatter cushions and seat pads (FILLING MATERIAL ONLY) E) Permanent covers for furniture (textiles, coated textiles, leather etc) Loose and stretch covers for furniture.
Covers for non-visible parts of furniture F) Foam and non-foam filling material for furniture All furniture and products in the above groups need to comply with the Regulations. The specific information and exceptions to each group are discussed separately in the FIRA guide. The Regulations do not apply to furniture intended for export and furniture manufactured prior to 1950. The Regulations do not apply to sleeping bags, bedclothes (including duvets), loose covers for mattresses (i.e. mattress protectors), pillowcases, curtains and carpets. However, it is important to note that these products are covered under General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (GPSR).. Manufacturers, importers and retailers in the UK need to ensure that: The testing requirements for items are more fully explained in the FIRA guide. Display labelling is required to indicate the ignition resistance of each item of furniture and needs to be attached to all new furniture at the point of sale, with the exception of mattresses, bed-bases, pillows, scatter cushions, seat pads, loose covers (sold separately from the furniture) and stretch covers.
Furniture sold as a collection of items, such as three piece suites or a set of dining chairs must carry the appropriate display label on each individual item. In all cases the display label must be attached to the furniture in a prominent position so that the label will be clearly visible to a potential purchaser of the furniture and the wording on both sides can be read with reasonable ease. Appropriate to new furniture which meets the filling requirements and is cigarette resistant. This applies to the likes of baby nests and the word “product” may be substituted for the word “furniture” on the second side of this label. Appropriate to new furniture with a limited range of cover fabrics. The cover fabric is not match resistant, but the furniture has an interliner which passes the specified test. The furniture meets the filling requirements and is cigarette resistant. Appropriate to new furniture which meets the filling requirements and is both cigarette and match resistant.
Permanent labelling on furniture is intended to assist enforcement officers and show compliance with the specific ignition requirements for covers and fillings. The prime objective of the permanent label is for enforcement officers to examine a label on a piece of furniture and obtain relevant information which will enable them to find out and confirm that the materials used in the item do comply with the Regulations. They will also be able to complete a cross check of the claims being made on the label with the manufacturers records. Permanent labels need to be carried on all items of furniture with the exception of mattresses divans and bed bases. The labelling specifications for mattresses, divans and bed-bases are covered separately by BS 7177. There are two versions of permanent labels that manufacturers and importers can choose from. A full description of what must be included in these labels is given in Parts 2 and 3, respectively, of Schedule 7 of the Regulations.
It is important to emphasis that the actual design of the permanent label is left entirely to the manufacturer or importer. However, the requirements regarding the information that appears on the labels (a-g in Figure below), the minimum size of letters and position and durability of the label must be followed: Information on a label giving full information The labelling requirements for items are more fully explained in the FIRA guide. All manufacturers, importers and retailers are required to keep records to ensure traceability and compliance of all items of upholstered furniture. Such information must include: Manufacturers and importers need to retain the information for a period of five years from the date on which the furniture is supplied to the retailer. If a piece of furniture is supplied which carries only the short permanent label, then the retailer needs to ensure that the manufacturer or importer (or any intermediary supplier) provides the details of the