Placemats & Napkins (620) Table Runners & Toppers (242) Dining Chair Covers (23) Autumn Scroll Damask Seat Cover (Set of 2) Sure Fit® Stretch Pique Short Dining Room Chair Slipcover Autumn Scroll Damask Dining Room Chair Cover Spring Splendor Dining Room Chair Cover Clear Chair Seat Protectors (Set of 2) Cotton Duck Shorty Dining Chair Slipcover Origins™ Microfiber Dining Room Chair Cover Spring Splendor Seat Covers (Set of 2) Spring Splendor Gingham Seat Covers in Multi (Set of 2) Dining Room Chair Cover McKenna Microfiber Dining Room Chair Cover Twill Chair Ties (Set of 4) Duchess Chair Ties (Set of 4) Klear Vu Embrace Barstool Cover in Chocolate Origins™ Microfiber Dining Room Chair Cover in Peridot Pizzazz Banquet Chair Cover Basic Polyester Cover for Wood Folding Chair Basic Polyester Chair Ties Basic Polyester Cover for Banquet Chair Basic Polyester Cover for Plastic Folding Chair
Origins™ Microfiber Dining Room Chair Cover in Chocolate Dining Chair CoversDining chair covers help transform any dull seat into elegantly designed seating. Seat covers are perfect for use on a variety of kitchen, dining and even folding chairs. Add a decorative accent or conceal old, ripped or stained upholstery with these slipcovers. Choose from a variety of designs and patterns that meet your needs and complement your existing décor.Want a spot to rest your feet without splurging on a budget-breaking buy? This DIY pouf from Kristi Murphy upgrades an IKEA footstool to create this geometric, black-and-white pouf.If you're looking for a chic alternative to your standard vanity, check out this super-glam IKEA creation from A New Bloom. She paired the EKBY ALEX shelving with old-school wooden legs and a sheepskin-covered bench to create a gorgeous place to spend your mornings.Tea people know: Storing your tea neatly can be a challenge. That's why we love this colorful tea chest from Sugar Bush Avenue so much.
Taking an IKEA MÖPPE chest of drawers (sadly, not currently available through official channels in the US) and adding a bright burst of color to the front makes an ingenious solution to any tea storage problem.: Before & After: Dusty Old Lamps Are Transformed Into a DIY Pendant LightIt's rare you get something so classy from IKEA's seen-everywhere LACK coffee table, but blogger Triple Max Ton's pulled it off. By removing the lower shelf and attaching wooden tapered legs, she created a mid-century classic that's entirely modern.Critics have targeted IKEA for years on issues ranging from its amorphous profit and non-profit corporate (and tax) structure, its questionable sourcing of wood for its product line, and even the background of its founder, Ingvar Kamprad. A debate over IKEA’s business practices and environmental impact raises passions on both sides. In fairness, the company has made some solid environmental choices: they’ve eliminated plastic bags from its check-out aisles, eliminated polyvinylchloride (PVC) from almost all of its products, and reduced packaging overall.
Now the’ve announced another solid move: the company is phasing out a toxic flame retardant from its furniture.The flame retardant problems is a difficult one for IKEA to solve. Despite the fact that flame retardants contain a skin-absorbable carcinogenic, manufacturers who wish to sell in California must include them in order to comply with state laws. Interestingly, IKEA’s announcement comes just one day after a scathing article in Slate Magazine that questions why furniture contains such high levels of these chemicals in the first place.The trouble started when Slate reporter Florence Williams tore the packaging of a new IKEA futon that she ordered online, only to be bowled over by the noxious smell that permeated her basement. Williams started researching the smell and found out that the substance was chlorinated tris, the dreaded carcinogen that was once in children’s pajamas until studies shown that it could be absorbed by skin.Despite this danger to human health the American chemical industry has lobbied Congress and state legislatures to mandate fireproofing of furniture and other consumer products for years.
The results are long lasting, and not in a good way: years after some carcinogens were banned, they still persist in the food chain and in may even cause chronic disease. (As this went to press, we cannot confirm or deny that any chemical residue can be found in the famous Swedish meatballs that IKEA serves in its brightly lit cafeterias.)The upshot is that when Williams contacted IKEA, the company’s representatives explained that chlorinated tris will be phased by August 2010. The replacement: “an organo-phosphorous compound which gets incorporated into the polymer matrix of the foam filling.” If you think that term is difficult to decipher, then imagine how safe that replacement may be.IKEA is boxed in by regulations that lawmakers may have been passed with good intentions, but of course are backed by industries who benefit from such a mandate—which is especially absurd because those fire retardants do not stop fire, they delay it—by a few minutes. It is easy to slam big box stores on issues like this one, but IKEA has been taking additional steps in helping their customers achieve energy efficiency and a smaller environmental impact, including last week’s announcement that the retailer will no longer sell incandescent bulbs—which practically eliminates one of its product lines, those sleek lamps that are in many a living room and office.
So what is the solution? An old-fashioned letter-writing (or email-sending) campaign may just need to start. If we cannot find a solution to replace a chemical which does more harm than good, maybe laws passed over 30 years ago need to be repealed. Remember that the BP crisis has an effect far beyond the environment and energy needs: so many of the chemicals that are in homes come from petroleum, giving us another reason to rethink our dependence on oil.The lovely and talented Caitlin emailed to say she was inspired by this old post and took a sharpie to her IKEA slipcovers. Talk about bang for your buck! And I’m really liking the more open pattern she went with here. It’s a little more subtle. (also much easier to pull off!) The rest of her home is so lovely. Check out her full house tour here. PS Caitlin mentioned she has a new color in her Deco pillow line – mint. It was a pleasure to hear from photographer Keiko Oikawa when she told us about her friend Jane Cumberbatch’s wonderful home.
The philosophy of Jane’s company, Pure Style, has evolved into a simple, practical, inexpensive and timeless way of living and decorating, which translates into her own home. Even though she and her husband, Alastair, along with their three children, a dog and a cat live in inner London, Jane’s work is inspired by the country and nature. White serves as the perfect canvas for her favorite cottons, linens and naturals, but she also loves to integrate colors she describes as “sludgy blues and greens,” making it the perfect photoshoot location for various brands that rent the space. Last June, Jane’s first cookbook, Pure Style: Recipes for Everyday Living, was released, and in addition to her blog, she’s already working on a new book project. Thanks so much, Jane and Keiko, for the photographs! Image above: My bedroom — Simple Victorian cupboards are brilliant storage. All my laundry is brought upstairs in simple baskets, and there is another for logs by the fireplace, which I light on really cold days in winter.
Image above: The blue room — blue walls in Parma Gray by Farrow & Ball. Blue and mustard-coloured linen throws by Volga Linen on a pair of junk armchairs from a local charity shop. Click HERE for more of Jane’s home! Image above: My bedroom — I’ve had this cream metal bed from Feather and Black for a few years, and it looks great with simple white bed linen. Also on a neutral theme is the small sofa by David Seyfried, which has a pull-on loose white cover in cotto with a pretty frill. The blue and white blanket is from Melin Tregwynt. Image above: Floor and stairs in the hallway. The hallway of our Victorian detached house is decorated with its original floor tiling in cream, brown and terracotta colours. I’ve painted the stairs in white floor paint, leaving a wooden stair runner effect. Image above: The green room — I love this deep Citrine green from Little Greene for the walls and traditional Victorian dresser in what was the house’s original kitchen.
The junk chairs are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Pale Powder eggshell. Image above: Dining Room — We eat around a long table from IKEA, which I painted white. I don’t know if they still stock it. The chairs are vintage Ercol in natural wood, which I buy from sources such as eBay or junk shops if I’m lucky to find them there. There are more natural-looking details with a sisal mat from IKEA and another of my favourite woven log baskets. The room is south facing, and the light is filtered through simple white roller blinds also from IKEA. I’ve had the button-back Chesterfield (in the background) for 20 years, and it’s upholstered in cream cotton/linen. Image above: Kitchen — Earlier this year, I gave the kitchen a simple update with new units from Magnet in a lovely pale duck egg blue. The shelves are made from recycled floorboards and are painted white. They house plates and glasses and are at just the right height so that I can grab what I need whilst I am cooking.
I store spoons, ladles and colanders on hooks suspended from a metal bar above the sink, and knives are kept on a magnetic rack. The wooden work surface is the original one and was re-sanded and oiled. It’s easy to wipe down. The utilitarian-looking pendant lights are from IKEA. More utility style is in the form of my favourite factory chair inherited from my mother-in-law. Image above: Dining room — Simple details: blue glass candle sticks, blue and white striped cushions, tie-on loose chair covers made from linen tea towel, retro Welsh blanket. Image above: Painted junk dining chair with tie-on loose cover made from one of my Pure Style Living linen tea towels.The floral lampshades are from Grace & Favour in East Dulwich. Small folding outdoor tables that I painted white — possibly vintage Habitat. Image above: In my office — Chairs and round table are by Ercol; the latter I picked up for a song in a local second-hand shop a few years ago. My pinboard is made from cork tiles, which I have painted in a pale blue.