Comfort Works Kramfors Slipcover Review

I made a huge mistake a few years ago and bought a sofa from Ikea... in yellow. To be fair I was a first time mom then and Mr. Grey was only 13 months old. Shortly after purchasing my lovely Kramfors sofa it was discontinued! They stopped making it! And then they stopped making replacement covers! Then shortly after that, baby Mr. Grey vomited pureed carrots down the side of the couch. Since then it has only gotten worse. More kids, more vomit, dirty feet, sticky fingers pet, hair that manages to weave itself into the fabric so the vacuum can't even get it out! I evolved from spot cleaning, to a Bissell Little Green deep cleaning vac, to taking the whole cover off and going to Buttons' house for tea, movies, and washing of my sofa cover in her big washing machine (even though the Ikea label told me not to). Even freshly cleaned it was hideous though. My cat used it as a scratching post, it had so many stains it was just disgusting. I hated the living room. A couch is the centerpiece of the living room and when it looks bad, the whole room looks bad! No one was allowed over besides Baby Hulk's physical therapist, Buttons, and Stitches.

 

Gross stained couch in the old rental house

 Bonney Bad Cat's handy (clawy) work

 A while ago I discovered a site, Comfort Works, that makes covers for Ikea furniture and low and behold, there it was, IKEA Kramfors sofa slipcover. My sofa could be saved! Back then I was thinking maybe a faux leather sofa would be good. They look nice and I could wipe the vomit off! Well I finally had the money to get my cover and I looked and all I saw was real leather. It just felt wrong to me. A vegetarian animal lover lounging on cow carcass. So I sent them a blank email... Yup. Blank email with the subject line: "did I imagine them?"I don't know what I was doing! I sent it from my failing iPhone 3 so I will blame it. A nice man named Henry responded "what did you imagine exactly :)" And so it carried on, he helped me to decide on a heavy duty material, that my evil kitty won't try to destroy as she most certainly would have with leather, and that I can just throw in the wash when it gets bad! Then he sent me swatches! I love swatches! When they arrived I narrowed it down to 3 colours and then put them through vigorous testing. I took my children's left over lunch scraps, the crust of a PB&J and smeared it on each swatch. I smeared them in pancake syrup, ran them through the tread of my boys rain boots, threw them in the corner that collects all the pet hair, and then for good measure, I stuck them in the cushions of my couch cushions. They had to know what they would be expected to put up with!

 Look at the fun little packaging it came in!

 swa-wa-wa-watches!

 Kino Brown didn't fair so well with the peanut butter or pet hair

 

Oh Taupe, you were so pretty before I shoved you in my couch

Charcoal didn't do so well with the syrup but... I see no pet hair!!!

 I then wiped them all up with a baby wipe because that is this lazy ass housewife's quick spot cleaning method. Well the verdict was in and I was going with the Kino in charcoal! the whole part where it didn't show my white cat, OR black dogs horrible hair won my heart. I would simply have to make a new rule about sticky children not leaving the kitchen.  I ordered it and when it finally arrived it sat in the box and taunted me for weeks because Darling Husband told me I could not put it on until we were moved into our new house! Well, I made it and we have moved aaannnnd....

 

Before 

(during the move the cat vomited on a cushion and then the zipper broke!)

  

After 

(why is everyone on the floor!?)

  

I love it! The cover went on a lot easier than the yellow one but fits just as well and it doesn't have cheap plastic zippers, these babies look pretty heave duty. The colour is actually kind of a bluish grey which I was not expecting, although when I google "charcoal grey", it does come up a blueish grey, I couldn't tell that from the swatch but I still really like it. Besides, a problem with the yellow cover was dye transfer from denim jeans so the bluish undertones will probably help with that! I have already had to wipe it off a few times with my trusty baby wipes but they have done the job, and when the day comes, I have been given permission to throw it in the wash! Baby Hulk's physical therapist and my Dad both asked if I got a new couch. It looks so good! I need to get some fun new throw pillows for it now. Something to tie it in with my chair. I love my new old couch!

 Baby Hulk approved! ...although he looks a little disguntled here...

 Thank you, Henry, and everyone else at Comfort Works who took part in making my ugly sofa into a beautiful swan...sofa...swan...