Winter's here, and as always the Maison du Lac is transformed with a stylish Scandinavian decor in warm, sophisticated tones. Danish owner and keen decorator Kristine Rasmussen has created a cosy, festive boutique offering stylish, seasonal ideas for your interior. Look out for a host of unusual accessories, a veritable invitation to the delights of hibernation and cocooning: after you have purchased a few essential items at Maison du Lac you will be able to curl up by the fireside with a soft alpaca throw, or watch the snowflakes fall outside your window while sipping a delicious hot chocolate from one of the boutique's mugs, whose captions invite you to "Have tea with me" or sample a rich "latte").
Best of all, you will be able to invite family and friends to a festive meal around a table decked with "reindeer" candleholders and frosted candles. If you are struggling for home decoration and gift ideas this Christmas, this boutique is definitely one to put on your shopping itinerary!
Maison du lac, Rue Saint-Victor 24, 1227 Carouge / Tel. 022 301 8522 / www.maisondulac.ch
If, like many families living in this region, you bought your first sofa from IKEA, then the chances are that it is looking a little worse for wear now – especially if you have young children or own a cat or dog.
Local mom, Sooah Barbieri, did just that and was wondering recently what to do with her old armchairs, which were now looking very stained after several years abuse by her children! When she went to IKEA to buy replacement covers, she was told that her range had been discontinued and they no longer made covers for them.
She was on the verge of throwing them out, when a friend suggested she take a look at the website of Swedish company, Bemz (www.bemz.com). Bemz sells sofa covers that have been designed to fit all of the most popular models of IKEA sofas and chairs, even the discontinued ones. Selling to over 35 countries worldwide, their covers are custom made and are provided in over 160 designs and colors in natural textiles, including those from well known designers such as Designers Guild and Marimekko. Their covers are completely machine washable and are extremely simple to put on and take off.
Sooah first ordered swatch samples, which are free when you register on the site. This took about a week and when she placed an order for her covers, she was told they would take about 6 weeks to arrive, but in fact she received them within 4 weeks, via TNT. Impressively, there were no additional surprises like extra customs duties or taxes on delivery.
According to Sooah, the workmanship on the new covers is excellent and the price (including shipping) compares very favorably to the price she paid for the original ones. She concludes, “This was definitely an inexpensive way to give my poor, milk-stained armchairs a second life!”
So if you want to give your sofa a new lease of life, take a look at www.bemz.com!
Article update 10 November 2010: Sooah received a customs and duties bill from the carrier shortly after she received her order. So be warned, it's not all good news!
