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The most practical upgrade to your living room. Loose Armchair Covers
Loose cover sofas are making a comeback. We say comeback, as loose, or slip cover sofas, as they are often referred to, fell quite dramatically out of favour, replaced by sleek mid-century and chunky velvet models.
In the past, loose covers were often fitted to protect furniture, frequently designed with a valance to hide the legs of a sofa, and were on the whole quite susceptible to slipping and creasing. Today, loose cover sofas have had something of a transformation, led by some of the coolest contemporary brands like MeliMeli (its Luca Sofa in Dusty Pink is pictured above), and disruptors in the traditional sofa market like Maker & Son.
The modern day draw of a loose cover sofa remains much the same – the cover can be removed at will for easy cleaning, and updated as often as you want. Covers are a great way to refresh a living space without the cost of replacing a whole sofa, and they offer a bit more of a canvas for experimentation – without changing your frame, you can see how a velvet sofa works for you, or if you find stripes or polka dots liveable.
Clever brands like Bemz and Soferia offer attractive covers for IKEA sofas, so a basic and affordable model can be updated with bold colours and luxurious fabrics.
A loose cover sofa is generally a smart buy, and with a myriad of modern silhouettes available and even more variety in fabric and colour, there is likely something to suit most tastes.
A loose sofa cover can be kept in place by different means – some covers have decorative ties fashioned into attractive bows, some have deftly concealed zips, and some simply slip over the top of your frame. Consider if a looser cover can be easily moved by children or pets scrambling and jumping on your furniture – the zipped covers are usually the most stable.
If your sofa cover is comprised of a few different sections, brands will usually advise that all parts of the cover should be washed at the same time to avoid uneven fading. And do bear in mind that some fabrics, including velvet, will have to be taken to a dry cleaner or otherwise cleaned professionally – not all loose covers can be popped in the wash.
And do make sure to watch any videos a brand might have online of the sofa cover being added and removed – it should be a very simple process, so avoid those that look laborious.
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