Ikea Couches Look Nice in a Gallery

Hi Everyone,

No, I don’t work for Ikea, but hey do donate a certain amount to our education programs every year.  I wanted to take a moment to show how nice these work in an art museum as well as add a word of caution.  On the positive side you can change the color on this model and it will cost you $30-$80 for each new cover.  So far we have utilized the black and charcoal versions.  The stand in the gallery unoffensive and provide more cushion and support than a bench, but they do take up more room than a bench and would be tougher to clean than most benches.  After 2 years of on and off use we have not had any damage or stained to them (knock on wood).  I won’t go on about the color choices as you can go online and check em out yourself.  The sofa itself is $300 and I don’t recall if it came with the cover or if that was separate, probably the latter. The series is called Klippan.

On the negative side, the cover can become frumpled and will need some tucking in to look its best.  How often will depend on the number of users, popularity of the exhibit, the audience for the exhibit (age group,etc), and so on.  Someday I will update this post with a test to fix this problem, or if one of you want to or have already tried this idea, please post back here.  The  idea is to drop 3 dowels into each trough when the fabric tucks in; along the back and one on either end near the arm rest.  Next punch out, cut, or otherwise sew in holes through the fabric near the ends of each dowel.  Then tie some cord or twine to the dowel (probably through a hole we drill in dowel) and pass that cord through the holes and into the underside of the sofa.  With the sofa on its side so we can see up into the underside we pull on the cord until it is taught and either tie it off onto something or screw in into the wood structure.  That’s it:  6 holes, 3 dowels, 6 lengths of cord, and maybe 6 screws.  To be continued…