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8 sustainable stylish ways to reinvent your living room

Who says giving your home a new look needs to be a costly endeavour?

Published: 13 February 2017 08:03 CET
Updated: 28 February 2017 08:03 CET

8 sustainable stylish ways to reinvent your living room

Sweden is known for sustainability and good design. And a quick peek in most Swedes’ living rooms makes this abundantly clear. Clean lines, just the right blending of colour, and often filled with furniture and accessories produced in environmentally friendly ways.

And as anyone who’s spent time in Sweden can tell you, the Swedes also have an uncanny ability to stay on top of (not to mention set) the latest trends. If more than a few months pass between visits, don’t be surprised to find a Swede’s home boasting a whole new look.

What’s the secret? Read on to learn a few tips for how you too can reinvent your living room the sustainable, Swedish way.

1. Thou shalt not waste

One Swede’s trash is another Sw…well, actually, we’ll stop right there. After all, Swedes love recycling, so most trash is just one thing on the way to becoming something else – either energy or other products.

Having said that, though, the most sustainable approach is to simply not throw as much away. And when it comes to furniture…why throw out an entire sofa, when really it’s just the cover that needs to go?

Coffee stains, cat claws, miscolouring, or just a not-thought-through pattern…These are all problems with a simple solution. So don’t throw away perfectly good furniture, just get a new cover!

2. Do it your way

That’s where Bemz comes in. Yes, you could go to Ikea to get a perfectly nice cover for your sofa, one which you will then see in all of your friends’ homes as well.

Or you could rebel and do something – gasp — original. You could be unique – and help the environment while you’re at it.

Not only does Bemz offer personalised covers for Ikea furniture in over 250 different colours and prints, they’re all made-to-order – meaning there’s no excess. You can call the customer service team in Stockholm to help you figure out exactly what fit and design you need, and then the seamstresses in the Baltics will make your new sofa cover and ship it almost anywhere in the world.

And anyone lucky enough to live in or visit Stockholm can visit the Bemz boutique in person, where you can touch, see, and feel the products in one place. Or you can sit in the comfort of home, order a set of free samples first, and then shop online to your heart’s content.

3. Go au naturel

Speaking of helping the environment, sustainability is a big deal to Bemz.

That’s why almost every single fabric is made of 100 percent natural materials. So whether you opt for pure cotton, natural linen or a cotton/linen blend, you can sit on your new-looking sofa with a clear conscience.

4. Viva la velvet!

Customers demanded velvet and Bemz listened, so there is now a selection of limited-edition fabric available! And of course, Bemz wasn’t about to compromise on durability, washability, and quality – which is why they only use Zaragoza Vintage Velvet by Designers Guild.

It’s decadent. It’s divine. It’s deeply-coloured and deliciously lustrous. And, just like the rest of Bemz fabrics, it’s manufactured in Europe so you know that it’s produced according to EU environmental and labour standards.

5. Live it up in linen

We already mentioned the linen. But have you seen the linen? It’s lovely! And just the thing for spring. Cover that old Ektorp sofa in Rosendal pure washed unbleached linen and no one will ever guess it’s the same one you’ve had since your university days. Or why not leafy green, aubergine, or a summery nautical stripe pattern?

You won’t find high-quality natural linen covers at Ikea…as a budget furnisher that’s just not what they do. But if you feel like moving up the food chain, Bemz has got you (and your sofa) covered.

6. Let loose

When redecorating it’s important to have an open mind – and most of all, to have fun! With Bemz the possibilities are endless.

You see, you don’t have to just choose a new fabric for your faded old Klippan. You can give it a whole new look by letting its minimalist demeanour relax a notch with a completely different type of fit.

The Loose Fit Urban is elegant and modern, while the Loose Fit Country is perfect for vintage lovers who dig that Shabby Chic look (hello there Ektorp!).

7. Respect

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, sustainable as it can be…

Alright, so we changed a few words. But we’re pretty sure Aretha Franklin would have loved this line.

Minimizing waste is a big deal at Bemz. Yeah, we already talked about the sustainable business model…but this takes it to a whole new level.

Respect is the Bemz line of sofa covers made of 100% recycled materials. Yeah, that’s right. Whenever a cotton t-shirt or summer dress is made, scraps are left over. What happens to those scraps?

Well, they’re gathered, sorted by colour, ground back down to cotton fibres, spun into yarn, and woven into a beautiful new textile. The entire process doesn’t use a single drop of water or dye. Now that’s dedication! And the end result is beautiful…and oh, so sustainably Swedish!

8. No limits!

So-far we’ve focused on sofas…get it?

But with Bemz the possibilities truly are endless. When you’ve given your old couch new life, you can tackle your armchairs…your kitchen chairs…your mattress, your cushions, your headboard, your partner’s headboard. Bemz even makes beanbag covers and curtains.

If you live in a one-room studio apartment – as many Swedes do – you can have a cohesive theme throughout. If you live in a sprawling villa, you can have a heyday giving each room distinct flair.

So don’t stop at making your living room sustainable. Go forth and transform your world!

Browse Bemz covers for inspiration here

This article was produced by The Local and sponsored by Bemz.

10 essential tips for avoiding rental scams in Germany

When it comes to settling in Germany, one of the most stressful and difficult tasks you’re likely to face is finding a place to live.

With the country in the grip of an ever-worsening housing shortage, there aren’t enough rental properties to meet the high demand – especially in big cities like Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt – and the flats that are available can often stretch even the most healthy of budgets.

With renters desperate to find affordable homes, crafty scammers have seized the chance to place fake ads on the market, often in dream locations with lower-than-average rents.

While some of these scams may be easy to spot, others can be highly sophisticated, with fraudsters setting up professional-looking websites and even allowing hopeful tenants to view their properties in person.

Recently The Local reported on a Polish couple who lost around €7,000 through a rental scam in Berlin. The scammers had sublet a beautiful Altbau apartment in the popular district of Neukölln and created an advert for it via a fake letting agent website, then arranged for people to use a key box to view the property while the real tenants were away.

Despite checking the contract over with legal experts from their local tenants’ association, nobody saw anything out of the ordinary – that is, until they tried to access the apartment and found a family already living there.

So, how do you protect your hard-earned savings and steer clear of scammers while looking for a new home?

Here are 10 important ways to protect yourself from rental scams.

1. Be alert to suspicious signs

The key to avoiding scammers in Germany is to be fully clued up on the warning signs. Was the listing for the property uploaded in the middle of the night, is the advert thin on details or written in bad German or English, and does the offer feel too good to be true?

Though it would be nice to believe there are still cheap flats to be found, finding an attractive property at an overly reasonable price is usually a red flag.

Hamburg

Modern apartments in Hamburg. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Daniel Bockwoldt

If someone claiming to be a landlord contacts you out of the blue, that’s also your cue to run a mile. With so many people looking for housing, most letting agents and landlords will have more than people looking to rent their properties without needing to get in touch with people themselves. Anyone who does is more than likely to be a scammer.

2. Rule out landlords who say they live abroad

One of the major warning signs to look out for is a landlord who claims to be renting the property from abroad, or who says they are out of the country for other reasons, like a last-minute business trip.

That’s usually a scammer’s way of excusing the fact that they won’t be able to meet you personally or even show you the property before you rent it.

“When the country the landlord lives in appears then I would say there’s a really big chance this is a scam,” said Kuba Rudzinski, one of the victims of the Berlin-Neukölln rental fraud.

Even if the excuse seems plausible, your best bet is to ignore anyone who tries to sell you a story about living abroad and simply move on with your house hunt.

3. Do your research online

Before committing to anything, take time to do some thorough research to scope out the property, landlord and letting agent.

Running the pictures and text used in apartment listings through a search engine like Google will help you quickly identify stock photos and text stolen from other listings. For pictures, this is known as a reverse image search.

A laptop

Photo by 2H Media on Unsplash

It’s also worth checking that any websites you’re sent to are fully functional and not copies of other letting agent sites, and that any email addresses match the website domain.

4. Visit the property and ask around

Never agree to rent a property without seeing it in person first. Arrange a viewing and take the opportunity to ask questions about the property and the neighbourhood.

Kuba also recommends speaking with the neighbours in the building to check if the property is genuinely being rented.

“Go to the place before and ask the neighbours, is this flat really for rent? Because these people generally know,” he said. “You’ll need to convince yourself to do it of course, but just ask in the building, ask on the floor where the flat is.”

5. Don’t transfer the full deposit in advance

Advance payments for anything, whether it’s furniture, a deposit or getting a chance to view the property, should be considered a major red flag.

Under German law, you are usually only expected to pay the deposit by the start of the agreed rental contract – and certainly not several months in advance.

Euro notes lie next to some house keys on a table.

Euro notes lie next to some house keys on a table. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-tmn | Andrea Warnecke

You are also legally entitled to pay your three months’ deposit in three instalments on top of your first three months’ rent after moving in, so definitely be cautious of landlords that place pressure on you to transfer a large lump sum.

If you’re really concerned, look into alternatives for paying your deposit, such as Kautionversicherung (deposit insurance) or a Mietkautionssparbuch, where you open a bank account and pledge the amount to the landlord, rather than transferring the money directly.

6. Insist on meeting the landlord or letting agent in person

If a landlord or letting agent refuses to meet you in person or insists on conducting all communication online, they’re probably not who they say they are.

Insist on meeting face-to-face to verify their identity and ensure they have a legitimate connection to the property.

7. Avoid sending documents straight away

Not all rental scams are about getting money from you directly: many scammers are simply after your personal details for the purposes of identity theft.

Be wary of providing personal documents or sensitive information before you’ve verified the legitimacy of the rental agreement, especially when it comes to things like passport scans or other forms of ID.

8. Seek legal advice from experts

If you’re unsure about any aspect of the rental agreement or if something seems suspicious, seek advice from legal experts or tenants’ associations.

However, be aware that this isn’t always a cast-iron guarantee that a tenancy is legitmate. Over the past few years, fraudsters have become increasingly sophisticated, even down to producing water-tight rental contracts for would-be tenants.

An estate agent hands over keys to an apartment. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-tmn | Christin Klose

According to civil lawyer Emilia Tintelnot, becoming a member of a tenants’ association can be a good way to get affordable legal advice, and it can also be helpful to set up legal insurance to ensure you can access help when you need it without having to pay lawyers’ fees up front.

9. Be wary of stereotypes

Avoid making assumptions based on stereotypes or preconceived notions about someone’s gender or nationality, as this may cause you to overlook things you might otherwise see as warning signs.

In Kuba’s case, the fact that the fraudsters were German made them appear more legitimate in his eyes, as Polish people tend to see Germans as law-abiding and trustworthy.

Be aware that scammers can come from any cultural background and may use a variety of tactics to deceive unsuspecting renters.

10. Keep an extensive paper trail

Document all communication, agreements, and transactions related to the rental process, including phone numbers and any bank details provided.

According to the Berlin police, this type of evidence can be crucial for an investigation if you do suspect a scammer.

While evidence can differ across cases, “pictures, contact details used by the perpetrators, original documents, bank details with payment receipts” are particularly helpful for investigators, and could help the police stop the scammers for good.

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