Klippan (sofa)

The Klippan Sofa is a popular model of sofa manufactured and sold by IKEA. "Klippan" means "the Rock" in Swedish. (IKEA's naming conventions have upholstered furniture named after places in Sweden. This sofa is named after Klippan Municipality in Southern Sweden). [cite news|title=Design Classics : Ikea Klippen sofa|author=Merle Brown|url=http://www.sundayherald.com/56470|date=2006-07-02|publisher=Sunday Herald] [cite web|url=http://www.kuwaittimes.net/Navariednews.asp?dismode=article&artid=616286671|publisher=Kuwaiti Times|title=Catching the IKEA fever?|author=Velina Nacheva] It was first sold in 1980 and continues to be one of IKEA's most popular and longstanding products. It comes in a standard two-seat size (which fits easily through standard house doorways), and can be fitted with a range of covers allowing the owner to express their own creative urges through the medium of fabric. Removable and interchangeable covers also mean owners need worry little about accidental damage. As well as standard cotton covers, IKEA sells 'exclusive' collections of covers, retiring designs after a year.

The only change is the feet, at the beginning in wood and steel coloured black it's nowadays looking aluminium.

In 2003, the Klippan was used as the standard sofa in a test to compare the British fire safety requirements against the Swedish and mainland European safety requirements. Three Klippans were used, one with no flame retardant treatment, one treated with phosphorus-based flame retardant, and one treated with bromine-based flame retardant. All three sofas were specially manufactured by IKEA in its workshops at Älmhult. [cite news|publisher=BrandPosten|date=2003-12-29|title=Furniture with high fire resistance is good for the environment|author=Petra Andersson and Margaret Simonson|format=PDF|url=http://www.sp.se/sv/general/publ/brandposten/Brandposten29Eng.pdf]

References

Further reading

* — the design of Klippan
* — a Giant Klippan created for the launch of IKEA in Milton Keynes

External links

* [http://www.ikea.com.tw/about/timeline/full.html An IKEA history, including the birth of the Klippan]
* [http://www.sp.se/fire/Eng/Research/LCA_Summary.pdf Swedish Government fire testing of Klippan sofa]
* [http://www.ikeafans.com/forums/ikea-brochures-documents/11156-klippan-buying-guide.html Klippan Buying Guide]