A common problem that house-proud but budget-conscious shoppers have is that buying from the same crop of stores can make a space look a bit like a cookie-cutter showroom.
This has spawned a movement for upgrading furniture, and some clever businesses that offer customisable options for simple store-bought pieces, most notably those from Swedish furniture company Ikea, transforming them into completely new and one-off creations.
Condition your cabinets with Fronteriors
Launched in 2019, Fronteriors is an online interior design business based in Dubai that was co-founded by Linda Dekkers and Kath Hawkes, from the Netherlands and South Africa, respectively. The brand offers a selection of doors, tops and sides that can be overlaid on Ikea cabinets to make them look more stylish, even expensive.
Fronteriors specialises in Besta, Billy, Pax and Metod units with some leg options and a handle design as add-ons, and its website also offers tips on how to install yourself, although UAE residents can elect to have a team over to upgrade their units.
Being purely online offers flexibility to both the consumer and the business, which is accessible 24/7 for anyone to shop.
The duo say the pandemic helped their business in two ways. “People started paying more attention to their home to create a space that they actually liked to spend time in,” says Hawkes.
Also, with digital being anyone's only option during stay-at-home orders in 2020, Fronteriors flourished and was able to open an office space in Dubai where Dekkers and Hawkes now host open house days.
“Our clients can visit us, see and touch the products and talk about the possibilities. We love the human aspect of the business. It gives us a lot of energy.”
Being a worldwide company is next on the pair's agenda, as they launch shipping options to the Gulf this year. An Instagram following of 29,000 means there is a much wider reach than only the UAE that they are keen to go after.
“Most of our followers are from outside the UAE … the US, UK, France. Being able to ship our products to those parts of the world would be fantastic and a way to really expand our business. But first things first: getting our doors on all those Ikea frames in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.”
Get a handle on things with Prettypegs
For more leg and handle options, look to Prettypegs, which specialises in providing replacement legs in a range of heights and styles for all Ikea units, as well as a great selection of handles and a few door styles.
Founded in 2012 in Sweden by Jana Cagin and Mikael Soderblom after an interesting trip to Ikea where they decided that a particular sofa was nice, but the legs were awful, Prettypegs was created.
The company ships worldwide, and what also makes it flexible is that you can buy legs to fit furniture from any brand, not just Ikea, and so upcycle your furniture – from sofas and dining tables to consoles and cabinets – for a new look-feel.
Style up your sofa with Comfort Works
Another pair who found an old Ikea sofa they had inherited rather “ugly” is Rachel Yeng and Henry Chandra, who together created Comfort Works in 2008 “to fix this sofa ‘situation’ by making a slipcover for it with the help of a couple of YouTube tutorials and a second-hand sewing machine," the pair explain. "Let’s just say it took a handful of tries to get it right, but we got there eventually.”
The company they went on to launch offers the chance to create an individual design in different fabrics for all Ikea sofas and armchairs, all custom-made and shipped worldwide. The offering is expanding to also include Pottery Barn and Muji, plus made-to-measure covers for other sofas, and Comfort Works is helping create homes that reflect its occupants, giving customers the chance to express themselves to the fullest, with everything from custom linen to bright orange covers.
The duo’s mission is to not only make sofas look good, but also functional, by creating pockets for tablets, phones and more.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Awar Qalb
Director: Jamal Salem
Starring: Abdulla Zaid, Joma Ali, Neven Madi and Khadija Sleiman
Two stars
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
The lowdown
Bohemian Rhapsody
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee
Rating: 3/5
EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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RESULTS
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Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
Emirates Cricket Board Women’s T10
ECB Hawks v ECB Falcons
Monday, April 6, 7.30pm, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
The match will be broadcast live on the My Sports Eye Facebook page
Hawks
Coach: Chaitrali Kalgutkar
Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish
Falcons
Coach: Najeeb Amar
Squad: Kavisha Kumari (captain), Almaseera Jahangir, Annika Shivpuri, Archisha Mukherjee, Judit Cleetus, Ishani Senavirathne, Lavanya Keny, Mahika Gaur, Malavika Unnithan, Rishitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Shashini Kaluarachchi, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Vaishnave Mahesh
More on animal trafficking
ABU DHABI CARD
5pm: UAE Martyrs Cup (TB) Conditions; Dh90,000; 2,200m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap; Dh70,000; 1,400m
6pm: UAE Matyrs Trophy (PA) Maiden; Dh80,000; 1,600m
6.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Apprentice Championship (PA) Prestige; Dh100,000; 1,600m
7pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Ladies World Championship (PA) Prestige; Dh125,000; 1,600m
8pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Group 1; Dh5,000,000; 1,600m
ANATOMY%20OF%20A%20FALL
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