Klippan (sofa)
Encyclopedia
Couch
A couch, also called a sofa, is an item of furniture designed to seat more than one person, and providing support for the back and arms. Typically, it will have an armrest on either side. In homes couches are normally found in the family room, living room, den or the lounge...
manufactured and sold by IKEA
IKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
. Klippan means "the Cliff" in Swedish. (IKEA's nomenclature conventions name upholstered furniture after places in Sweden. This sofa is named after Klippan Municipality
Klippan Municipality
Klippan Municipality is a municipality in Skåne County in southern Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Klippan.The municipality was created in 1974 through the amalgamation of the market town Klippan with the rural municipality of Riseberga and part of Östra Ljungby.Söderåsen National Park...
in Southern Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
). It was first sold in 1979 and recently celebrated its 30th birthday 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
Door
A door is a movable structure used to open and close off an entrance, typically consisting of a panel that swings on hinges or that slides or rotates inside of a space....
), and can be fitted with a range of removable and interchangeable fabric covers. As well as standard cotton covers, IKEA sells 'exclusive' collections of covers, retiring designs after a year.
The only changes over the years have been the legs; earlier incarnations were painted wood. Contemporary Klippan legs are made from aluminum.
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
Älmhult
Älmhult is a locality and the seat of Älmhult Municipality in Kronoberg County, Sweden with 8,518 inhabitants in 2005.It was in Älmhult that the first IKEA store was built, and IKEA still has a large corporate presence here....
.
