By Eve Thomas
“You know how our grandparents had that furniture that lasted forever, that they got as a wedding gift and kept their whole lives?” asks Danijela Brkovic. “That is what we are trying to achieve, that Old-World European quality that lasts a lifetime.”
When Brkovic and her husband, Stefan Arsenijevic, moved to Canada from Serbia about 12 years ago, they saw room in the market for this kind of furniture, manufactured in the country using quality Canadian hardwood, high-grade foam and the finest fabrics. So, after working for almost a decade in upholstery, the couple founded Boko Designs (a nickname for Arsenijevic’s younger brother Bogdan) in Concord, Ontario, though the company serves Canada and the U.S. now. There, their team creates custom beds and more, with Arsenijevic working on and inspecting all of the upholstery—he studied across multiple disciplines in Serbia, as well as under his father at their family-owned furniture company—and Danijela doing “a little bit of everything” behind the scenes, including guiding clients every step of the way.
While their signature products are grand—custom beds with sturdy wooden frames and plush headboards—Boko also brings the mix of luxury and comfort to other furnishings and accents around the house, including wall panels, bench seating, and sprawling home theatre setups, which usually include oversized sofas and chaises, complete with acoustic foam and custom built-in cupholders and outlets.
While the showroom features myriad fabric swatches, Brkovic adds, “If we don’t have it, we will source it from anywhere in the world.” She notes that the most popular fabric for beds is, by far, velvet, followed by non-trackable velvet, thanks to its durability against marking, and chenille. As most designers and decorators can attest, bouclé had a moment recently, but its wild popularity seems to be ebbing. Vinyl and faux leather are also consistently in demand (another option is real leather, although she says, the Italian imports they use demand a high price).
By working across so many disciplines and with various teams, she has a privileged view of the market and overarching trends, especially over the past decade, including a shift from maximalist to minimalist upholstery. “It used to be busy patterns and fabrics, gold and lace, traditional tufting,” she says. And now? A rising demand for “super modern, clean, straight panels.” Like many in the world of design, Brkovic has also observed ubiquitous stark greys softening into warmer beiges and creams.
So what really sets Boko Designs apart? “It’s the quality,” she says. And that includes a lifetime guarantee on wooden structures, as well as an in-house upholstery expert who works on and inspects every piece the company creates and has multiple generations of expertise to draw on, such as Arsenijevic’s father.
“At one point, we were so busy and short-staffed, we asked his father to come help us. He was here for about six months, but Stefan still was in charge of the finishing touches,” Danijela says. “His father taught him everything he knows, and he still wanted the last look! That’s why people come to us—that attention to detail.”
The future of Boko Designs’ growth is rooted in creativity. As demand continues to expand, the studio plans to open a flagship showroom in the United States—the team is eyeing Miami at the moment—where clients can experience the brand’s quality and customization in person. Also in the works: collaborations with renowned interior designers and boutique developers on full-scale residential and hospitality projects. But no matter how much Boko grows, its values will remain the same: thoughtful design, honest materials and a deep respect for the people they build for.