NEW YORK, NY – November 17, 2008 – From hundreds of unfashionable, unbearable and frankly frightening sofas, only one had enough ugly to be crowned winner of Sure Fit’s 2008 Ugly Couch Contest. Today, Julie Lee from San Francisco, CA claimed her title as owner of the ugliest couch in America and her prize – *a living room makeover courtesy of Sure Fit Inc. and Kim Myles, designer and host of HGTV’s Myles of Style, valued at $5000.

"When I found out about Sure Fit's Ugly Couch Contest, I just knew I had to enter,” said Lee. “Here was my chance to finally make my living space more presentable and tasteful. It's time for the couch to go. It's functional, but it really is just so ugly. It’s ‘loud’ and screams of the 70s. It’s orange, yellow, brown and…greenish? It has a floral pattern all over. And the fabric is some kind of chenille or velour or something strangely fuzzy."

Julie Lee’s 30-year-old, offensively-colored eyesore of a sofa has been making her houseguests cringe for more than 10 years, and for the past month, shocking voters across the county as well. Chosen from twenty finalists nationwide, Julie Lee’s couch garnered an impressive 6,400 votes on SureFit.com, beating out sofas from Texas to Tennessee.

Lee submitted her couch to Sure Fit every year for the past four years, hoping that America would finally recognize its hideousness. She celebrates her 38th birthday next week on Thanksgiving Day, and considers her win a great birthday present.

“I'm pretty ecstatic to find out that I've won,” Lee said. “I know my family and friends will be so happy to see that ugly couch gone! Me too!”

As the leading creator of stylish, easy, affordable decorating solutions to quickly transform your home, Sure Fit created the Ugly Couch Contest to illustrate that Sure Fit slipcovers can turn any couch into a stylish sofa. In addition to receiving one of Sure Fit’s high quality sofa slipcovers, Lee will work with designer Kim Myles to pick Sure Fit home accessories and other home products to transform her living space.

Designer Kim Myles is looking forward to helping Lee update her space with cleaner lines and a more spacious layout. Lee is excited for a more permanent solution to her ugly couch woes.

Her advice to other ugly couch owners? "If they're seriously worn or torn, get a new one if you can afford it. But if they're just plain ugly, the best thing to do with ugly couches is to hide them with a smart-looking slipcover. No one will ever know."

The top 20 couch finalists were featured on SureFit.com for a public vote from October 15th to midnight, November 14th. More than 25,000 ugly couch enthusiasts logged on to vote for their favorite.

Sure Fit products are available via mail order catalog, Bed Bath & Beyond, JC Penney, Macys.com and online at www.surefit.com, and by phone (800) 305-5857.