Sure, let's drive two hours and buy a couch at Ikea in our seems-big-but-not-that-big Ford Freestyle. What could possibly go wrong?
When I think assembly required, I think of relatively flat boxes. Not so, dear readers, not so. Hmmm. Let's back up one step.
I needed furniture in the basement, but I didn't want to buy brand new stuff for the room no one sees when my living room furniture is 8 and 9 years old.
So we took the loveseat and moved it downstairs. And had to get rid of the green couch because it wouldn't fit downstairs (and it was my least favorite of the two anyway).
So we took the loveseat and moved it downstairs. And had to get rid of the green couch because it wouldn't fit downstairs (and it was my least favorite of the two anyway).
That meant, I needed an affordable solution to get that much seating back into the room. Enter Karl.
Whose full name is KARLSTAD, but we just call him Karl. (It's just necessary to call furniture from Ikea by its name. It just is.)
Packing him into the car involved taking most of the pieces out of their boxes.
It was a bit like playing Tetris knowing you were given pieces that will never fit together.
Gabe's seat belt could not have been re-buckled if we took him out for any reason on the way home. We had planned to stop for lunch. Then Matt started to go through a drive-thru when I pointed out we won't fit with the stuff on the roof.
I don't want to say Matt was a bit testy, but at this point his response was, "Fine, then I guess we just can't eat anything!" Or, we could send someone in to buy the food to-go. Which, of course, he came to his senses and that's what we did.
Then we got home and all the pieces in the house.
Someone told us they'd never buy a couch from Ikea because it's just all bolted together and that's cheap. Um, what do you think is holding together any piece of furniture you buy? You just don't normally see it. We've been happy with Ikea's quality.
It went together really easily and things just lined up right.
The slip covers are nice and tight. Though, wow, it took a lot of muscles to get the cushions into them. They are made to fit perfectly! We picked the Sivik Dark Gray color. I really like it.
Of course it means I need to get to all the other updates in the room now. :) One thing at a time, right?
Here's my advice. If you are going to get a couch (especially a sectional) from Ikea, take a truck!
But, welcome home, Karl, welcome home.
Whose full name is KARLSTAD, but we just call him Karl. (It's just necessary to call furniture from Ikea by its name. It just is.)
Packing him into the car involved taking most of the pieces out of their boxes.
It was a bit like playing Tetris knowing you were given pieces that will never fit together.
Gabe's seat belt could not have been re-buckled if we took him out for any reason on the way home. We had planned to stop for lunch. Then Matt started to go through a drive-thru when I pointed out we won't fit with the stuff on the roof.
I don't want to say Matt was a bit testy, but at this point his response was, "Fine, then I guess we just can't eat anything!" Or, we could send someone in to buy the food to-go. Which, of course, he came to his senses and that's what we did.
Then we got home and all the pieces in the house.
Someone told us they'd never buy a couch from Ikea because it's just all bolted together and that's cheap. Um, what do you think is holding together any piece of furniture you buy? You just don't normally see it. We've been happy with Ikea's quality.
It went together really easily and things just lined up right.
The slip covers are nice and tight. Though, wow, it took a lot of muscles to get the cushions into them. They are made to fit perfectly! We picked the Sivik Dark Gray color. I really like it.
Of course it means I need to get to all the other updates in the room now. :) One thing at a time, right?
Here's my advice. If you are going to get a couch (especially a sectional) from Ikea, take a truck!
But, welcome home, Karl, welcome home.
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i'm fed up with our 3 yr old sleeper sofa Karlstad :(
ReplyDeletei loved the style and the color of the slipcover was perfect, but it doesn't have a wall to sit against, (maybe it wouldn't matter) but the back cushions get so easily smashed. I pull them off and stand on them/smoosh them back to a more rectangle crisp shape and now one of the seating cushions seems to slide forward. plus there is a squeak somewhere in the sofa. it just hasn't held up well. plus, i think i would just be happier with a higher back sofa for a more cozy feel for the space it is in. But! live and learn, i guess. I still love IKEA, though and it's modern offerings. We have a ton of IKEA in our house! Maybe you can post back in a few years and let us know how yours is :)
LOL I can't believe you got that in your CAR!
ReplyDeleteshel - I too worry about the back cushions, but the reason I did this is because people I know with expensive couches with separate back cushion have the same problem. With two little kids, I'm not investing in great furniture right now, so I know eventually they would annoy me, but so would almost any other brand. Our old loveseat is a Rowe, and it has held up so great. If I were investing, Rowe is the only brand I would trust. Honestly, I'm hoping to get 3-5 years out of the couch. If I get more, then great. If not, it's what I figured anyway.
ReplyDeleteOne tip would be to rotate cushions every week. I have always done it with our couches and it makes a difference. People tend to gravitate towards the same spots. I flip them and move them from position to position. But it's best if you make this a habit from the beginning.
Julie- I know! I'm still amazed. :)
We did the same thing over the weekend - only we bought the Kivik loveseat and chaise. We took a truck and it BARELY fit! We used A LOT of twine :) But worth it in the end. However - we aren't 2 hours from IKEA - only about 45 minutes!
ReplyDeleteLOVE it! Looks really great. They have the same sectional at younghouselove.com if you want to see how it looks with their color scheme! Also, they painted the wooden feet with oil rubbed bronze paint. Looks great both ways!
ReplyDeleteDana @ craftedniche.wordpress.com
Dana - I love Young House Love! They are the ones who convinced me to go for Karl. I was thinking about picking a different color (I think we have the same, but there are 2 dark gray options, so not completely sure), but after looking at the sample fabrics, this one won. Sherry painting the legs is what convinced me I liked Karl because I too plan to paint the legs. It's on the ever-growing list of things to do. :)
ReplyDelete