Whit and Rachael Gardner of Our Mid Century are savvy stylists, whether we are about talking vintage or contemporary furnishings— the post that they shared with us for Home Project month proves it. When the search for an affordable mid century sofa kept coming up dry, they did a complete makeover of an affordable IKEA basic to help it fit in smoothly with their vintage style home. The "after" looks like a totally different sofa!
Here is what Whit and Rachel had to say about the project: Our house was built in 1957 and has a very mid century modern vibe, so we set out to find the perfect mid century sofa for our living room. As we started looking, we quickly realized that it was going to be more expensive than we thought. We found that most new sofas were out of our budget and it would cost even more to reupholster something vintage. That's when we discovered the Karlstad sofa from Ikea.
The Karlstad is pretty basic, but the lines were right, and we knew that underneath that boring, vanilla facade, there was a mid century sofa, dying to get out.
We started with the blocky, boring legs. After doing a little research we learned that Ace Hardware sells stainable tapered legs in a variety of sizes, and the best part is they're cheap! We got the legs, mounting brackets and a can of stain for about $25.
Next, we wanted to get the sofa button tufted. After spending hours watching YouTube videos on how to do the buttons, we called a local upholsterer just to make sure it was worth it to do it ourselves. It wasn't! The upholster only charged $40 to make the buttons and tuft the entire sofa. The only tricky part was we had to schmooze the Lady at Ikea to give us enough matching fabric samples to make the 64 buttons.
Finally, we picked up some colorful, inexpensive throw pillows at World Market to brighten things up a bit.
All said and done, we spent about $740. Not too shabby!
More photos and all the info, including the price breakdown: Our Karlstad Sofa Hack | My Mid Century
Images: Whit Gardner/My Mid Century
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wow! looks about twice the price!
I think the time and labor need to be part of these calculations... and you were EXTREMELY lucky to find an upholsterer to do what they do for what they did it for.
brilliant.
Wow! That tufting makes all the difference in the world! I would have never thought to do that but it is definitely a great do-it-yourself option. I think most upholsterers would charge way more to do something like that.
does the kind upholsterer have a web site to plug?
how much extra fabric was needed to do the buttons? thanks in advance. this is exactly what i was looking for in a sofa.
wow, that looks FANTASTIC!
Holy Moley! That is my next weekend project (Once I find a craigslisted Karl)!
Since the cushions were tufted, the covers can no longer be removed and washed? I hope you are able to keep the white clean. My white Karlstad was stained all over, and I eventually got a gray cover.
IKEA sells a tufted gray Karlstad couch for $599, $899 for leather.
looks like the jasper
That's pretty awesome!
Making fabric buttons is really simple, so I bet that (after schmoozing an Ikea sales lady for fabric samples) it would be pretty easy to DIY for anyone wanting to try this who can't find someone to do it for $40. Or an easier route than schmoozing might be to just buy a matching ottoman slipcover.
Nice redo, but Macy's sells a similar piece for the same price on sale fairly regularly.
Indy, I was just about to say the same thing, then I saw your post.... best I can do is add the link.
http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=530109&CategoryID=35419#fn=sp%3D1%26spc%3D408
My leather Karlstad came tufted.
Macy's couch: the legs are not as tapered. The one above has more of the mid century feel.
This is also a nice one for the price, from Macys:
http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=485298&CategoryID=29391&LinkType=PDPZ1
I concur with the general concensus of under-impressed. The idea is kinda fun, IKEA-hacking is always fun. But this project was rather unneccessary, there are several options out there that fit the style and price point that didn't involve all that messing about.
I love this! The Karlstad sofa is one of my favorites but I always felt it was a bit plain, even after adding pillows. I may rethink now and go buy!
Ikea does indeed make a tuffed version of the sofa, but its only available in 2 colors (only one online), so this is a great option if you are looking to do something besides dark gray.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70184996
Very resourceful! Looks great.
Damn! Our Karlsdad was around $600-700 with the new gray fabric, I wish we would have checked out Macys!
Were the cushions replaced? They look fluffier in the after photo. I imagine that would be no.1 in a redesign considering the discomfort of many of IKEA's cheaper sofas (owner of the awful Klippan here).
Wow! That's half the price of the petrie, but I still love my petrie.
Link for the legs? I bought the tufted leather Karlstad but HATE the legs
that looks fantastic! and I love that you can replace the legs, that is a great idea/tip. has anyone done this with IKEA dressers/tables? just wondering
we have the Corona from Macy's and I'd have to say it STINKS. It feels like it's sinking at the bottom, and it's only a year old! granted we have 2 kids, so maybe that's not helping, but overall I wouldn't recommend a Macy's sofa.
I recently found the Dorset sofa at a local furniture store. I chose a fabulous grey upholstry. I splurged on two of the 75 inch sofas since they were under $800 each!
http://www.rowefurniture.com/product/K520K.html
My whole 3 bedroom house has been furnished in mid century modern for less than $740.
I guess this is a good idea for someone in a terrible craigslist region, or with no rad free piles.
Wow, so many negative or mediocre responses!
I think that lots of you are missing the point - for many creative types out there just being able to say "this was Ikea, and we had these few things done to it to make it into what it is!" makes it worth the extra time, spent shopping about and in labor. I think this is an awesome hack, and applaud them for their awesome new couch!
That said, if I was in their shoes, I'd rather spend a few weeks scouring craigslist and Estate Sales til I found that special something. But everyone's different! :)
I have a Karlstad loveseat. I'd love to know what mounting brackets you used, since the major issue is bolt difference (metric). I don't plan on tufting it, but the biggest issue for me was finding an affordable couch around 70" that I could get into my apartment :)
I'd love to get a Murray sofa in 2-seat, though it'd come in over $1000 with delivery.
My first thought was the same as many others: that $740 can buy a brand new mid-C sofa without having to deal with any modding. Regardless, the after photo looks great.
However, my experience with Ikea furniture leaves much to be desired. I once owned an Ikea loveseat that turned mushy after a few years. It was still a good value, but I'd imagine a Macys sofa would outlast an Ikea one.
I currently own a Chloe from Macys, which I['m pretty happy with.
http://reviews.macys.com/7129/351407/chloe-velvet-metro-living-sofa-reviews/reviews.htm
If you get a Macys credit card, I believe they'll give you an additional 10% off a days' worth of purchases, reducing the cost of a $700 sofa to $630. Not a bad deal, if you're not into DIYing your own.
lol @ 'mediocre responses'
Rowe has several styles that have a great mid century feel with the buttons, they have a HUGE fabric selection and they are very frequently on sale in the 699-799 price range. Lifetime warranty too!
This is awesome great look...
SO
MUCH
BETTER!!!!!!!!!!
Love it--Nice Job!!
Hey, thanks to everyone who liked our sofa project! I'll attempt to answer a few questions below.
@patrick (the other one): only took us about an hour to assemble and attach the legs. We like doing this stuff anyway, so I wouldn't call it "labor".
@SuzeH: brownsupholstery.com. It's in the Phoenix area.
@stinkypony: You don't need much fabric for the buttons. We took as many samples as they would give us. You only need about 1 square inch per button.
@mindfeck: You are absolutely right. In fact, we just purchased a darker cover and will be redoing it shortly. BUT replacing the slip cover is much cheaper than reupholstering. This is one of the reasons we chose the Ikea sofa over another (Macy's for example). We have pets and knew it would be ruined eventually.
@ Macy's Fans: Macy's has some nice sofas, but we liked that Ikea's was slip covered and comes with a 10 year warranty. Also, it looks like the Macy's sofas are only available in faux suede fabrics. We wanted something with a little more texture. We also would have had to change the legs anyway. Great sofas, just not for us.
@craigslistdecorator: No, we didn't add anything to the cushions. I think the tufting just makes it appear fluffier. We find it to be pretty comfy.
@toastercraft: I can't find the legs on Ace's site anymore. I think Lowes also carries them though. The manufacturer is Waddell.
@profkd: We had to buy mounting brackets from Ace as well. They should be right next to the legs. We just used long wood screws to mount them to the wood. This also allowed us to move the legs closer to the center of the sofa.
I think that covers everything. Glad that MOST of you liked our sofa :)
That is one sexy couch.
People always seem to speak fondly of the Karl, especially when it comes to longevity. And for a pet friendly home, slipcovers are an absolute must! That's the problem I find with alot of these style couches. We have 2 dogs now and they would destroy all white furniture (Which I prefer). I'd invest in the extra work to be able to throw this in the dryer with some bleach for cleaning.
This looks similar to the Petrie, so I may be trying this myself. Great job!
$65 is a small price to pay for turning a couch from generic to groovy. Well done!
Very nice!
Just amazing...tuffed sofas,chairs, just about anything tuffed is way expensive! Very surprised that this project is doable. Thanks for your most helpful post and cheers!
this is awesome. I also prefer your eight button per cushion tufting compared to Ikea's six. yours looks classy while theirs looks like it could be from Target. worth it.
Will you be doing the tufting on the grey ones? Are they tufted in a way that means you can still remove the slip covers?
Fantastic, you have de-Ikea-ed it and it looks amazing- even the legs alone would have made a world of difference.
Wow. Our sofa is going to have a spa weekend soon. Love this.
J'ADORE. Really. All best.
My sister has that Macy's couch in her office, and won't buy it again for her living room. She says the buttons are very easy to catch on clothing, especially cuffs and straps. She's almost ripped them off a couple of times.
I think you new Karlstad looks great.
Hmm... the title of this post is: 'Adding Style to an Ikea Karlstadt Sofa' not 'Buying Something That Looks Like You Bought an Ikea Karlstadt Sofa and Did Cool Things To It'.
It's about transformitive ideas.
I think it's great! In Canada, we don't have a handy Macy's store. The ideas implemented here can be used by AT's international followers... :) good stuff.
I like the hack, definitely. A thanks to the Ikea lady and the upholsterer are in order, too!
This is delightful. Congrats for the idea. However, for others, I agree that the Macy's Morgan is a buy worth looking at if you can afford the extra hundred dollars, the quality is much better.. The legs are an easy change. you can get them at Lowes in the store or from Home Depot online. I just added some to a hutch.
Your sofa looks much better than M***'s; the effort was well worth it, plus you had fun! Thanks for useful info.
joh--
Where are you finding brand new sofas for $700???
And to clarify my position... I think the redo is lovely, and no doubt worth the work of the owners. I just think they were EXTREMELY lucky at a few steps... the IKEA lady, the CHEAP upholsterer, the leg finds. After a week of a job install, each of those steps seems fraught with complication, multiple trips, unexpected costs, and (for me) one too many subway/cab trips.
That is genius! I never would have thought the tufting was so cheap either!
When I saw the before I was dubious as to how good the end result could be but ...
WOW it looks great!!!!
It looks really nice, and I think what makes it "worth doing" in spite of other, comparable options is the fact that it cost them practically nothing and they didn't even do most of the work themselves. For that I say kudos!!
What a difference the tufting makes, looks great!
The before pic of the floor model made me chuckle, seeing the sofa mounted on the wall like that, so typically IKEA.
I have that sofa, and was going to get rid of it because it's stained and boring. But now I think I'll resurrect it!
This may not be a handy tutorial for those looking to purchase a new sofa, but it's very interesting for those of us already with sofas!
Plus, used Ikea sofas are frequently easy to find cheap/free! It's nice to see a slip-cover alternative.
There may not be a huge savings over the tufted version from IKEA, but I think that the spacing on your version looks much nicer and more vintage, as well.
Just an FYI, this would most likely void your warranty.
Good point made by paigep! I was actually just going to comment to say that I will be purchasing the Macy's Morgan sofa tomorrow. With their sale right now it's only $699 and I am getting free shipping and delivery! Also, my husband and I spent hours in their showroom today looking over the sofas. The morgan is made out of polyester microfiber which is one of the most stain/spill resistant fabrics out there. You just can't go wrong. Also, they offer a accident protection plan that covers any spills or snags you cause to your sofa over the next 7 years for only $100.
I think that whoever made over this sofa might be kicking herself right now... and maybe a little too proud to admit it.
@amberlyterry: did you read any of the comments?
Because if you did, you would realize that firstly, most people who bought the Macy's sofa ended up hating it, since they found it became very uncomfortably very shortly, while most people who bought the Karlstad say it is a great deal.
Secondly you would realize that the people who did this didn't like the look of the macy's sofa, the legs didn't appeal to them nor did the fabrics.
So no, I seriously doubt that they will be kicking themselves- but you might after your Macys sofa is uncomfortable after a few months of use.
Don't listen to the haters :-). Your sofa looks much more authentic mcm than the other two alternatives posted. For those who ask why they can't just find something used, I don't know where you live but here in the drab midwest my Craiglist postings are often for the most horrifying overstuffed furniture you have ever seen. Also, many of us have a Karlsted already, and though we can't afford another eight hundred dollars for a sofa, love to think that under $100 could take it from sad to fabulous. Amazing makeover!
And, it's easy in a lot of areas to get a used Karlstad off CL.
I love the tufting concept, thinking about doing it to mine, possibly with contrasting buttons if I can't get a matching remnant. Is it uncomfortable on the seat cushions? I am thinking of just doing the back cushions.
Ebay also has "incomplete" slipcovers in many fabrics- just an arm or single pillow- for cheap, for the button-covering fabric.
Re: warranty voiding, I bet it's pretty easy to untuft, should you need to cash in. From what I've heard, good luck on utilizing the warranty anyway.
(Am I the only one that find the legs waaay too thin? Like the couch is balancing on toothpicks? I like the idea but the scale is off.)
Hey that's my couch! Looks great, and I bet the tufted back cushions are now less prone to sagging then my plain Karlstad's.
I have 2 of the Macy's Corona sofas and they look great after 2 years of ownership. Seriously, they look PERFECT still. I don't know what these negative comments are all about.... I sit on one of these couches literally all day to work from home, and it's not showing signs of wear.
Macy's Corona might look similar, but in my opinion there is NO comparison in comfort. thought it was pretty uncomfortable.
I love this!! Great idea!
And what a difference just the new legs make! that alone is worthy of the post.
If anyone is interested, we just posted a photo of the sofa with a new darker slip cover. Cheers!
http://www.ourmidcentury.com/2011/03/our-new-karlstad-sofa-hack.html
wow, looks great ! i love the new dark color even more :)
this is great. I am curious if anyone has seen the Tufted Karlstad in Ullevi Gray on the website. Anyone seen it in store?
forgot to add a link:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S09840535
I love it. I have the Karlstad sofa. I definitely want to replace the legs.
I just bought a used Karlstad for half the price and am looking into replacing the legs. (http://turningithome.blogspot.com/2013/01/my-very-own-karlstad.html) I love these DIY legs and the tufted cushions look so good!
I just bought a used Karlstad for half the price and am looking into replacing the legs. (http://turningithome.blogspot.com/2013/01/my-very-own-karlstad.html) I love these DIY legs and the tufted cushions look so good!
I just bought a used Karlstad for half the price and am looking into replacing the legs. (http://turningithome.blogspot.com/2013/01/my-very-own-karlstad.html) I love these DIY legs and the tufted cushions look so good!