apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We have this in the loveseat size in Birch with white covers. It is pretty comfortable actually and the loveseat is the perfect size for our tiny, tiny studio. We are moving soon and I am seriously considering getting the larger sofa for our new living room. I like the darker color, but would definitely have to recover to seats, the white is a little too stark with the black stain.

We also have the birch/white loveseat. I'd have to say the the biggest plus of this couch is how cat-proof it is. Seriously. The wood verticals and horizontals can't be destroyed by claw-sharpening. Plus, the cushion-covers are machine washable, although the white is just asking for trouble and the black is just asking for cat hair. We're saving up for cat-and-coffee-stain-colored fabric covers from Bemz :).

It's solid birch: probably a more durable than most Ikea furniture. It's a slight upgrade from the futon aesthetic, which is the alternative at that pricepoint. So I say it's a win.

I got this couch for the low price. It's very light. Rearranging furniture is a breeze. The cushions get dirty easily, but the covers are washable.

Warning: My boyfriend was sitting on the edge and the board underneath split in half. We were able to fix it with carpenters glue but he's still too nervous to sit on it again. :) So we bought a different one and the cats mainly sleep on the ikea couch.

I have the loveseat size and it's great. So far seems plenty durable, and is just the right size for my tiny apartment. I bought an extra set of the cushion covers and dyed one set a bright coral and the other a dark brown.

is the sofa bed version the same as the 3-seat sofa? just that the back folds down? they don't really explain on the ikea website... or at least i can't find it!

does anyone have the sofa bed version?

we had this sofa for 6 months.
first - the screw hinges split the wood, very shortly after we bought it, we managed to fix it, but other problems started to happen.
we did use it a few times as a guest bed, since our friends said its comfortable enough.
surly 6 month after , the wooden pin on one side (the one that allows the sofa to "slide" in to different positions), broke off.
and Basically that was the end of our ikea sofa time.
:(

I had this. It was really comfy but it only lasted a few months before it broke right down the middle (where they had joined two separate pieces of wood and put a screw in the middle). I had to prop it up with old text books.

When I got a new, non-Ikea, couch I used the back frame to make a dog gate. It works pretty well.

i bought my 3 seater second-hand on craigslist, and it's still in good condition.
the white cushion covers need to be washed every other week, but i plan on buying a new set & dying them gray to circumvent that.

still, very comfortable and so cute with throw pillows!

To call all Ikea sofa's crap isn't fair.
Like most things in life... You get what you pay for. Low end Ikea is just that, low end... However the high end Ikea stuff holds up pretty well.

I have the three seater sofa and I'd warn anyone against getting it. I bought it for the lovely clean aesthetic, but the long supporting beam across the front is nowhere near strong enough. About 3 months is mine snapped in two, not through any excessive use. I tried repairing it with carpenters glue but it shortly snapped again. Trying to be ingenious I swapped it with the identical, non-load bearing beam from across the back of the sofa. This lasted a further 3 months before it broke in exactly the same way. I still have it, supported by a set of travel guides, but I'm looking around for something new.

I know you shouldn't expect any real quality from Ikea at the low end but I was disappointed at quite how poorly this one was constructed.

I have this couch and chair and made slip covers in classic red flannel for both. I love the lodge/minimalist feel to them and being able to adjust the back does not suck either. I love them.

I recently visited an ikea in hopes of picking up a sofabed. I live in a small apartment in toronto and am in need of a stylish sleeping solution. I was hoping the "TYLÖSAND" would suffice. I talked to one of the employees for awhile about it as well as others... his exact words were that furniture wise, anything you buy from ikea that you think is cheaper than it should be is indeed that and that I shouldn't expect the TYLÖSAND to last more than 3 weeks of every night sleeping without major sagging.

My point is we all know ikea is a great source for affordable contemporary furniture but its not like they're some magical company. The rules still apply, you get what you pay for, anyone who's tried to move with an ikea shelving unit knows what I'm talkin about. If your prime concern is build quality, don't look at Ikea, if its money then by all means.

Dylan, I must be weird. I've moved 4 times with my Billy shelves. A couple of them are over 20 years old. Can't seem to be able to get rid of the things :-)

And why would you be interested in a sofa? ;-)

If everyone is having problems with the central beam, it might be worth reinforcing with braces as soon as you buy this? (Obviously carpenter's glue wouldn't fix it: you should have asked at your hardware store rather than just using duct tape.) That'd be a different kind of Ikea hack: how to make their furniture do what it's actually designed to do. :D

My sister has had this for 3 years. 2 kids. This couch is KID-PROOF! If used as a couch (sitting ON THE SEATS, not on the arms, on the back, grown-ups jumping on it, use common sense) and for occasional sleeping, this thing will last. The cushions are very thick, and will keep their shape wonderfully and they're VERY comfortable even when you lay down on them. Slip-covers are a little different, since they're not meant to be washed everyday or be dampened with kool-aid. (again, 2 kids). The 3 sitter's pretty big, I'd even say oversized. The 2 sitter's sturdier and overall more aesthetically pleasing. For the price, I'd say this is a must-have, specially if you've a sewing friend or family member who can make you custom slip covers. Again, don't jump on it, put all your weight onto one of the supports, stand on it, and basically anything else you can do with a trampoline, ladder, step, etc. It's A COUCH, and a really good one at that.