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I dont have an IKEA sofa but my sister does and she loves it. I sat on it and think its pretty comfy and she had 2 kids jumping on it. But she paid in the $900 to 1000 range. Apparently everything at IKEA is "You get what you pay for". So usually higher pricepoint is better quality. But if you do invest in an IKEA one then you can always get a Bemz slipcover.

Does anyone have any info about the Stockholm sofa?

I have one with slipcovers and it is doing just fine. It is not the Stockholm one though. I like being able to wash the slip covers. Not super high quality but as someone said to me once - do you want the same sofa for your entire life - probably not so OK if it does eventually wear out as you will likely be tired of it by then anyway.

I think it depends... even within IKEA there are different price points; the higher the better.

You are showing an Ekeskog sofa, and so if that is the one you are wondering about getting, go for it.

It has always impressed me, and I love how you can get extra slipcovers (I would get 2 for each season -- Mannarp sand, which is a corduroy, for wintere, and the white, which you can bleach, for summer).

This little story will serve as my answer.

I purchased two fold out Ikea love seats when I moved to Manhattan in 1991. Three years later my parents took one and put it in their summer house. Sixteen years later, "the little blue couch" is still where the littlest members of our clan sleep and where they watch videos on rainy days.

If you pick an appropriate fabric it should last a good, long time.

I've had the Mysinge sofa pieces for nearly 4 years now and they are still in great shape despite a toddler jumping on them. I changed the slipcovers on them a few months ago to a darker color and people were asking me if they were new sofas. The slipcovers are pretty inexpensive.

We subletted an apartment (for three months) that had an EKTORP loveseat in it (currently $429 in the US). I'd guess that it was at least 1-3 years old. It was definitely comfortable but the bottom cushions - the ones you sit on, would constantly slip out. This might be because of my always-lounging boyfriend but it drove me crazy! I'm sure you could rig up a system to secure the cushions into the back of the sofa, though. At the end of the three months I threw the slipcover into the wash, ironed it, and it looked good as new! A friend has the EKTORP in the three-cushion sofa version however and I would not reccoment that. Its no where near as comfy as the loveseat for some reason!

reccomend*

I think it depends on the sofa you get. Mine is sort of modular and the frame has been absolutely fine for almost 5 years now, and I use it for sleepover guests. It's the Lessebo and I got it for $400.

Unfortunately they no longer have replacement covers for it so I'll need to figure something else out:
http://humanerecipe.blogspot.com/2007/11/remodel-repair.html

I linked to a couple who had their Ikea couch for almost a decade!

I have the Ekeskog sofa. Its about 3 years old now. It still looks great, but the cushions really sink in after you sit on them. So I end up wedged in a little hole after watching a movie for 2 hours. I paid around $1000 for the sofa with tax and delivery. If I had spent another $500, I think I would have ended up with a much better sofa investment. I wouldn't advise buying the Ekeskog.

My little-used Karlanda model had the arm collapse about a year after purchase. Fortunately my husband was able to repair it.

I purchased the el cheapo SOLSTA sofa/bed. It's a decent couch for $129. Fits nicely in a small studio, great for guests.

http://zero255zero.com

I had one of the super cheap kilppan loveseats for 5 years and loved it. cushions stayed nice and firm the whole time, though it did take work to keep the slipcover tight.

Sold that one off to some grateful college students for half of its original price and bought an Ikea sectional for my new place. (Karlstad -- dark gray wool cover and upgraded to alumninum legs). Seems plenty sturdy, thoguh I am worried that the coushions will start to sag over time...

I do believe it depends greatly on the model. A friend has one that is a one-cushion job with a storage/table/thing at the end -- she's had it for 5 years and it is as firm as the day she got it. Also, it's a linen-y color and it shows little dirt or wear (and it used every day and sometimes for sleepover guests ... me, after too much wine on several occasions!). I, on the other hand, had an Ikea loveseat that looked sort of like a Pottery Barn slipcovered knockoff and that thing was junk. The cushion wore so unevenly, it had a butt-dent after about a month. Also one side arm started making creaky noises almost immediately.

Every Ikea couch I've ever encountered has held up well. We currently have a huge $1,000 leather thing from them that's doing great at 3 years, but I've seen other folks' cheaper couches last well too. In my experience the problem with Ikea couches is that the initial comfort or usability of them varies a lot (they're all made of different things and put together in different ways), so never buy one you haven't tried out. Once it comes home I think it'll likely be tougher than any other cheapish couch, Ikea have huge economies of scale on their side, and a large part of their market is families with kids.

I think it totally depends on the model. We have the karlanda (I think?)--we liked the tight, modern lines but that's what isn't working about it. Since it's Ikea, we had to stuff the cushions ourselves, and since they fit so snugly over the cushion, one ripped immediately--the very first day. More seams have ripped over time.

I think if it were a more "relaxed" style it might be a different story. I'd rate it a 6 in terms of comfort...but I won't buy another one.

I'm generally a big Ikea fan. But my Mysinge sofa started falling apart a few months after purchase. One day I was sitting on it and heard a very loud metallic "cling" sound. It was a spring coming off. There were more such sounds in the following days until the whole foam was sagging. I got rid of it at that point and got a Crate & Barrel sofa.

I just found the receipt last night for my IKEA couch that I bought for $499 in 1999.

One of the best $500 I ever spent, that's for sure.

It's held up really well, the cushions are just as comfortable as ever.

About five years ago I had a custom slip cover made by a friend because of some dog-related stains, but sometimes I take it off and I'm amazed at how good it still looks.

I bought an Ikea sofa/bed 8 years ago when I went off to university. In all that time it was used extensively and only this year did I finally replace it - not because it was worn out or damaged but because I wanted something more high end for entertaining (not being a student anymore). I donated my sofa to Goodwill and it has a few/several good years left still.

All that to say, yes, I would recommend an Ikea sofa. But I think the model you choose makes a difference.

We have an Ektorp sleeper sofa that we bought almost eight years ago, and it has really held up nicely. It's been moved a couple of times, slept on for weeks on end by houseguests, and it is where we spend every evening, yet there's not even a dent in the cushions.

LOVE 'EM! I have the EKTORP loveseat, a hand-me-down from an old roommate, actually. I've had it for 3 years, and the previous owner had it for at least 1 year before that, and I'm now moving it to my new apartment! Admittedly the fold-out portion hasn't lived up to the years all that well, but the actual couch is one of the most comfortable i've sat on. I've had friends crash on the couch (just on the couch, not on the pull out part) and they've said they've gotten a great night's sleep and loved it. How many sofas can you say that about? And for $429, you really can't complain about the price. As for the slipcovers, they're great, easy to clean and can get cheap replacements if you want to "redecorate". HIGHLY recommended!

yeah, their furniture is known to be passed on from generation to generation.

* slaps forehead *

I bought a kipplin sofa (with a black slipcover) about 5 years ago... I was a grad student on a tight budget, and the $300 was all I could afford at the time. Well, I'm now married and can afford better..... we just moved into a larger place so we decided to get a larger couch. We got another kipplin! The new larger couch didn't replace the other, it sits next to the original. After years of lounging, sleeping, partying, and cases of the flu, that small sofa still looks very good :-) The slipcovers do shift around a bit... however, if you tuck them in tightly, and then insert small wooden sticks in the seams, they stay put. I also love how well the granaan covers wash. I highly recommend kipplin....

My university department got the cheapest sofa they make for the student lounge. It sees a lot of use and it's going strong.

I also have a Ektorp similar to that pictured above. It has lasted five years so far. I think one of the back pillows is getting a little deformed but that could be solved. Otherwise, it is comfortable and cost effective. I got mine in the "as-is" section of the store and it was $100 less than the usual price. I would get another one if I needed another couch.

Being able to buy new slipcovers is good.

I have never had a problem with them wearing out they are well constructed. My issue with Ikeas sofas is that they are not very comfortable. I have to say that I almost always sacrifice style for comfort but I would not buy a bed or a sofa at Ikea. I would either up my budget or sacrifice the style.

A former roommate and I bought a Karlanda sofa, and it was alright. If you sat and watched a couple of movies, the cushions would squash down and take overnight to plump up again. I think she still has it, but it's been about five years and I don't think it has much life in it.

Like other people said, you definitely get what you pay for at Ikea. If you can afford it, buy the highest quality possible.

I believe all Ikea sofas are made with particle/fibre board. Is it worth it buying sofas made of solid wood? What are the cheapest solid sofas?

I had the Karlanda sofa in black leather for six years. I didn't like the wood legs so I replaced them with the stainless steel legs they sell for kitchen cabinets. Gave it a less "Ikea" look. I paid about $1,200 for it and just sold it last month for $400. It was in excellent shape, and looked nearly new. The person that bought it could hardly believe that it was six years old.

It was by far the most comfortable sofa I have ever owned, and was very sad to part ways with it when I moved into my teeny tiny NY apartment. Sadly it has was discontinued earlier this year and I bought a Karlstad love seat as a replacement (along with new stainless kitchen cabinet legs) last month. Not quite as comfortable, but I am sure it too will serve my needs for several years.

My brothers passed me their Ikea sofa 10 years ago. It's still going relatively strong. Cushions are giving out a little bit. I've pushed it in the corner of my study room about 5 years ago, and it's been used very little since.

My cheap Ikea sofa is the Ellne (not the sofabed model). It cost $399 in 2001. The upholstery is thick cotton, very close to denim. Except for cat scratches it still looks and feels new to me.

I have a Nikkala (discontinued) couch that i bought second hand from a craigs lister. It is so incredibly comfortable, and i think it's about 6 years old. I'll have to restuff the large cushions soon, and the bolsters are very floppy, but it's still in good condition. The only thing that sucks about having older IKEA couches is not having many options for replacing the slipcovers once they've seen better days. Ebay and Bemz...sometimes it gets a little hairy, price-wise.

@vagary: My couch was from jcpenney.com. It looks exactly like a current IKEA model, but in microsuede. Mine is a loveseat (due to space) and has a solid hardwood frame, which was a requirement for me, and sinuous springs.

I'd rather have coil, but I don't have kids jumping on it, and the price was right. I found out about it from another AT reader who asked his doctor where the waiting room couches were from.

I'm thinking about another one from there that is a little longer, 73 inches, with reversible cushions.

Jacque is not a big thing with the AT crowd, but mine is doing a good job.

You should try "ID design" in Tzomet Shfaim (צומת שפיים).
Last year my mother bought a set of 2 seat and a 3 seat leather sofas for the total price of 8,500 NIS, which is actually cheaper then some leather sofas from ikea, so they might have cheaper non leather alternatives.
good luck.

Ikea is about trends and you are suppose to change them out no more than 5 years(for sofa). if everything last and resales how would they make money?

go buy it if u are poor sit on the floor and save for somthing better.

Ikea is Ikea if they can sell it for 500 bucks they wont do it for 50. u get what u paid for .

i got my lessebo sofa second hand about 3.5 years ago. i don't know how old it was prior to that, but the girl i got it from got it from someone who had a dog. so we're looking at at LEAST 3rd hand for the sofa. i love it. it's held up really well.

my only problem with the sofa was not the sofa's fault at all. the aforementioned owner (with the dog) left the natural-colored cushion covers spotty and stained (thanks to said dog). i tried to wash the stains out to no avail, and eventually took to covering it with an set of twin-sized bedsheets in tangerine orange, which i could just throw into the wash if they got dirty. finally, this past weekend i dyed the original cushion covers a vivid shade of orange slightly more red than tangerine, and it looks awesome. the dye is not entirely even, and some of the stains do show through, but it is definitely an improvement, and spending about 60 bucks for all the supplies involved the dying process is definitely better than buying upholstery fabric and making new cushion covers, which was my original plan.

Powkang, maybe you could figure out some sort of applique that would not look to wierdly placed or random, and then the stains would be covered.

I got a leather sectional sofa in 1995 from IKEA. It still looks new and it's been spilled on, moved 5 times and had dogs and cats around it. It took a whack in one move and we had to open it up and re-screw the back to the seating on one area. It took 10 minutes and is again completely structurally sound.

I looked at IKEA sofas the other week for another room in the house (sleeper) ... I have to agree with the poster above, I think it really depends on the model. this was top of their line in 94-95.

We bought the Karlstad sofa bed a few months ago...93 days to be exact. I know this because the bed part of the sofa just broke (about 3 days ago) and when I called they stated that my 90 day return policy timeframe was up, and too bad.

So now I'm stuck with a broken couch and no other options. I would not buy an Ikea couch again. Ever.