apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have the same sort of question. I want to replace the fugly legs on my basic Ikea ottoman with some wooden turned legs w/ casters.

I replaced the legs of my IKEA couch with others, It is not a Karlstad. The new legs fit in the original holes perfectly and there have been no ill effects over the past 4 months

Before you do I suggest you go to an Ikea showroom and see if the leg is actually removable. Photograph and measure the leg pin. This is a great idea. BTW I'd go with the last leg on the right.

It depends on how the IKEA legs are attached - if they use screws and if they're the same size as what you're looking to use.

I'd bet that if IKEA legs use screws, that they're metric-sized and that the legs you're looking to use are Imperial-sized...

yeah that's a good idea. if you have the leg with you, you should also bring it to ikea and make sure the leg screw fits into the screw hole in the sofa.

I believe the legs screw onto this couch with one long screw into a pre drilled hole. I think IKEA sofas have a choice of leg style so you may be able to order legs from a different IKEA couch (If they're sold separately, I don't remember) but be sure to make sure they'll still fit.

If the screws are the same on the non-IKEA legs you chose and will fit into the holes on the couch, you're in luck. If not, they could probably be hacked to fit...as long as there is no chance of the couch being slid around.

yes...look at hafele for legs

First of all, the Ullevi gray sofa cover for the Karlstad is unavailable everywhere in the US except for Utah, and has been for months and months. Believe me, I've tried looking. You can purchase it via Ikea Direct (phone ordering), but then will have to pay to have it shipped from their warehouses in Seattle. And no, they can't do warehouse-to-store or store-to-store transfers. Even if you ask nicely. A lot.

Secondly, make sure you really want the Ullevi gray. I pursued it so doggedly (I am now quite intimate with the Ikea phone system) because I thought it would be of higher quality than the Sivik gray cover I'd seen in the sofa showroom. You see, the showroom at my local Ikea didn't have a sample of the Ullevi gray. Nary a swatch to be found. So I just took it on faith that it, like the other pricier fabrics I did see, would be better than the somewhat stiff Sivik. Once I finally tracked down the Ullevi via Ikea Direct, I wanted to make sure that I absolutely wanted to spend the extra money to get it. It turns out the Karlstad swivel chair only comes in the Ullevi fabric, so I trekked out to to check it out. Instead of feeling like the soft densely woven fabric I had imagined, it felt more like a coarse wool sweater - with the same propensity toward pilling. So I ended up settling for the Sivik gray, which is about the same color but has more of a smooth denim-like feel. It gives my sofa modernist look I was going for and ended up costing about $80 less than if I had ordered the Ullevi.

Speaking as a former Ikea coworker, who spent far too many hours in the Sofa Department, the legs are removable. No Ikea coworker would recommend doing this, but, it can (and has) been done. I would buy your legs first, and assuming they are returnable, take them to Ikea, and fiddle around with the Karlstad sofas (they won't mind).

The legs screw in with one long screw, which is held into the leg.

Further, to JH4285's point about the fabric, the wool should not pill. If it does, you can try taking it back , or use a razor to shave the pilling off (I do this with sweaters all the time!)

The only thing I would advise you on is, if you get the Karlstad, hold on to the legs, because if you try and return it if it breaks, the warranty will be void without the original legs.

on a somewhat related note.. i just got a denim slipcover for my little hand-me-down sofa (klippan?). It's pretty nice for $50! plus, it has bright red stitching.
I've also been wanting to swap out the legs- it has these really ugly metal tubular ones.. very web-boom era.

I was going to say that by looking at the legs they do appear to be removable. I have the red leather Klippan w/ the stainless steel legs, which I barely even notice most of the time and they screw into the bottom of the sofa and I had to snug them once I got it home.

It was in the As Is section and I got a terrific deal on it and all it needed was a little cleaning in a few spots and had been a floor demo.

Love it BTW.

yes i did this two years ago when i lived in la!!! you just have to buy metal holders for the legs, you can get them at home depot or any hardware store. they have the standard hole size for the legs to be screwed into, as ikea's are much bigger. it makes it look so much cooler.

I'm wanting to do the same thing... Where should I look for replacement legs?

What Jet'set said. I have the Karlstad sofa, love the lines of the body but hate the feet, and have been searching for decent replacement feet for MONTHS. Where can one find legs like those in the above picture?

Yes, you can replace the legs, only once was it a pain and I found a sort of bridge 'adapter' at a to-the-trade specialty hardware store (so take other's advice, it's always best to get the legs in advance). Two sources I've used reliably are: eBay and tablelegsonline.com.

I have done it with so many IKEA pieces - that and changing door knobs.

Easiest way to take the "hey did you get that from Ikea?' look out :)

Sorry for the delayed response, spacey. I was at mardi gras! The legs pictured are from here:
http://www.swivel-chair-parts.com/couchLegs.html

Thanks everyone for the input!
Elizabeth

Elizabeth - I am thinking of doing the same thing (putting new legs on that very same couch). Did it end up working out for you?
- Julia