Sofa Searching
I’m on the hunt for the perfect sofa.
We’ve had our couch for about four years now. We bought it before we even had a home to put it in and I was set on having a sectional…in dark brown. It wasn’t necessarily the worst idea ever as much as it just doesn’t work for us anymore. My style has changed plus we now have a toddler!
Since we’ve haven’t had our sofa too long I looked into just getting it reupholstered. The color is too dark and the fabric isn’t very forgiving when my two year old smears her yogurt hands all over the cushions. 🙂 I called a half a dozen local places and was shocked and horrified at how expensive it is to reupholster! The cost would have been just a bit over what we paid for the couch. I had no idea reupholstery was so pricey! I thought about reupholstering the sofa myself for about five minutes, or even sewing a slip cover. Then, I started looking around at different sofas and thought I would save myself the trouble (and needle pricks).
So the sofa searching begins…
My first instinct is to go with some classic and simple like this neutral.
Then, I want to be brave and go for something with more character like this chesterfield. I am dying over this chesterfield guys.
The modern look and clean lines of this concave arm modern sofa caught my eye and I can see myself loving this beauty for a long time. And the color and texture of the fabric will be much more compatible with my child and her messy nature.
Similar to the other concave arm sofa, I love the lines. I think I like the three cushions as opposed to the two and this color is stunning as well.
via
The uptown modern sofa isn’t my typical style but I’m so drawn to it. I love it but I think it would be challenging to work it in my home.
When I started looking for a sofa my first instinct was to go snag the IKEA Ektorp slipcovered sofa. I know, it’s white – I was unsure about that too. Do I really want to constantly be washing slipcovers? I could always go for the Svanby Gray slipcovers but they are a bit darker than what I would like. It’s on the list while I think it over.
So which is your favorite? Do you have a sofa you love? Please please share!!
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Hi! We live in Norway so there aren’t a lot of options for reasonably priced sofas besides Ikea! We have the Ektorp sofe similar to the one you pictured (except we have the one with a chaise lounge) in red. I am about the try washing the slip covers and a little nervous! But so far I have loved the sofa (we’ve had it just over five months). I also love that when we move again, if I don’t want a red sofa, I can change out the slipcover and find something that’s a better fit! As an expat family currently, it’s a great (and more cost effective) way to change out sofa colors without buying a new sofa. Best of luck in your sofa hunting!! 🙂
The chesterfield is my dream couch so I say that one!
so dreamy!!! great choice.
I love the first one. As you wrote, it is classic, simple and neutral and looks like it would fit in any space. If you want to stretch out on it, the arms are comfortable. Switching out decorative pillows on it will change the look. You are very brave to ask for comments! Have fun hunting. 🙂
Chesterfield
I have dreams about that Chesterfield sofa. If I didn’t have a big rowdy black lab who would tear it up, I’d for sure get it. I think #4 is the best and most practical choice!
#4 is super practical and inexpensive so we could still invest in a better sofa down the road! Thanks for your help 🙂
Abby & Chelsea,
I am so excited that you met each other at Haven. Abby get well. Chelsea Thank you for sharing your talents for a dear friend. I have been following both of you for a while.
Thank you for your talents and encouragement.
XXOOO,
Karen Marie
Dragonfly & Lily Pads
Chelsea, I wanted to add a little note about your sofa search. Wow! I do not envy you because, I always seem to pick the sfa I already have if it is for the same space. Then it becomes a huge undertaking of me re-upholstering the couch. Have fun buying a new staple piece for your home,
XO Karen Marie
Karen have you reupholstered a sofa?? I’m not brave enough to tackle my sectional on my own and the cost was way more than I’m willing to pay. Thanks so much for taking a moment to stop by my blog and comment! I’m so glad you did!
I like 4, 2, and 1 best (in that order). The only issue I could see with the chesterfield would be that it could be difficult to have it work style wise depending on what else you have in the room. It is beautiful though, this is giving me inspiration on what my next sofa might look like. We currently have hand me down sofas from when we first go married and definitely want to replace them in a few years.
I totally agree with you Jennifer. And living in military housing I feel like the chesterfield might too “luxurious” looking for us… but it’s still so so pretty!!
Love the chesterfield the most!
I have the ektorp, but the love seat with chaise and I love it. I have an 8 month old and a very clumsy mess making husband 😉 and the slipcovers are easy to wash and nothing smells better than a freshly cleaned couch. Only stain I’ve had a problem with is some siracha from the husband lol!
I’m dreaming of a chesterfield for our living room 🙂
We’ve had our sofa for about the same amount of time and I’m thinking it might be time to switch it up. Personally, I love sofas without cushions in the back. They look sleeker and the pillows don’t slump over time. I think the two cream colored ones would work well with your style. Thanks for posting—I didn’t even think to check Overstock for couches!
It’s tough when the kids are still little! Thanks so much for your input, Jennifer!
Hi Chelsea! Coming from stumble upon for DIY FB group. So happy to have found you there. Megan from Homes We Have Made told me about you recently. Love your blog! I’m a USMC spouse and focus a lot of my posts on rental living and multiple moves. 🙂
Okay, I love the chesterfield style in the gray, gorgeous. We have a Macy’s Claudia leather sofa in taupe that I love. They offer it in fabric too. 😉
oh no way!!! Love meeting other mil spouse bloggers! 🙂 I’m going to check out the Claudia – thanks for the tip!
We have the Ektorp sleeper sofa and loveseat with tan/beige slipcovers. It has lasted a LONG time (over eight years) including a move across the Atlantic, and two moves within in the states. I love that I can take the covers off and wash them. I do want a more classic sofa, but our budget doesn’t allow it at the moment. They work for now.
oh wow! That sounds very appealing. Are the slip covers a pain to get on and off? Thanks so much for sharing your insight, Cindy!
So I clicked on this post because I saw you’re looking for a new sofa (so am I), and I was so excited when you validated my thought process behind trading out our current couch – it’s also a dark brown four year old sectional! just found your blog this weekend and am excited to follow you, especially because we are both mamas to little girls! – Erica @ WhimsicalSeptember
I’ve been happy with the sofa I ordered from Joybird.com. You customize your style, color, wood finish, etc. They had very friendly customer service when I had some questions, and they mailed me fabric swatches.
Thanks for the great read.